Category: Mapping

Part 2: Is It Legal to Fly Drones for Mapping in the United States?

After I published last month’s Is It Legal to Fly Drones for Mapping in the United States? article, I received a bit of reader feedback and attended a small conference focused on UASs for mapping. I learned and experienced a few new thoughts about UASs for mapping in the United States, so I thought I’d share them in a second installment.

In early December, I attended the UAS Precision Farming Forum, a local conference that was sponsored by Yamhill County (Oregon) and targeted at the agriculture market. Yamhill County covers 718 square miles (1,860 square kilometers) and contains a healthy number of agricultural and vineyard farms.

The conference was filled to capacity with 120 attendees, a complete lineup of speakers, and even a couple of exhibitors — not bad for a county-hosted local conference. This, and other such conferences around the United States, speaks volumes about the intense interest in UASs for agricultural uses in the U.S. For instance, the Association of Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) hosts an annual conference that attracts more than 8,000 attendees.

At the Yamhill conference, I was most interested in hearing what speakers, attendees and exhibitors were saying about the FAA rules on civilians flying UAVs. The FAA is pretty clear (at least when responding to me and others) about the rules for civilian use.

First of all, the most prolific user of UASs for mapping in Oregon seems to be Oregon State University, who possess eight Certificates of Authorization (CoA) from the FAA (Federal Aviation Administration) to operate UASs for research purposes, according to Dr. Michael Wing, associate professor of Geomatics. Dr. Wing explained that applying for a CoA from the FAA is an intense process requiring a lot of detail.

PROJECT	SITE	PLATFORM	SENSOR	PARTNERS
Forest Canopy/Structure	McDonald Forest	Prioria Maveric	EO	n-Link
Search and Rescue	McDonald Forest	Aerospace Vapor/VTOL	EO/IR	n-Link
Xmas Tree Research	OSU No. Willamette	Mikrokopter VTOL	EO	OSU, n-Link
Potato Research	HAREC	Lockheed/Procerus	EO/IR	Boeing, n-Link, USDA
Potato Research	HAREC	Tetracam HawkEye	EO/IR	Boeing, n-Link, USDA
Large Scale Potato Res.	Boardman	Lockheed/Procerus	EO/IR	Boeing, n-Link, USDA
Large Scale Potato Res.	Boardman	Tetracam HawkEye	EO/IR	Boeing, n-Link, USDA
Flight Research	Olympia	Tetracam HawkEye		Boeing, n-Link

Dr. Wing also presented the bill of materials (BOM) for one of the UASs they are using, a Zephyr II.

Zephyr II components (per OSU):

2.4GHz Tx/Rx radio			$360
4500mAh LiPo battery			$30
Airspeed sensor			$25
ArduPilot APM 2.5			$160
Canon S100			$300
RiteWing Zephyr II			$325
TTC Radio			$86
uBlox GPS module			$76
Voltage regulator			$15

Total:			$1,377

When I asked Dr. Wing about the CoA restrictions, he said the CoAs require him to have an FAA-licensed pilot on site for each mission.

If you recall from last month’s article, the FAA was very clear in responding to my queries that civilian commercial operation of UASs in the U.S. are prohibited unless the operator possesses a CoA from the FAA. Furthermore, the FAA says that commercial operation of UASs in the U.S. airspace is not allowed. The FAA is working on rules to integrate commercial UAS operation into the U.S. NAS (National Airspace System). The local AUVSI president, in his keynote speech, essentially said the same thing.

I went to the exhibition area because I wanted to talk to the exhibitors and understand who their target market was, since commercial operations of UASs are prohibited. Their answers were interesting. Their first answer was that “farmers can fly UAS as hobbyists.” Recall that hobbyists (or modelers as the FAA refers to them) can operate UASs up to 400 feet above ground level (AGL). I asked the FAA specifically about this. They say that any commercial usage of UASs is prohibited. For example, you can take the same UAS that you fly for fun, and you are permitted to fly it below 400 feet AGL. However, once you use the same UAS for commercial purposes (such as mapping your farm), you are violating the FAA rules.

When I pushed the vendor about this, his next answer was “as long as the farmer only flies it above his or her farm, they are allowed.” While I can sort of understand the logic behind his first statement, this statement didn’t make sense to me. If he’s using it for a commercial purpose, what difference does it make if it is over his own property or not? The problem I have with the vendor’s attitude is that he has little risk. It’s not against the FAA rules to sell UASs for commercial purposes. FAA rules are only violated when someone uses a UAS for commercial purposes. The bottom line: caveat emptor (buyer beware). The FAA is likely not going to pursue the manufacturer or distributor of the UAS, only the operator (the farmer).

But, is it really against FAA rules to operate commercial UASs in the U.S.? The vendor claimed that he asked the FAA, and said that you will get a different answer from the FAA depending on who you speak to. To some extent, I understand the confusion. Furthermore, when I asked the FAA to cite examples of litigation, enforcement actions, etc., I was told I would need to file a Freedom of Information Act request (FOIA), which I did about November 12. Beyond acknowledging my request, the FAA has sent nothing. I’m told from others that they have made similar requests (months ago) and have still not received the FOIA information. This certainly casts a cloud of doubt over the confidence the FAA has in its position.

Has anyone actually tested the FAA’s position in court?

Thanks to Twitter, I linked up with an attorney who is representing a UAS operator who is being sued by the FAA for flying a UAS for commercial purposes in the United States. Attorney Brendan M. Schulman says his client’s case is the first to test the FAA rules in court. Mr. Schulman says that the FAA has no basis on which to enforce the rules. He’s arguing that the “FAA’s position is based on policy statement and not an enforceable regulation.”

Schulman’s client, Raphael Pirker, a Swiss citizen and resident, was assessed a $10,000 fine pursuant 49 U.S.C. §§46301(a)(1) and (d)(2) and 46301(a)(5). The FAA argues that Pirker:

1. On or about October 17, 2011, you were the pilot in command of a Ritewing Zephyr powered glider aircraft in the vicinity of the University of Virginia (UVA), Charlottesville,

2. The aircraft referenced above is an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS).

3. At all times relevant herein you did not possess a Federal Aviation Administration pilot certificate.

4. The aircraft referenced above contained a camera mounted on the aircraft which sent real time video to you on the ground.

5. You operated the flight referenced above for compensation.

6. Specifically, you were being paid by Lewis Communications to supply aerial photographs and video of the UVA campus and medical center.

7. You deliberately operated the above-described aircraft at extremely low altitudes over vehicles, buildings, people, streets, and structures.

8. Specifically, you operated the above-described aircraft at altitudes of approximately 10 feet to approximately 400 feet over the University of Virginia in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

9. For example, you deliberately operated the above-described aircraft in the following manner:

a. You operated the aircraft directly towards an individual standing on a UVA sidewalk causing the individual to take immediate evasive maneuvers so as to avoid being struck by your aircraft.
b. You operated the aircraft through a UVA tunnel containing moving vehicles.
c. You operated the aircraft under a crane.
d. You operated the aircraft below tree top level over a tree lined walkway.
e. You operated the aircraft within approximately 15 feet of a UVA statue.
f. You operated the aircraft within approximately 50 feet of railway tracks.
g. You operated the aircraft within approximately 50 feet of numerous individuals.
h. You operated the aircraft within approximately 20 feet of a UVA active street containing numerous pedestrians and cars.
i. You operated the aircraft within approximately 25 feet of numerous UVA buildings.
j. You operated the aircraft on at least three occasions under an elevated pedestrian walkway and above an active street.
k. You operated the aircraft directly towards a two story UVA building below rooftop level and made an abrupt climb in order to avoid hitting the building.
1. You operated the aircraft within approximately 100 feet of an active heliport at UVA.

10. Additionally, in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another, you operated the above-described aircraft at altitudes between 10 and 1500 feet AGL when you failed to take precautions to prevent collision hazards with other aircraft that may have been flying within the vicinity of your aircraft.

11. By reason of the above, you operated an aircraft in a careless or reckless manner so as to endanger the life or property of another.

To view the entire complaint, click on FAA_Pirker_Complaint.

Schulman argues:

“In this proceeding, the FAA uses those same policy statements as a pretext for applying federal aviation regulations to the operation of model airplanes. This approach violates the most basic tenets of regulatory law and the Administrative Procedures Act which require a valid notice and comment rulemaking process before legislative rules are issued. Both at the time of Mr. Pirker’s model aircraft operation in 2011, and still today, there exist no enforceable federal aviation regulations concerning the operation of civilian “drones,” whether that operation is for commercial purposes or otherwise. For the reasons set out below, the Administrator’s civil penalty is improper as a matter of law and the Complaint must be dismissed in its entirety.”

To view Schulman’s entire brief, click on FAA-v-Pirker. Per Schulman’s brief, he has asked the court to dismiss the case for reasons he outlines. He is awaiting the judge’s response. If the case is not dismissed, Schulman says the next step is discovery and a hearing.

On a related note, Schulman’s law firm, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP, announced on December 18 that they launched a new practice group named Unmanned Aircraft Systems Practice Group. Following is the announcement:

In light of the increasing use of drones for commercial purposes, Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel LLP has launched a practice group dedicated to providing counsel to clients in this rapidly growing industry. The Unmanned Aircraft Systems Practice Group is a multidisciplinary team of Kramer Levin attorneys who are versed in the legal complexities of the nascent commercial drone revolution.

Emerging commercial drone technology presents a number of economic opportunities, as well as the prospect of enhanced worker safety in hazardous conditions, humanitarian benefits in search-and-rescue and disaster missions, and environmental advantages through improved agriculture, energy and infrastructure management. Kramer Levin’s new practice will provide sophisticated and creative problem-solving approaches in this uncharted legal territory.

“Unmanned aircraft technology will define the next century in countless industries in the United States and will present new legal challenges in a number of areas including regulatory policy, aviation law, property rights, and intellectual property law, to name a few,” said Paul S. Pearlman, Kramer Levin’s managing partner. “As the definitive leaders in this field, we saw an opportunity to formalize a practice area led by informed attorneys who can advise clients in a wide range of industries.”

The firm is currently representing Raphael Pirker, the world’s foremost civilian drone pilot, in the first federal case ever involving the operation of commercial drones in the United States. Kramer Levin attorneys also regularly advise individuals, corporations, venture capital firms, educational institutions and robotics developers worldwide on the use of unmanned aircraft technologies in commercial, educational, public interest and scientific applications.

“The landmark case we are litigating will have enormous regulatory and economic implications for the industry’s future,” said Brendan Schulman, special counsel at Kramer Levin who has two decades of hands-on experience with unmanned aircraft and understands how the technology works and how to apply it safely and effectively. “This is a game-changing moment for forward-thinking businesses, and we are here to assist our clients navigate legal issues so they can become the next decade’s pioneers in their industries.”

In addition to Mr. Schulman, the new practice area will include attorneys from a number of existing firm practice areas including corporate, environmental law, litigation, intellectual property, insurance, government relations, and regulatory issues.

I’ll keep you updated on the FAA v. Pirker case as it evolves.

Thanks, and see you next month. Happy Holidays!

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GPSGIS_Eric

December 27, 2013

Proliferation of GPS-enabled Smartphones Spurs Growth of Global Location-based Applications Market

The global market for location-based applications is poised for rapid growth, as the mass adoption of global positioning system (GPS)-enabled smartphones is encouraging developers to introduce numerous advanced applications, says market research agency Frost & Sullivan.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan finds that indoor connectivity, augmented reality, big data and wearable devices are the key technology trends likely to fuel the uptake of location-based applications. Location-based technology and data can then be combined to facilitate the development of smart spaces in every city and community.

“Location-based application developers have so far focused on the development of outdoor applications due to the adoption of GPS positioning in smartphones,” noted Frost & Sullivan Information & Communication Technologies Research Analyst Shuba Ramkumar. “However, as individuals spend more time indoors, there is a need to roll out indoor location-based applications that capitalise on various functionalities such as mapping, navigation and geo-fencing.”

According to the announcement, augmented reality technology could also be used to make location-based applications more interactive. Further, the widening ecosystem of wearable devices such as Google Glass and Samsung Galaxy Gear infuses technology into the daily lives of individuals, widening the scope of context-aware applications. However there are several challenges restricting the growth of the location-based applications market. The lack of standardisation in indoor positioning technologies such as Wi-Fi, sensors and Bluetooth is complicating the development of indoor applications. Location-based application providers will need to wait until wearable device manufacturers address the issues of limited battery life and dependence on smartphones for outdoor connectivity.

Frsot & Sullivan reports that market participants also find it difficult to monetise applications due to the absence of a clear business model. In this scenario, application developers should seek to identify new sources of revenue. They can expedite market expansion by establishing contracts with indoor venues to provide customised applications, and by working with wearable device manufacturers to create related applications.

“Stakeholders should work together to identify the most reliable and accurate indoor positioning technologies that can steer the indoor connectivity market forward,” said Ramkumar “The In-Location Alliance is one such initiative formed by market participants to discuss and resolve issues concerning indoor positioning technologies.”

December 17, 2013
Proteus Provides Satellite-Derived Bathymetric and Seafloor Maps for Military Exercise

Proteus FZC, a provider of satellite-derived mapping solutions, has delivered accurate bathymetric and seafloor classification maps for a joint UK-France amphibious military exercise on the Island of Corsica. In the pilot managed by the UK Hydrographic Office (UKHO), Proteus partnered with DigitalGlobe to derive accurate bathymetric measurements and identify four seabed types to a depth of 12 meters from multispectral satellite imagery without ground control.

“We completed the Corsica coastal marine mapping project at about one-tenth the time and cost of traditional sonar or LiDAR,” said Proteus CEO David Critchley. “Because the data is derived exclusively from satellite imagery, we leave no environmental footprint and face no airspace restrictions.”

For the joint military operation, the British and French armed forces requested detailed information about water depth and the submerged seabed along specific sections of the Corsican coastline so that amphibious military vehicles could be launched from larger vessels anchored offshore and safely landed on the island’s beaches. The custom maps created by Proteus were used by the military to select precisely where the landings would occur.

“The vertical accuracy of our bathymetric maps was verified at 10-15 percent of water depth,” said Critchley. “If ground truth data were available, the measurements would have been accurate to a solid 10 percent of depth.”

Working with eight-band multispectral image data with two-meter resolution collected by DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-2 satellite, the Proteus-led team achieved the bathymetric measurements in Corsica’s Mediterranean coastal zone to a total depth of 12 meters. In a separate processing procedure, the team also extracted four critical seafloor types from the imagery – sand, rock/debris, vegetation and mixed seabed.

Since 2011, Proteus has been producing seafloor survey and seabed classification projects using multispectral satellite imagery. The product generation technology that can be carried out in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. These mapping projects have been delivered for environmental, oil and gas, marine biology and other coastal zone applications in Europe, the Middle East and Caribbean. Derived products have high accuracy, meeting the requirements of engineering, environmental monitoring and strategic geospatial planning applications.

The project was written up in the January/February 2013 issue of Hydro International magazine.

December 12, 2013
Non-Profit Seeks Help with GIS Project for Costa Rica through Crowdsourcing

Geoporter, a non-profit focused on leveraging advanced mapping technology to empower communities to address burgeoning problems from within, has launched an Indiegogo crowdsourcing campaign to help support continued work and expansion. Funds will be used to provide resources to current projects in Costa Rica, while allowing the team to establish new operations in other areas globally.

Besides financial donations, the group is seeking serviceable digital cameras, GPS units, and laptop computers — worn but working well.

The organization uses GPS-driven technology to map behaviors in a community, allowing them to better define problems, develop and implement solutions, and evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts for continual improvement. The technology can be used to address a wide variety of problems, from tackling trash build up in the area to monitoring whale patterns in order to facilitate more sustainable tourism practices. In Costa Rica, the Geoporter team worked to map mosquito larva and water treatment to help reduce the risk of exposure to dengue fever.

“It’s exciting and rewarding work,” said co-founder Anita Palmer. “We’re going into areas where we can make a real difference in the everyday lives of people through the power of data analysis. What’s more, we’re helping to reverse trends that would otherwise have regional and, in some cases, global implications.”

Geospatial mapping is not new, but it has traditionally been executed by teams of experts in the aftermath of a crisis. Geoporter’s approach is a proactive one, where experts move into communities as challenges are developing so they can effect change before there’s a real problem. Still, building and sustaining a team of experts would have been cost-prohibitive, so Geoporter decided it would try something radical: teaching people within these communities to use the technology themselves.

“We started by training adults and youth,” explains Geoporter Director Amy Work. “Now, children in the area are taught how to use the technology in and outside of school. We have eight-year-olds navigating commercial-grade geospatial mapping technology like Esri ArcGIS Online better than some of the professionals I’ve known. The lessons they’re learning today will not only enable them to take ownership of their communities, but provide them with skills they can leverage through adulthood.”

Geoporter is hoping to use the IndieGoGo campaign to raise the funds necessary to continue their work in Costa Rica, and are looking to expand into other areas over the course of the next year. Donations will go towards funding technology, educator travel and living expenses, and community staffing.

To support the Geoporter mission or learn more about their work, visit the Indiegogo campaign by clicking here.

December 9, 2013
Situational Awareness, New Tech Discussed at Spatial Plexus Conference
A Report on the Annual GIS Conference of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)

By Art Kalinski, GISP

“Plexus is defined as any complex structure containing an intricate network of parts. The Spatial Plexus annual event elevates Geographic Information Science as the cross-disciplinary application of GIS and geo-technologies against so many interconnected issues.” — Spatial Plexus website

Two weeks ago, I attended Spatial Plexus 2013, a GIS conference put together by Danielle Ayan of GTRI. Her reputation of building well-organized conferences helped draw some very interesting and influential speakers. The conference was held at the historic Academy of Medicine at Georgia Tech in Atlanta. The academy is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and even has a connection to the movie Gone with the Wind. Built before television and movies, the auditorium was designed for doctors to view medical demonstrations using actual cadavers on the stage. Fortunately, none of the Plexus presentations were cadaverously dull.

The conference opened with several pre-conference workshops, including Course Development Workshops to advance GIS-related education based on DACUM (Developing A CUrriculuM) and the Geospatial Technology Competency Model (GTCM). This was tied in with a GeoTech Advisory Council Meeting. The GeoTech Center, funded in part by National Science Foundation, is a collaborative effort between colleges, universities and industry to expand the geospatial workforce by providing professional development and curriculum resources.

A workshop I attended covered new capabilities of ArcGIS Online. The hands-on workshop was conducted by Dr. Tom Mueller of California University of Pennsylvania and Dr. Rich Schultz of Elmhurst College, Illinois. If interested, you can go through the same tutorial online.

I liked the linear format of this conference rather than separate break-out sessions found in mega conferences, because I always get frustrated missing competing break-out sessions. Additionally, we tend to overly focus on our primary areas of interest to the exclusions of other topics. The linear format pulls your mind and attention through a variety of subject areas, expanding the breadth of your knowledge. That was certainly the case with Spatial Plexus — lots of variety. The following are just a sample of the presentations. You can go to the Spatial Plexus website for a complete list, including many of the presentations and associated SharePoints.

The opening keynote was given by Daniel Edelson, vice president of education for the National Geographic Society. He discussed “The Importance of Geo Literacy for College, Career and Civic Readiness.” His presentation was reinforced by Dr. Max Baber, the director of academic programs for the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF). He discussed the multitude of excellent positions in the geospatial intelligence community, both at NGA and associated contractors. He also stressed the growing need and demand for GEOINT analyst certification, which is becoming a way to ensure qualified personnel in government and contractor positions.

Tamarin Gullett-Tyrrell, GIS analyst for Cherokee County, Georgia, demonstrated the county geospatial Situational Awareness website. The Esri/Silverlight system by GeoCortex was designed to serve the public as well as emergency responders. Tamarin and Joe Woycke, Director of GIS and Mapping, built the well thought out and elegant system by bringing together all the county stakeholders early in the process. They determined that the complexity and diversity of stakeholder requirements pointed the way to two separate sites — one for tax work / county planning and the other for the public and emergency responder situational awareness including the sheriff, police, fire departments, EOC and the 911 call center. The early collaboration and consensus building saved a lot of time and expensive change orders. The result is two systems that all users are happy with. Shown below is . It not only incorporates county data and imagery, it toggles Bing and Google geospatial data.

Situational awareness website SAGE.

Joe Francica, editor-in-chief of Directions Magazine in Huntsville, Alabama, gave a rapid-fire summary of new technology he was following that he believed will impact the geospatial community. These include:
- WiFiSLAM, an indoor location technology
- geofencing, which sends location-based notifications to consumers approaching a store
- connected cars
- TracDot, a tag that tracks your luggage, and
- the much-publicized Google Glass.
He also mentioned my favorite new emerging technology — 3D printers, as well as drones and nano technology. He recommended James McQuivey’s book Digital Disruption: Unleashing the Next Wave of Innovation.

In one of the open group discussions related to my presentation on Soft Power, I mentioned the 2010 Foreign Affairs magazine article on the disruptive effect of social media and mobile devices on second- and third-world countries. I discussed my amazement at the ingenuity of people who find a way to communicate without the benefit of a well-established communications systems. FabFi is a very low cost and simple wireless network developed by MIT students that is being used in Kenya and Afghanistan to provide wireless communications between villages. The system uses inexpensive $40 off-the-shelf wireless routers and home-made parabolic antennas of plywood and chicken wire to send wireless signals from one village to another. The networks are so quick and easy to establish that governments may no longer have the power to turn off the Internet when they feel threatened. This is democratization at its best.

The FabFi program brings the Internet to villages in developing nations.

There were several presentations on the use of GIS in medical applications, especially the work being done by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and even a presentation by Chris Smith, director of IT Services for the U.S. Architect of the Capitol on how GIS had streamlined the management of Capitol facilities.

Chris Smith, director of IT Services for the U.S. Architect of the Capitol.

The closing keynote was given by Major General William Reddel, the National Guard Adjutant General for the State of New Hampshire, who also serves as the chair of the U.S. Adjutant Generals Association Cyber/GIS/IT Committee and was the keynote speaker at last year’s ESRI Federal Users Conference. The General seems to be a good steward of our tax dollars, since he quickly realized and acted to reduced 54 separate state National Guard Esri licenses to one enterprise license, saving us 1.5 million dollars annually. He also discussed how the needs of the National Guard had evolved and are moving to cloud services such as Virtual USA and Web EOC. He closed with a slight redefinition. He said most people use the term “Common Operational Picture” (COP), but he prefers the growing reality of “User Defined Operational Pictures” as capabilities and user needs evolve.

As you can surmise from this short sampling, Spatial Plexus 2013 was a very diverse and interesting collection of GIS practitioners and presentations. The linear format exposed all us attendees to corners of the community that we might not otherwise investigate, so it was especially informative. The conference was certainly well worth the time, and I strongly encourage all who can to attend next year.
December 4, 2013
British Trade Delegation to Libya Taps Proteus for Mapping Expertise

Proteus, a provider of satellite-derived bathymetric mapping and seabed classification services, represented the mapping industry in a British trade delegation to Tripoli organized by the Libya-British Business Council (LBBC). Proteus presented potential solutions to coastal mapping challenges faced by Libya during meetings with the National Oil Corporation, Ports and Maritime Transport Authority, University of Tripoli, and Libyan Center for Remote Sensing.

“At every meeting, we were introduced to government ministers and business leaders who are eager to begin rebuilding Libya,” said Proteus CEO, David Critchley. “Libya recognizes that mapping will be the critical first step in rebuilding infrastructure across the country.”

Invited to participate by Tilden International, Proteus was the sole mapping representative in the LBBC delegation, which included British companies involved in the energy, security and computing sectors. Held in late September 2013, the delegation mission was led by Sir Dominic Asquith, former British Ambassador to Libya.

Since 2011, Proteus has been delivering offshore mapping projects for environmental, oil and gas, marine biology and other coastal zone applications in Europe, the Middle East and Caribbean, completed in a fraction of the time and cost of traditional methods. Proteus is currently engaged in a major offshore project in the Arabian Gulf, providing bathymetric and seabed classification services in the coastal zone using satellite imagery.

“Whether exporting petroleum products from its shores or bringing tourists into the country, Libya sees development of its Mediterranean shipping ports as key to future economic success,” said Critchley. “Upgrading existing ports and building new ones will require mapping the seafloor several kilometers from the coast, and that’s why Proteus was invited to join the delegation.”

Proteus uses commercially developed processes to derive bathymetric and seafloor classification information from high-resolution, 8-band multispectral imagery collected by DigitalGlobe Inc.’s WorldView-2 satellite and acquired by Proteus through its direct relationship with DigitalGlobe. Derived products have high accuracy, meeting the requirements of engineering, environmental monitoring and strategic geospatial planning applications.

“Compared with maritime sonar and airborne LiDAR, satellite-derived bathymetric surveys are completed at a fraction of the time and cost,” said Critchley. “The ecological constraints, submerged reefs, and political issues that hamper traditional hydrographic mapping methods are of no hindrance to us.”

November 20, 2013
University of Maryland Leads Global Forest Loss/Gain Mapping Effort

Source: Hansen, Potapov, Moore, Hancher, et al, 2013

A multi-organizational team led by the University of Maryland has created the first high-resolution global map of forest extent, loss and gain. This free resource greatly improves the ability to understand human and naturally-induced forest changes and the local to global implications of these changes on environmental, economic and other natural and societal systems, members of the team say

According to the announcement, the team of 15 university, Google and government researchers reports a global loss of 2.3 million square kilometers (888,000 square miles) of forest between 2000 and 2012 and a gain of 800,000 square kilometers (309,000 square miles) of new forest.

Their study, published online on November 14 in the journal Science, documents the new database, including a number of key findings on global forest change. For example, the tropics were the only climate domain to exhibit a trend, with forest loss increasing by 2,101 square kilometers (811 square miles) per year. Brazil’s well-documented reduction in deforestation during the last decade was more than offset by increasing forest loss in Indonesia, Malaysia, Paraguay, Bolivia, Zambia, Angola and elsewhere.

“This is the first map of forest change that is globally consistent and locally relevant,” says University of Maryland Professor of Geographical Sciences Matthew Hansen, team leader and corresponding author on the Science paper.

“Losses or gains in forest cover shape many important aspects of an ecosystem, including climate regulation, carbon storage, biodiversity and water supplies, but until now there has not been a way to get detailed, accurate, satellite-based and readily available data on forest cover change from local to global scales,” Hansen says.

To build this first of its kind forest mapping resource, Hansen, UMD Research Associate Professor Peter Potapov and five other UMD geographical science researchers drew on the decades-long UMD experience in the use of satellite data to measure changes in forest and other types of land cover. Landsat 7 data from 1999 through 2012 were obtained from a freely available archive at the United States Geological Survey’s center for Earth Resources Observation and Science (EROS). More than 650,000 Landsat images were processed to derive the final characterization of forest extent and change.

Source: Hansen, Potapov, Moore, Hancher, et al, 2013

The analysis was made possible through collaboration with colleagues from Google Earth Engine, who implemented the models developed at UMD for characterizing the Landsat data sets. Google Earth Engine is a massively parallel technology for high-performance processing of geospatial data and houses a copy of the entire Landsat image catalog. What would have taken a single computer 15 years to perform was completed in a matter of days using Google Earth Engine computing.

Hansen and his coauthors say their mapping tool greatly improves upon existing knowledge of global forest cover by providing fine resolution (30 meter) maps that accurately and consistently quantify annual loss or gain of forest over more than a decade. This mapping database, which will be updated annually, quantifies all forest stand-replacement disturbances, whether due to logging, fire, disease or storms. And they say it is based on repeatable definitions and measurements while previous efforts at national and global assessments of forest cover have been largely dependent on countries’ self-reported estimates based on widely varying definitions and measures of forest loss and gain.

Dynamics from local to regional to global scale are quantified. For example, subtropical forests were found to have the highest rates of change, largely due to intensive forestry land uses. The disturbance rate of North American subtropical forests, located in the Southeast United States, was found to be four times that of South American rainforests during the study period; more than 31 percent of U.S. southeastern forest cover was either lost or regrown. At national scales, Paraguay, Malaysia and Cambodia were found to have the highest rates of forest loss. Paraguay was found to have the highest ratio of forest loss to gain, indicating an intensive deforestation dynamic.

The study confirms that well-documented efforts by Brazil – which has long been responsible for a majority of the world’s tropical deforestation – to reduce its rainforest clearing have had a significant effect. Brazil showed the largest decline in annual forest loss of any country, cutting annual forest loss in half, from a high of approximately 40,000 square kilometers (15,444 square miles) in 2003-2004 to 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 square miles) in 2010-2011. Indonesia had the largest increase in forest loss, more than doubling its annual loss during the study period to nearly 20,000 square kilometers (7,722 square miles) in 2011-2012.

Hansen and colleagues say the global data sets of forest change they have created contain information that can provide a “transparent, sound and consistent basis to quantify critical environmental issues,” including the causes of the mapped changes in the amount of forest; the status of world’s remaining intact natural forests; biodiversity threats from changes in forest cover; the carbon stored or emitted as a result of gains or losses in tree cover in both managed and unmanaged forests; and the effects of efforts to halt or reduce forest loss.

For example, Hansen says, that while their study shows the efforts of Brazil’s government to slow loss of rainforest have been effective, it also shows that a 2011 Indonesian government moratorium on new logging licenses was actually followed by significant increases in deforestation in 2011 and 2012.

“Brazil used Landsat data to document its deforestation trends, then used this information in its policy formulation and implementation. They also shared these data, allowing others to assess and confirm their success,” Hansen says. “Such data have not been generically available for other parts of the world. Now, with our global mapping of forest changes every nation has access to this kind of information, for their own country and the rest of the world.”

Global map of forest change: http://earthenginepartners.appspot.com/science-2013-global-forest

Support for Landsat data analysis and characterization was provided by the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, the United States Geological Survey and Google, Inc. GLAS data analysis was supported by the David and Lucile Packard Foundation. Development of all methods was supported by NASA through its Land Cover and Land Use Change, Terrestrial Ecology, Applied Sciences and Measures programs (grants NNH05ZDA001N, NNH07ZDA001N, NNX12AB43G, NNX12AC78G, NNX08AP33A and NNG06GD95G) and by the United States Agency for International Development through its CARPE program.

High-resolution global maps 21st-century forest cover change, Science, Nov. 15, 2013, Vol 342 #6160, authors M. C. Hansen, P. V. Potapov, S. A. Turubanova, A. Tyukavina, L. Chini, C. O. Justice and J. R. G. Townshend of the University of Maryland; R. Moore, M. Hancher and D. Thau of Google, Inc.; S. V. Stehman of the State University of New York; S. J. Goetz of Woods Hole Research Center; T. R. Loveland of the United States Geological Survey; and A. Kommareddy, and A. Egorov of South Dakota State University.

November 18, 2013
Applanix Brings Trimble CenterPoint RTX Correction Service to Airborne Mapping Products
Applanix, a mobile mapping and positioning company, is making the Trimble CenterPoint RTX correction service available across its entire airborne mapping portfolio. Applanix is a Trimble Company.

Using the Trimble CenterPoint RTX correction service, Applanix will be able to deliver these benefits to the aerial survey marketplace:
- High accuracy — better than 10 cm RMS horizontal after convergence
- Speed and low cost — no need for setting up base stations, no need to wait for delivery of public-domain ephemeris data
- Simplicity — deal directly with Trimble (no third-party involvement)
- More uptime and reliability — use Trimble’s professionally managed, highly maintained private network
- Ease of use — there is no additional hardware to purchase, integrate or maintain
- Fast and reliable convergence — 30 minutes or less to full accuracy
The announcement was made at Trimble’s China Dimensions User Conference. The CenterPoint RTX service for Applanix airborne mapping products is expected to be available in the fourth quarter of 2013.

“The Applanix aerial mapping portfolio is trusted throughout the aerial mapping community to provide highly accurate position and orientation information for directly georeferencing camera and sensor data,” said Joe Hutton, Director of Airborne Products at Applanix. “By integrating the Trimble CenterPoint RTX correction service, we are maintaining our position at the forefront of accuracy, robustness, and high efficiency in airborne mapping. The CenterPoint RTX correction service gives Applanix products the ability to achieve accuracy required for many types of mapping projects in real time and post-mission, all without the need for base stations – an industry first.”

Trimble CenterPoint RTX correction service is a GPS, GLONASS and QZSS enabled correction service built on Trimble RTX technology. It provides high-accuracy GNSS positioning without the use of traditional reference station-based differential RTK infrastructure.

The solution is also compatible with the Applanix POSPac software to achieve the same level of orientation accuracy as when using base stations, all without the need to have an Internet connection or wait for precise ephemeris data to be available.
November 12, 2013
Is It Legal to Fly Drones for Mapping in the United States?
There is no doubt about it: drones (also referred to as UAVs and UAS) are a disruptive technology that will significantly impact geospatial professionals not only in the U.S., but around the world. While the mainstream media has mostly pushed the panic button with regards to privacy and drones, you don’t often read a discussion about using drones for mapping.

3D Matterhorn image produced from senseFly’s drone mapping effort.

In Switzerland, where drones weighing less than 30 kg (66 lbs) are legal to operate without a license as long as the operator maintains line of sight, drones mapped the famous Matterhorn Mountain (4,478 meters/14,692 feet) in the Swiss alps, at a resolution of 20 cm. This illustrates the power of drones for 3D mapping, and mapping in general. More efficient and less costly than traditional photogrammetry and airborne lidar, there is no doubt in my mind you will begin working with drones and/or data collected via drones in the near future. Of course, mapping the Matterhorn in 3D at 20-cm resolution is a monumental effort. Even using drones, senseFly reported that it took 11 flights, 5 hours and 40 minutes of flight time, and a total of 2,188 images to process covering 2,800 hectares (~6,920 acres). senseFly didn’t report how many manhours of post-processing the Matterhorn project required, but you know it must be a healthy number. Also, remember that Swiss regulations require that the drone operator must be within “direct eye contact” of the drone at all times, so you can bet the senseFly team had to do some serious mountain climbing.

While generating precise 3D images of a mountain certainly push the limits of drone technology, there are plenty of uses for mapping drones that make a lot of sense and are less complex. The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems (AUVSI) reports that in the United States, in the first three years of UAS integration more than 70,000 jobs will be created with an economic impact of $13.6 billion. AUVSI further reports that by 2025, the jobs number will increase to 100,000 jobs, and the economic value to $82 billion. Earlier this year, The Daily Beast reported that agriculture may end up being the largest user of drone technology. Other uses, according to AUVSI, include wildfire mapping, environmental mapping, disaster management, power-line surveys, oil and gas exploration, and general aerial mapping.

So what are we waiting for? Let’s start flying!

Not so fast. In many countries in the world, you can purchase a drone mapping kit and start flying tomorrow. Last month, I witnessed the massive offering of drones at the Intergeo 2013 conference. Copters and fixed-wing aircraft in all shapes and sizes were on display.

However, in the U.S. it’s not so easy. In fact, it’s illegal to operate any drone for mapping unless you have a special permit from the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). If you think XYZ Corp. down the road who is using drones for mapping have such a permit, you are wrong. Despite the rumors and gossip you may have heard, and the fact that many companies are using drones for mapping in the U.S., it is not legal, by any stretch of the imagination.

Let’s have a look at what the FAA regulations state.

The FAA divides drone users into two categories: public and civil.

Public Users

Examples of public users by the FAA include the U.S. military and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, as well as other government agencies. Public users must apply for a Certificate of Waiver or Certificate of Authorization (COA) and adhere to the following guidelines:
- The operator is required establish the drone’s airworthiness either from FAA certification, a Department of Defense airworthiness statement, or by other means.
- The operator must demonstrate that a collision with another aircraft or other airspace user is extremely improbable.
- The operator must comply with appropriate cloud and terrain clearance requirements.
- The PIC (Pilot in Command), the operator in control of the drone, must maintain minimum qualifications and currency requirements.
- An observer must be present to observe the drone and surrounding airspace via line-of-sight on the ground or via chase aircraft.
- The PIC and observer must be within, generally speaking, one mile horizontally and 3,000 feet vertically of the drone.
- Direct communications between the PIC and Observer must be maintained at all times.
As you imagine, these requirements are not easy to meet and issued to a select few entities. if you want to take a look at the list of Certificates of Authorization issued by the FAA, click here and scroll down to find links to redacted CoA awards that aren’t exempt from the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA).

As of February 15, 2013, the FAA reports there were 347 active COAs.

Civil Users

Civil users include any entity other than Public users, and includes commercial users.

Civil users must obtain an FAA airworthiness certificate just like you would need for any type of aircraft such as an airliner.

The FAA is issuing special airworthiness certificates in the experimental category for testing, market survey, and training of drones. The FAA is very clear that no Certificate of Authorization (CoA) or experimental certificates will be issued to commercial users. In fact, the FAA specifically states that drone users awarded an experimental certificate are not licensed to use drones for “hire or compensation.”

That’s it: short, sweet and to the point.

What about model aircraft users?

Interestingly enough, model aircraft users are allowed to operate drones and have a surprising amount flexibility in doing so. The guidelines for model aircraft users can be found here, but essentially the only concrete rules are that the “hobby” drone cannot exceed 400 feet AGL (above ground level), and that when flying within three miles of an airport, notify the airport operator. That’s it!

Even more interesting is that some hobby-class drones can be very useful for businesses. For example, last month I bought an AR Drone 2.o for US$370. The manufacturer calls it a quadracopter. It operates like a helicopter with four rotor blades. It’s controlled by an app that runs on your smartphone or tablet. I use a Samsung Galaxy III to control it. It’s amazingly easy to control with my smartphone.

AR Drone 2.0

I took the AR Drone 2.0 to the Field Technology Conference to demonstrate it and give conference attendees an idea of what is possible for very little expense. The response from attendees was a little surprising. I didn’t expect geospatial users to appreciate the limited capabilities of the AR Drone 2.0, but attendees spoke of applications like checking birds’ nests for eggs and close-up inspection of structures that aren’t easily accessible. After spending some time flying it, even I began to think about the inspection app and the ability to create video fly-throughs of golf courses, environmental areas, proposed developments, etc. The AR Drone 2.0’s forward-looking, high-definition camera generates stunningly crisp video.

So, that begs the question…

Why can’t a user, following the hobby rules (fly below 400 feet AGL), use the AR Drone 2.0 or any other drone for commercial purposes?

The answer is simple. The FAA rules state that you can use a drone all day long as a hobbyist (following the AC 91-57 rules), but once you start using it for commercial purposes, you are violating the law. Some drone users have said that to skirt the FAA rules, they don’t charge for drone flight time, but just the image processing (data) after the flight. I don’t think this concept has been tested in court yet, but the FAA says this activity is illegal.

“They would be violating FAA rules,” says FAA Spokesperson Alison Duquette. “Please read this policy link. The FAA recognizes that people and companies other than modelers might be flying UAS with the mistaken understanding that they are legally operating under the authority of AC 91-57. AC 91-57 only applies to modelers, and thus specifically excludes its use by persons or companies for business purposes.”

To understand how serious the FAA is about enforcing the no-business-use of hobby rules, I asked the FAA for a list of enforcement citations, cease and desist orders, etc. I was told I had to file a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request, which I did, but I’m warned by colleagues not to expect a speedy response.

Check out the following short (three-minute) video news report on a company in Minnesota that was “grounded” by the FAA for flying a drone for commercial use.

The good news is that in January 2012, the U.S. Congress ordered and funded the FAA to figure out how to integrate commercial drone use into the U.S. airspace by the end of 2015. In September 2013, the FAA released a document entitled “UAS Comprehensive Plan” and a document entitled “Integration of Civil Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) in the National Airspace System (NAS) Roadmap“. If you’re really interested in learning more about drone usage in the U.S. and understand the FAA’s perspective, it’s worth a few minutes to scan these documents.

It’s going to be fascinating to see what rules the FAA establishes for commercial drone usage. Don’t be surprised if the PIC (Pilot in Command) must be a licensed pilot, and expect tough restrictions on altitude constraints, flight time, visibility, and control tower communications. I have my private pilot license (although I haven’t flown as PIC in years), and I recall that FAA rules state that you can fly as low as 500 feet AGL over rural areas and 1,000 feet AGL over populated areas. That doesn’t give commercial drone operators a lot of room to work with if they want to map a wide area.

Thanks, and see you next time.

Follow me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GPSGIS_Eric.
November 11, 2013
GEOINT 2013: The Conference that Almost Was

As you would guess, it takes a lot of planning and preparation to put on a technical conference of the scope of GEOINT. So imagine the hand wringing the USGIF staff went through deciding to postpone a conference of about 4,000 attendees and 300 exhibitors because of the untimely government shutdown. There really was no choice, with the majority of federal attendees canceling due to travel restrictions. Without their participation, holding the conference would have been futile. Since the city of Tampa was so accommodating and easy to work with, USGIF rescheduled the conference at the same Tampa venue, April 14-17. They tried their best to minimize scheduling conflicts with other geospatial and USGIF conferences such as the NGA Tech Showcase West (also scheduled for April) and USGIF’s GEOINT Community Week, including Tech Days.

Prior to a major conference, manufacturers send out press releases and invitations to see new products being shown on the exhibit floor. So, although GEOINT 2013 was postponed, I’m still doing my column as a “virtual conference” report. This is a very broad sample of new developments that I received from vendors who planned to be at the October conference, now rescheduled for April.

Thermopylae Sciences & Technology

Thermopylae focuses on commercially-based knowledge-fusion capabilities in the geospatial, cloud, and mobile arenas. It has three solutions: iSpatal, a web-based collaborative framework that leverages Google Earth and Maps in a flexible, task-based approach to solve complex problems; iHarvest, a standards-based enterprise analytic service that organizes, analyzes, and reports activities to enable critical decisions; and Ubiquity, a proprietary platform for creating dynamic, customized, and geocentric native mobile applications. Thermopylae is also bringing back the popular Liquid Galaxy immersive virtual-reality display showcasing Google Glass and Leap integration, showing a unified demonstration of all of its products in the Liquid Galaxy display.

KEYW Corporation

KEYW’s geospatial capability exploits cyberspace as a domain for collecting, processing, and supporting actionable imagery intelligence to the warfighter and for civilian and commercial uses. The company matches aircraft to mission requirements and modify the aircraft with integrated airborne sensor systems for onboard, geospatially referenced digital imagery collection and processing. KEYW planned to showcase its intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) imaging and mapping; and its Precision Geo-location via handheld, backpack and mobile solutions, along with several other innovations.

Brocade Communications Systems, Inc.

Brocade provides networking solutions for government agencies and has expanded its product line with a new compact, fanless switch that simplifies network operations. It’s a secure, enterprise-quality network that is responsive to the complex needs of warfighter and civilian missions. The ICX 6450-C switch is deployable outside the wiring closet, without interfering with other critical activities. Using power over Ethernet, the switch can operate in remote locations, where access to an external power source is limited or not available.

TouchShare, Inc.

TouchShare has extended its multi-touch solutions for immersive geospatial collaboration to anyone, regardless of location or device, through the TouchShare Mobile Access. The new TouchShare Mobile Access significantly improves teamwide productivity as it gives all collaborators the ability to simultaneously view and contribute to what other team members are seeing in real-time and interact with visual geospatial information (live data, 2D imagery, video, etc.) via any device. This allows all participants to easily and quickly see the big picture for making better decisions faster.

Surrey Satellite Technology US LLC

Surrey Satellite Technology provides small satellite solutions, applications, and services for Earth observation, science, technology demonstration, and communications. Since 1981, Surrey has launched 41 satellites as well as provided training and development programs, consultancy services, and mission studies for NASA, the United States Air Force, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and other institutional and commercial customers.

GameSim

GameSim planned to show off its latest version of Conform, a software product for geospatial visualization. Conform imports, fuses and renders LiDAR content in near real time, while offering a variety of unique abilities, including an instantaneous 3D view of raw source data. Users are able to easily import large amounts of data (such as Shape Files, DTED, GeoTIFFs, LIDAR) and immediately view them in both 2D and 3D displays.

Headwall Photonics, Inc.

Hyperspectral sensing offers advantages over traditional multispectral imaging with respect to the number of spectral bands being covered. Use enhances target recognition, material identification, and elimination of false positive alarms. Hyperspectral imaging yields much more spectral data than multispectral by producing a continuous spectrum of data representing the chemical composition of objects or spectral “signatures” of everything within the sensor’s field of view. Headwall’s Micro-Hyperspec have been miniaturized and optimized for deployment aboard small, tactical UAVs, including small hand-launched versions.

Orbit Communication Systems, Inc.

Orbit Communication Systems provides ground-station solutions for Earth observation and remote-sensing applications. It has a new product family known as the Gaia series that supports a range of antenna sizes. These ground stations offer an ideal combination of high performance in a compact footprint. “With our new Gaia family, Orbit addresses a void in the market, and opens the door to new Earth observation markets that could not afford to purchase legacy ground stations due to their size and cost,” said Ofer Greenberger, Orbit CEO.

The antennas are designed to withstand extreme weather conditions and to handle a broad range of applications, operated anywhere on Earth. The series comprises three different sized antennas: 2.4 meters (7.9 feet); 3.7 meters (12.1 feet); and 4.5 meters (14.7 feet). Each antenna supports X-band or S-Band (both transmit and receive) feeds, as well as a dual-band (S&X) feed.

Astrium Services

Astrium’s Street Factory, an advanced 3D urban mapping solution, was awarded “most valuable product in the geo-information field 2012” at the World Geospatial Developers Conference. Building on that success, Astrium planned to demonstrate WorldDEM, a high-resolution elevation data set that covers the Earth’s entire land surface, pole to pole. The accuracy of the German high-resolution radar satellites TerraSAR-X produces data intended to replace SRTM data. It has excellent ground-position accuracy with vertical accuracy of 2m (relative) / 10m (absolute) in a 12m x 12m raster GSD. WorldDEM will be available in 2014 with data less than 2.5 years old. Shown above is a comparison of STRM 90 elevation data compared to WorldDEM.

Epson Plotters

Ever since my experience supporting Katrina recovery efforts, I’ve be a strong advocate for simple low-tech hard-copy imagery plots overlaid with vector data to support emergency responders. Many times this low-tech embodiment of our high-tech capability suits the needs of first responders better than computer displays. However, paper plots ideally need to be laminated on foam core to be useful in wet and windy environments. Epson has one solution, a plotter that prints on ridged media. Epson engineers developed the SureColor T-Series printers with an all-new design that prints directly on ridged substrates that have a thickness of 1.5 mm. This is especially important to agencies that have a need for fast print output on thick media eliminating the hassle of laminating or marrying to thicker carriers for immediate use. The SureColor T-series also features Epson UltraChrome XD pigment-based ink technology for smudge and water-resistant prints.

This is just a sample of the nearly 300 exhibitors that will be at GEOINT in April. I’ll bet you thought that GEOINT was just imagery and big data. Quite the contrary — it takes a lot diverse players and pieces to build a strong GEOINT capability.

November 5, 2013
Esri User Conference and Intergeo: Mobile Devices, UAVs and High-Precision GNSS

When looking at geospatial technology, I like to use the analogy that GIS software is the engine and GIS data is the fuel. We have many choices of powerful GIS software engines (Esri, Intergraph, QGIS, GlobalMapper, MapInfo, etc.). That technology remains relatively unchanged. Before the software vendors harp on me, yes, I get that new bells and whistles are added to software every year to enhance software functionality. Yes, maybe there’s a new database technology that indexes massive databases significantly faster. Yes, maybe there’s a new software tool that makes generating 3D visualizations or augmented reality much easier and faster. But just like your automobile, motorcycle, train, airplane, etc., they all need fuel to run. Data is the fuel.

The analogy doesn’t fit perfectly. After fossil fuels are used once, they are not reusable. Obviously, that’s not the same for GIS data. Some GIS data, like street data, is used daily over and over again by millions of people around the world in their Garmin, TomTom, and Magellan auto navigation units. However, in the fossil-fuel world, engines and fuel are matched reasonably well. In the geospatial world, the engines and fuel aren’t matched. The GIS fuel (data) is far behind the engine (software). In other words, GIS software is starving for data. There are so many applications for GIS yet to be realized, and vast majority of the unrealized apps are due to the lack of data.

For example, imagine carrying your iPad (or other tablet) in the street and pointing it down at pavement. Imagine, on the screen of your iPad, being able to “see” all of the infrastructure underneath the pavement such as water lines, sewer lines, and communications lines. What’s keeping those types of apps from being deployed today? The answer: the lack of accurate geospatial data.

The lack of geospatial data is no more apparent than at the 2013 Esri International User Conference in July and the Intergeo conference in Germany earlier this month.

In the exhibition areas, three trends were clearly apparent:

1. Mobile devices

2. UAVs

3. High-precision GNSS receivers

Clearly, all three of these are related to collecting GIS data.

Following are some comments and photos of each trend.

Mobile Devices

A few short years ago, mobile devices suitable for GIS data collection were a specialty item, and we had a few limited choices. Ever since the smartphone explosion and Apple introducing the iPad, it’s been mobile devices galore. A tremendous number of consumer mobile devices have been introduced. Most have failed, but the trend has generated a tremendous amount of R&D effort that manufacturers have leveraged to make industrial mobile devices for the geospatial community, such as the following:

Most, if not all, of these devices are designed and manufactured in China.

Juniper Systems is one of the few remaining U.S.-based rugged handheld manufacturers, introducing the new Archer 2 at Intergeo.

UAVs

There’s no denying that UAVs are going to play a large role in geospatial applications. In some geographic regions of the world, they are already being deployed for mining, agriculture, accident reconstruction and other mapping applications. The low-cost and and quick, convenient deployment make it a very attractive technology for time-sensitive and cost-sensitive applications that require imagery.

In the U.S., it is illegal to use UAVs for commercial applications unless you have a Certificate of Authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which are only granted to some universities and some government agencies. President Obama ordered the FAA to generating guidelines for integrating the use of commercial UAVs into the U.S. airspace by 2015. For the latest FAA progress on matters regarding UAVs, you can visit this FAA web page.

The current FAA rules are a bit odd. In the U.S., you are allowed to fly “hobby” UAVs up to 400 feet above the ground if you’re at least 1/4 mile away from an airport. If you take that same UAV and abide by the same restrictions as hobbyists, but use it for commercial purposes, it’s illegal. Take a look at this article by NBC News.

High-Precision GNSS Receivers

I’ve been writing about this for awhile, but it’s worth mentioning that RTK GNSS receivers are getting cheaper and cheaper. Whereas in the past, there have only been a handful of RTK GNSS receiver vendors, there are now at least twice as many as before, and increasing every year. This is good for the user community because it increases competition. The result is better products at lower prices. This trend will continue.

NSPS (Formerly ACSM) Radio Hour

Last week, I was a guest along with David Doyle (retired NGS Geodesist) on the NSPS Radio Hour discussing a variety of GNSS-related items such as the U.S. federal government shutdown and LightSquared. A recording of the radio show is available in MP3 format. You can listen or download it here.

Thanks, and see you next time.

Get the latest news by following me on Twitter at https://twitter.com/GPSGIS_Eric.

Photos: Eric Gakstatter

October 21, 2013
CMTINC Releases Affordable Utility Data Collection App for iPad

CMTINC.COM announces the release of the Utility Data Collection app for the Apple iPad. This powerful GPS/GIS mapping and data collection app was mainly designed for utility asset management and meter reading. However, it could also be used by other professionals who need to map points, lines and areas and record pertinent information for the mapped Features, such as for fish & wildlife, natural resources, land management, oil and gas, archaeology, sales route management, and others.

According to the announcement, the Utility Data Collection app provides a dedicated data entry form for entering meter readings and other observations. The meter readers can opt to have the meter route displayed on a satellite map. They will be able to tell which meters have been read as the corresponding symbols will display in a different color on the map. They will also be able to sort and search the meter records. The import and export functions makes it easy to set up meter routes, upload meter database and export meter readings.

Between the monthly meter reads, the app can be used by the maintenance crew to map the locations and record the conditions of land plots, utility poles, utility meters and other equipment. The surveyed items can be easily tagged with pre-defined descriptions as well as photos taken on the spot.

The company reports that the Utility Data Collection app is the answer for small towns and utility cooperatives who are looking to transition to a newer and more effective utility management and meter reading system on a budget.

October 17, 2013

Category: Mapping

A Report on the Annual GIS Conference of the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI)

Mobile Devices

High-Precision GNSS Receivers

NSPS (Formerly ACSM) Radio Hour