GPS World

Tag: GIS

  • UN, DigitalGlobe Sign Agreement on Satellite Imagery, Geospatial Solutions

    Digital-Globe-better-world-W
    Screenshot from DigitalGlobe.

    DigitalGlobe, a global provider of high-resolution satellite imagery and geospatial solutions, has signed of a Memorandum of Understanding with the United Nations.

    Under the agreement, DigitalGlobe and the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs (UNOOSA) will take stock of their combined expertise in the use of earth observation technologies for economic, social, and scientific development and improved decision-making, particularly in developing countries.

    UNOOSA and DigitalGlobe will work to develop an online platform to provide easy access to imagery catalogues as well as data and analytical services specifically tailored for the needs of the United Nations. Under the agreement, DigitalGlobe will provide advisory services on remote-sensing imagery and geospatial analytics, working with UNOOSA to advance and accelerate adoption of geospatial and satellite imagery-based analytics across the entire United Nations System.

    The cooperation will also extend to DigitalGlobe’s participation in relevant UNOOSA-supported events and activities, including those of the United Nations Platform for Space-based Information for Disaster Management and Emergency Response (UN-SPIDER) and of the United Nations Geographic Information Working Group (UNGIWG).

    “Cooperation and collaboration in the area of geospatial information and analytics will improve how the United Nations, including its member states and its system of organizations, can address global economic, environmental, geopolitical, and societal issues,” said Simonetta Di Pippo, director of UNOOSA.

    “DigitalGlobe is thrilled to partner with UNOOSA, the United Nations body that promotes international cooperation in the peaceful uses of outer space,” said Jeffrey R. Tarr, DigitalGlobe president and CEO. “The arrangement provides an ideal platform to explore how high-resolution satellite imagery and geospatial analytics can be more efficiently and effectively shared across the entire United Nations System, thus propelling us toward our purpose of ‘Seeing a Better World.”

    Watch a video of the Seeing a Better World project.

  • CoreLogic: Wildfires Pose Big Risk to 900,000 Western U.S. Homes

    wildfire-deer-W

    Data Reveals Homes Most at Risk in California, Colorado and Texas

    According to new data released today by CoreLogic, nearly 900,000 single-family homes across 13 states in the western U.S. are currently designated at “High” or “Very High” risk for wildfire damage, representing a combined total reconstruction value estimated at more than $237 billion. Of the total homes identified, just over 192,000 homes fall into the “Very High Risk” category alone, with total reconstruction cost valued at more than $49.6 billion.

    The CoreLogic Wildfire Risk analysis designates risk levels as “Very High,” “High,” “Moderate” and “Low.”

    Two additional categories, “Urban” and “Agriculture” indicate homes at even lower risk. Homes designated as “Urban” are located in areas with a dense concentration of buildings and infrastructure to such an extent that little natural vegetation exists to support a wildfire. Homes designated as “Agriculture” are located in areas comprised of row crops, orchards/vineyards or other specific land use that is typically irrigated. Even if it is not irrigated, the crops are nourished and healthy with no ground litter present, and therefore, the vegetation is unlikely to support or enhance a wildfire.

    The analysis also assigns a numeric risk score to each property, ranging from 1 to 100. This separate score indicates the level of susceptibility to wildfire, as well as the risk associated with the property being located in close proximity to another high-risk property or area. The score designation is important since wildfire can easily expand to adjacent properties and cause significant damage even if that property was not originally considered high risk.

    When expanding the analysis to include the numeric score, more than 1.1 million homes fall under the highest Wildfire Risk Score segment (81-100), representing a combined potential reconstruction value of more than $268.5 billion.

     

    Total U.S. Properties at Risk and Reconstruction Values by Risk Category

    Wildfire Risk Level Total Properties Reconstruction Cost
    Very High 192,242 $49,608,484,867
    High 704,860 $187,661,388,760
    Moderate 1,351,313 $292,811,373,342
    Low 1,378,104 $334,120,053,463
    Agriculture 993,580 $244,167,729,666
    Urban 23,778,799 $6,094,873,170,789
    Total: 28,398,898 $7,203,242,200,887

     

    Total U.S. Properties at Risk and Reconstruction Values by Numeric Risk Score

    Wildfire Risk Score (1-100) Total Properties Reconstruction Cost
    81-100 1,101,131 $268,549,008,333
    61-80 1,193,814 $338,395,410,748
    51-60 487,013 $131,081,392,801
    1-50 25,616,940 $6,465,216,389,005
    Total: 28,398,898 $7,203,242,200,887

    The states most commonly associated with wildfires also contain the most properties at risk — California, Colorado and Texas have the largest number of residential properties categorized as “Very High Risk,” with a combined reconstruction value exceeding $36 billion. Including homes located in the “High Risk” category, the reconstruction value is more than $188 billion for these three states. When analyzed by risk score, 816,515 homes with reconstruction costs valued at more than $206.5 billion fall into the highest risk segment of 81-100.

    Limiting the evaluation to property-level risk strictly in the “Very High” category, California tops the list of states analyzed with a total of 50,905 homes falling into that group. Comparatively, when assigning the Wildfire Risk Score, Texas takes the top spot with 451,848 homes scoring in the 81-100 highest-risk range.

     

    Total Properties at Risk by State and Risk Category

    State Low Moderate High Very High Agriculture Urban Total
    AZ 43,273 4,443 8,488 8,089 5,332 1,910,771 1,980,396
    CA 221,104 169,468 255,023 50,905 146,013 8,208,625 9,051,138
    CO 70,935 38,628 50,009 49,667 66,876 1,482,352 1,758,467
    ID 37,352 22,968 15,197 11,078 86,542 384,018 557,155
    MT 60,588 18,903 9,601 10,218 22,516 194,927 316,753
    NV 17,845 20,520 8,653 281 3,166 816,975 867,440
    NM 55,969 19,554 25,766 9,481 16,200 483,282 610,252
    OK 165,009 88,642 187 0 33,225 968,210 1,255,273
    OR 37,137 41,160 51,872 13,788 157,749 938,664 1,240,370
    TX 332,766 829,457 261,855 35,016 175,691 5,960,221 7,595,006
    UT 11,185 13,590 3,441 68 31,825 681,016 741,125
    WA 308,066 72,069 12,509 1,997 219,334 1,625,394 2,239,369
    WY 16,875 11,911 2,259 1,654 29,111 124,344 186,154
    Total 1,378,104 1,351,313 704,860 192,242 993,580 23,778,799 28,398,898

     

    Reconstruction Values by State and Risk Category

    State Low Moderate High Very High Agriculture Urban Total
    AZ $9,641,256,308 $976,410,271 $1,758,550,435 $1,572,563,175 $1,143,819,360 $366,495,664,312 $381,588,263,861
    CA $75,842,726,208 $61,916,244,431 $89,354,295,530 $16,103,052,587 $49,993,071,641 $2,787,437,974,226 $3,080,650,364,623
    CO $18,625,174,701 $11,531,765,722 $14,580,510,822 $13,914,663,160 $17,325,198,320 $341,298,432,193 $417,275,744,918
    ID $9,201,487,848 $5,563,694,301 $3,712,505,829 $2,620,564,770 $19,821,299,748 $81,602,075,191 $122,521,627,687
    MT $14,629,451,956 $4,430,244,606 $2,287,179,138 $2,395,322,719 $5,408,564,612 $40,511,274,596 $69,662,037,627
    NV $4,236,711,357 $5,193,363,455 $4,565,346,511 $164,097,900 $804,282,891 $209,146,367,671 $224,110,169,785
    NM $11,654,726,259 $4,622,802,292 $7,067,786,311 $2,461,741,365 $3,238,850,020 $98,567,625,878 $127,613,532,125
    OK $31,924,967,489 $16,773,531,745 $32,840,233 $0 $6,781,088,763 $175,933,722,480 $231,446,150,710
    OR $8,237,043,811 $9,489,672,570 $11,913,602,274 $3,198,334,352 $37,257,178,708 $213,002,484,645 $283,095,316,360
    TX $59,531,714,789 $147,682,544,644 $48,259,080,738 $6,333,237,927 $32,857,921,476 $1,201,265,765,342 $1,495,930,264,916
    UT $2,849,584,240 $3,928,155,203 $768,151,716 $14,155,093 $8,343,607,261 $157,244,129,873 $173,147,783,386
    WA $84,067,607,674 $18,078,389,368 $2,876,053,207 $505,435,568 $54,701,823,116 $397,645,668,540 $557,874,977,473
    WY $3,677,600,823 $2,624,554,734 $485,486,016 $325,316,251 $6,491,023,750 $24,721,985,842 $38,325,967,416
    Total $334,120,053,463 $292,811,373,342 $187,661,388,760 $49,608,484,867 $244,167,729,666 $6,094,873,170,789 $7,203,242,200,887

     

    Total Properties at Risk by State and Numerical Risk Score

    State 1-50 51-60 61-80 81-100 Total
    AZ 1,919,351 14,308 27,159 19,578 1,980,396
    CA 8,286,708 133,654 367,457 263,319 9,051,138
    CO 1,454,787 52,823 122,509 128,348 1,758,467
    ID 476,310 9,554 27,868 43,423 557,155
    MT 243,990 13,114 27,301 32,348 316,753
    NV 848,682 2,337 9,184 7,237 867,440
    NM 523,755 14,487 32,139 39,871 610,252
    OK 1,250,888 1,431 2,219 735 1,255,273
    OR 1,091,300 22,616 46,655 79,799 1,240,370
    TX 6,458,363 197,548 487,247 451,848 7,595,006
    UT 693,256 14,713 24,311 8,845 741,125
    WA 2,192,567 8,662 17,001 21,139 2,239,369
    WY 176,983 1,766 2,764 4,641 186,154
    Total 25,616,940 487,013 1,193,814 1,101,131 28,398,898

     

    Reconstruction Values by State and Numerical Risk Score

    State 1-50 51-60 61-80 81-100 Total
    AZ $369,191,090,202 $2,781,562,044 $5,612,822,008 $4,002,789,607 $381,588,263,861
    CA $2,785,871,424,591 $53,258,974,686 $153,067,995,013 $88,448,970,333 $3,080,647,364,623
    CO $333,552,521,110 $13,769,558,737 $33,846,313,158 $36,107,351,913 $417,275,744,918
    ID $102,894,072,845 $2,426,687,082 $6,899,872,812 $10,300,994,948 $122,521,627,687
    MT $52,685,950,526 $2,997,541,855 $6,338,603,322 $7,639,941,924 $69,662,037,627
    NV $216,436,292,731 $624,126,373 $3,860,921,144 $3,188,829,537 $224,110,169,785
    NM $105,891,175,664 $3,334,262,905 $7,919,619,903 $10,468,473,653 $127,613,532,125
    OK $230,716,181,496 $235,452,854 $370,084,424 $124,431,936 $231,446,150,710
    OR $248,596,738,298 $5,247,235,235 $11,061,921,922 $18,192,420,905 $283,098,316,360
    TX $1,276,614,038,497 $39,753,699,730 $97,535,512,589 $82,027,014,100 $1,495,930,264,916
    UT $159,359,659,455 $4,309,214,977 $7,363,299,947 $2,115,609,007 $173,147,783,386
    WA $547,066,785,312 $1,964,631,216 $3,905,374,051 $4,938,186,894 $557,874,977,473
    WY $36,340,458,278 $378,445,107 $613,070,455 $993,993,576 $38,325,967,416
    Total $6,465,216,389,005 $131,081,392,801 $338,395,410,748 $268,549,008,333 $7,203,242,200,887

     

    At the CBSA (Core Based Statistical Area) level, Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, Colo. ranks first for the most number of homes at “Very High” risk out of the 258 CBSAs analyzed. Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, Calif. comes in a close second, followed by Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif.

    When ranking CBSAs based on Wildfire Risk Score, Riverside-San-Bernardino-Ontario, Calif., takes the top spot for the most number of homes that fall under the highest risk segment of 81-100, followed by Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, Calif., and Austin-Round Rock, Texas.

     

    Top 10 CBSAs Ranked by Homes at Very High Risk

    CBSA Very High # Homes Home Reconstruction Value
    Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 17,860 $5,358,513,217
    Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 14,249 $4,233,998,840
    Sacramento-Roseville-Arden-Arcade, CA 9,698 $3,351,781,562
    Bend-Redmond, OR 9,128 $2,328,466,791
    Colorado Springs, CO 7,296 $2,086,189,220
    Durango, CO 6,052 $1,776,710,340
    Fort Collins, CO 4,609 $903,336,600
    Truckee-Grass Valley, CA 4,569 $1,430,020,245
    Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 4,219 $917,157,644
    Flagstaff, AZ 4,109 $753,176,500

     

    Top 10 CBSAs Ranked by Numerical Risk Score

    CBSA 81-100 Risk Score Home Reconstruction Value
    Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA 50,605 $14,805,549,511
    Sacramento–Roseville–Arden-Arcade, CA 42,042 $15,875,023,943
    Austin-Round Rock, TX 35,807 $9,019,956,767
    Denver-Aurora-Lakewood, CO 35,174 $10,807,628,461
    San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX 31,350 $7,097,211,479
    Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA 17,006 $8,654,562,030
    Chico, CA 15,103 $3,754,593,902
    Colorado Springs, CO 14,990 $4,408,080,237
    Truckee-Grass Valley, CA 14,671 $4,945,547,724
    Houston-The Woodlands-Sugar Land, TX 14,092 $3,063,417,604

    *Additional CBSA-level data may be available upon request.

     

    To enhance accuracy, the CoreLogic wildfire analysis has been expanded from prior annual analyses to encompass additional categories of single-family residential structures including mobile homes, duplexes, manufactured homes and cabins, among other non-traditional home types. The values represent estimates of reconstruction costs, taking into account labor and materials, and are based on 100-percent or total destruction of the residential structure. Depending upon the size of the wildfire, there may be less than 100-percent damage to the residence, which would result in a lower realized reconstruction cost.

     

  • TerraGo Partners with RazorTek on TerraGo Edge

    TerraGo is partnering with RazorTek, a GIS and remote-sensing consulting firm specializing in design, development and automation of complex systems for spatial data display and analysis. RazorTek will deploy TerraGo Edge for customers looking to replace GPS handhelds with a mobile app that integrates directly with Esri’s ArcGIS.

    “We see a great opportunity to help our customers utilize TerraGo Edge for field data collection on their smartphones and tablets,” said Dan Rodriguez, CEO, RazorTek. “The nice thing about TerraGo Edge is that it replaces proprietary GPS handhelds with a simple mobile solution at a fraction of the cost, and it works seamlessly with Esri ArcGIS out of the box.”

    “RazorTek is an industry expert for deploying advanced remote sensing and GIS solutions,” said John Timar, vice president,  TerraGo. “TerraGo Edge gives the RazorTek team a cost-effective mobile solution that can deliver cm-level accuracy or whatever the RazorTek customer needs, while leveraging their existing ArcGIS investment.”

    RazorTek is an authorized reseller of TerraGo products and also offers a range of geospatial technology software and services including GIS services, aerial photography, satellite imagery and LiDAR.

  • COGO: National Spatial Data Infrastructure Should Be High Priority

    At a news briefing on Monday, former Wyoming Governor James Geringer highlighted the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations’ (COGO) Report Card on the U.S. National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI) released on February 6.

    The NSDI Report Card describes the condition of the nation’s information about roads, water, land, air, bridges, dams, topography, and more. It highlights the poor condition of the nation’s information about our infrastructure at a time when the National Governors Association Chair, Gov. Hickenlooper of Colorado, is calling on states to lead the way in “delivering results” on government promises, COGO said in a statement.

    The report card encourages government agencies to improve the national spatial data infrastructure to better support efficient government operations at all levels. “The goal of the report card evaluation is to bring attention to the need for current and accurate geospatial data for the nation,” Geringer said. Geringer is chair of the panel that drafted the report card for COGO.

    “Governor Hickenlooper’s ‘Delivering Results’ initiative with the National Governors Association is dependent on this information to make state governments work in the most efficient, cost-effective way possible,” Geringer said. “Government agencies at every level are dependent on this data, as are private-sector businesses.”

    The report card is the first of a series of periodic report cards by COGO. “We did not include cost estimates for completing the NSDI or bringing it to a specified level,” Geringer said. “We need state and federal government to make improvement of the NSDI a high priority so the nation can make significant, rapid progress on jobs, education, economic growth, public safety, energy, natural resource management, health care, agriculture, transportation and other areas. This information will also allow us to track and manage our progress in all these areas, reducing duplication and ensuring sustainability of our efforts over time.”

    “On a daily basis, most people encounter and understand the need for maintenance of the nation’s roads, bridges, dams, power lines, pipelines, telecommunications network, and all the rest of our physical infrastructure,” COGO said in a statement. “The local, state and federal government agencies along with private companies that maintain the infrastructure must know where maintenance is needed, when it’s needed, and what needs to be done to plan it out in the most cost effective manner. There are millions of miles of roads, pipelines, and the like to maintain. That means a lot of information is needed and that information must be accurate and up-to-date.”

    In addition to maintenance, COGO said accurate and up-to-date information about the nation’s infrastructure is essential for:

    • getting ambulances to emergencies faster and evacuating people in the path of natural disasters.
    • monitoring and treating public health and environmental issues.
    • responding to the need for jobs, health care, foster homes, and other social services.
    • planning the location of schools, shelters, retail stores, and promoting economic growth.
    • managing traffic flow, and expansion of mass transit and utilities.

    COGO member organizations represent 170,000 professionals who develop and use spatial information about the nation’s physical infrastructure. Member Organizations include: American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE), American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing (ASPRS), Association of American Geographers (AAG), Cartography and Geographic Information Society (CaGIS), Geographic and Land Information Society (GLIS), Geographic Information Systems Certification Institute (GISCI), International Association of Assessing Officers (IAAO), Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS), National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS), National States Geographic Information Council (NSGIC), United States Geospatial Intelligence Foundation (USGIF), University Consortium for Geographic Information Science (UCGIS), and Urban Regional Information Systems Association (URISA).

     

  • MAPPS Fall Conference Planned in Conjunction with Drone Expo

    Drone World Expo, an event for commercial drone technologies and applications, is partnering with MAPPS to bring together stakeholders, constituents, and all levels of government in the surveying, mapping, and geospatial fields. The MAPPS Conference will be held as a part of Drone World Expo, set for November 17-18 at the San Jose, Calif., Convention Center.

    “With all of the exciting developments taking place in the UAV industry, we are thrilled to bring the breadth and depth of knowledge from MAPPS to our event,” said Joel Davis, CEO, JD Events, producers of the show. “Attendees to the MAPPS conference will have free access to the Drone World Expo trade show floor, general sessions and networking events, and we look forward to welcoming their members to this must-attend event.”

    The MAPPS Conference will be a forum for discussion on issues and policies, sharing of information and provision of education, and collaboration, specifically related to the geospatial applications of UAV technology.

    “MAPPS is thrilled to be part of Drone World Expo,” said John Palatiello, MAPPS executive director. “We believe UAVs will play an integral role in the future of surveying and mapping, and it is vitally important we lead the discussion in terms of investment, technology, applications and regulations.  MAPPS looks forward to presenting quality content on the geospatial market for UAVs at Drone World Expo.”

    In addition to the MAPPS Conference, Drone World Expo will also offer a two-day conference that will feature sessions and case studies addressing data collection and processing, sensors, piloting and safety management, FAA updates, certification standards, and commercial strategies, and will offer informative sessions on the impact drones are having on geographic information systems (GIS), Big Data and the Internet of Things (IoT).

    The Drone World Expo Conference is being developed with the help of an advisory board on which Palatiello serves.

  • Routescene Showcases 3D LiDAR at ILMF in Denver

    routescene-lidarpod-uav-fullThe Routescene LidarPod 3D mapper, a self-contained turnkey solution new to the market, is being showcased for the first time in the United States at the International Lidar Mapping Forum in Denver, Colo., Feb. 23-25. Routescene is based in Edinburgh, United Kingdom.

    The flexible LidarPod was developed for use on unmanned aerial vehicles, but can also be fitted onto any mobile platform such as a car or boat. The flexibility makes it attractive for many sectors and situations where accurate mapping is essential but difficult to achieve, enabling surveys to be conducted in areas that previously would not have been considered, Routescene said.

    routescene-uav-flightThe technology offers a non-intrusive method to obtain detailed and precise geo-referenced 3D datasets, Routescene said. LidarPod 3D can be used for 3D mapping; powerline inspection; scoping, planning and management of mines; forestry design, management and operation; large-scale topographic surveys; and city planning and management.

    Routescene LidarPod costs less than a vehicle-based mobile mapping system, Routescene said. The turnkey solution includes LidarViewer, specially developed software to turn the raw data into valuable business information. It enables users to convert, analyze and filter huge volumes of point cloud data to improve productivity and workflow. Powerful filters enable users to extract relevant data for use in third party software, such as GIS and CAD packages, which are unable to cope with such large data volumes.

    Routescene can be found at booth 65 at ILMF.

  • MAPPS Supports Proposed FAA UAV Rules

    MAPPS has come out in support of the proposed framework of regulations that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has proposed for commercial UAV use. The FAA’s rules would allow routine use of certain small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for commercial purposes.

    MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello issued the following statement about the Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) issued by the FAA concerning operation and certification of Small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS):

    “The proposed rules issued by the FAA for the commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) will provide considerable potential business applications for MAPPS member firms in the aerial survey profession. According to the FAA, the following are examples of possible small UAS operations that could be conducted under the proposed regulations: crop monitoring/inspection; research and development; educational/academic uses; power-line/pipeline inspection in hilly or mountainous terrain; antenna inspections; aiding rescue operations such as locating snow avalanche victims; bridge inspections; aerial photography; and wildlife nesting area evaluations.

    “In the past, MAPPS has worked closely with the FAA to enable the commercial use of small UAS (which, as defined by statute, is an unmanned aircraft weighing less than 55 pounds) for aerial survey purposes through various mechanisms, such as special airworthiness certificates, exemptions, and certificates of waiver or authorization (COA). MAPPS will continue to support the proposed federal regulations, which will provide for the next phase of integrating small UAS into the national airspace system.”

    MAPPS will provide comments to the FAA concerning the proposed rules, and the association will continue to educate its member firms about operational limitations of small UAS in order to maintain the safety of the national airspace system and ensure that they do not pose a threat to national security.

    As a member of a Aviation Rulemaking Committee (ARC) working group advising the FAA on Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) regulations, Palatiello added, “Prompt implementation of the small, line-of-sight UAS rules will help strike the necessary balance between aviation safety and business development, but the next set of rules, governing beyond visual line of sight, need to be developed and implemented as soon as possible as well.”

    “MAPPS has made the case that aerial geospatial data acquisition using UAS provides significant societal benefit and is NOT a threat to individual citizen privacy, and should be permitted to operate within a reasonable regulatory framework,” MAPPS Aviation Counsel Gregory S. Winton said. “It contributes to E911 emergency response and police dispatching systems, precision agriculture, environmental protection, emergency ‘blue tarp’ surveys to support hurricane response, engineering, transportation and infrastructure, electoral district maps, and many other applications. Geospatial data enables the delivery of critical government services and valuable business applications that citizens are demanding. The proposed FAA rule will enable this profession, which has an exemplary safety record and vast experience in manned aerial operations, to use of UAS safely, effectively and economically.”

  • Phase One Aerial Cameras Support IGI’s GNSS/IMU

    AEROcontrol with export-free FOG IMU.
    AEROcontrol with export-free FOG IMU.

    All Phase One Industrial aerial cameras now fully support the IGI AEROcontrol, GNSS/IMU positioning system, the companies announced. Aerial camera models include iXA-R, iXA, and iXU.

    Phase One aerial cameras are high-quality industrial-grade camera systems, which have found wide success in the photogrammetry market, both among end users and OEM integrators.

    AEROcontrol is a GNSS/IMU system for the precise determination of position and altitude of multiple airborne sensors. Beside the choice of MEMS- and FOG-based IMUs, the system is also suitable for mobile mapping applications. Used together with IGIplan and CCNS-5, a complete and comprehensive solution for mission planning, aircraft guidance with sensor management and geo-referencing is available to Phase One aerial camera users.

    “With the addition of IGI’s AEROcontrol, users of Phase One aerial cameras are able to use IGI’s popular AEROcontrol, GNSS/IMU positioning system with a single camera or as part of an array,” said Dov Kalinski, general manager of Phase One Industrial.

    “With the integration of the IGI AEROControl GNSS/IMU with the Phase One aerial cameras, all Phase One users now have access to geo-referencing with different IGI IMU models and IMU-based, precise stabilized mount control. This smart geospatial solution helps users obtain the best possible aerial photography results,” added Philipp Grimm, IGI marketing and sales manager.

  • Connect with Bluetooth GNSS Devices Using SuperSurv

    SuperSurv_measureTo meet the needs of high-accuracy field data collection and better workflow with modern GNSS technology, Supergeo’s latest SuperSurv GIS mapping app allows users to connect with and operate external Bluetooth GNSS devices. The app also elevates field-work efficiency with new averaging algorithms.

    SuperSurv is designed for field data collection on Android and iOS-powered devices. Integrating with GIS and GPS technologies, SuperSurv provides functions like Map Display, Query, Measure, and supports to overlay OpenStreetMap as the basemap. Also, users can capture point, line and polygon features and attribute data, and save the data as SHP or GEO format in both offline and online modes.

    With the new external GNSS device connection function, users can choose between internal positioning information and an outer GNSS source via Bluetooth. When pairing the GNSS receiver with an Android device, SuperSurv allows users to fully control and present detailed messages of navigation within system status. In addition, data collection via GNSS is enhanced with options such as a coordinate data averaging function or vertex collecting threshold, bringing users modernized and highly accurate field survey experience.

    The external GNSS device connection and advanced data-collecting functions are fully supported and available with the SuperSurv Pro version. For SuperSurv M3 users, the newly added functions come as an optional plug-in that users can purchase and download.

    Free trials of the software are available:
    iTunes Store
    Google Play

  • Pufferfish Spherical Display Integrates Esri ArcGIS Runtime

    Pufferfish, a multitouch digital display technology company, displays its PufferSphere product at the 2015 Esri Federal GIS Conference, held Feb. 9-10 in Washington, D.C. PufferSphere is spherical, 360-degree display system made for multinational corporations, public and private institutions. It is innovating the understanding of trends, phenomena and correlations in global data.

  • Lockheed, Esri Cloud Deployment Enables Government GIS Sharing

    Lockheed-NGA-Map-world-
    Lockheed Martin and Esri have deployed commercial software to the Amazon Web Services Commercial Cloud Services (C2S) environment for the first time with an intelligence community customer, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). The move enables government agencies to better share geospatial intelligence.

    The deployment of the portal for Esri’s ArcGIS geographic information system (GIS) provides a single environment for analysts to securely organize and share data throughout the intelligence community and Department of Defense. It’s also the foundational step in consolidating multiple geospatial intelligence portals into the single NGA-provided portal, resulting in technology and license cost savings.

    This is NGA’s second pioneering step in the cloud, after the agency moved its Map of the World application to the C2S environment late last year.

    “Deploying Esri’s Portal for ArcGIS to a commercial cloud environment securely organizes existing data and facilitates collaboration across intelligence agencies,” said Jason O’Connor, vice president of Analysis and Mission Solutions for Lockheed Martin. “This cloud implementation also further shapes the government’s processes for architecting and implementing enterprise class services within a cloud environment.”

    ArcGIS connects users to maps and geographic information. Users can create and view maps, compile geographic data, analyze mapped information and share geographic information in a range of applications.

    “Working with Lockheed Martin and the NGA on this strategic implementation for national security is particularly meaningful,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri president. “It recognizes the importance of consolidating geospatial intelligence information into a single portal to facilitate rapid situational awareness and response by our intelligence community.”

    Lockheed Martin and Esri have partnered for eight years on the Geospatial-Intelligence Visualization Services (GVS) program, which helped NGA and the Intelligence Community achieve this cloud migration milestone. The Total Application Services for Enterprise Requirements (TASER) GVS contract vehicle, which was originally awarded in 2012, conveys geospatial visualization context and analytic capabilities to warfighters, intelligence officers and policy-makers through classified and unclassified computer networks.

  • Esri Maps Colleges and Universities Attended by American Presidents

    In honor of Presidents Day, Esri’s Presidential Colleges story map features colleges and universities attended by all 44 American presidents. Search by president or college, and discover the varied academic undergraduate experiences of each president.

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