GPS World

Tag: imagery

  • Nearmap releases new aerial imagery inside MapBrowser interface

    Vertical aerial maps extended to include uninterrupted panorama imagery and measurable oblique images

    Nearmap, a location content provider specializing in high-resolution aerial maps, announces the release of new forms of location content — Nearmap Panorama and Nearmap Oblique — available through a new MapBrowser interface.

    Nearmap has long provided vertical imagery (also known as orthorectified imagery) covering about 70 percent of the U.S. population. Today, it extends its location content to include new aerial geospatial data services—Nearmap Panorama and Nearmap Oblique imagery.

    Nearmap Panorama is unique since it enables users to view perspective maps in all cardinal directions for small or large areas in uninterrupted fashion. Users do not need to jump from one image to another and, in the process, lose context.

    They can easily navigate, pan and zoom across any size geography, quickly analyze perspective maps and make faster decisions that impact government and commercial operations — all within an instantly accessible, 100 percent cloud-based environment.

    “Nearmap Panorama is delivered via our new, highly intuitive MapBrowser interface, enabling users to effortlessly visualize and navigate across regions or local areas in an uninterrupted way,” said Patrick Quigley, SVP and GM for Nearmap North America. “Our users can inspect aerial location content faster than ever before using Nearmap Panorama. Consistent with past location content, Nearmap Panorama is delivered in high-resolution, 3-inch GSD.”

    Nearmap Obliques enable users to interactively inspect and measure the height of features, such as buildings and terrain, from all cardinal directions. Nearmap Oblique images are also accessed through the new MapBrowser.

    “Our customers need location content aligned with their requirements,” said Natasha Ridley, product manager for MapBrowser. “For example, with Nearmap Oblique images, government organizations conducting property appraisal can accurately value property using measurement and detailed, tilt-angled perspectives. At the same time, commercial organizations interested in engineering and construction can quickly select a north, south, east or west orientation, measure heights of buildings and better plan changes.”

    Users working within MapBrowser can switch from Nearmap Vertical to Nearmap Panorama or Nearmap Oblique location content. “We’ve added new features that our customers are going to be very excited about,” said Ridley. “For example, now users can export our imagery with measurements added. The saved image provides the whole picture, which is very useful in proposal development and communicating specific aspects of the aerial maps essential in planning and operations.”

    “These enhancements represent a major step forward in both our location content and delivery capabilities. There’s also more on the way,” said Robert Carroll, VP of 3D commercial and government for Nearmap. “This imagery is produced by our patented HyperCamera2 technology, enabling us to continue to proactively survey the U.S. urban areas including 50 percent of the population with obliques while also producing high-resolution 3D content. Our plan is to extend our leadership position by introducing Nearmap 3D, combining ‘off-the-shelf’ digital surface models (DSM), textured 3D mesh and 3D point clouds in the near future.”

    Nearmap will be exhibiting at Autodesk University 2017 in Las Vegas from Nov. 14-16 at booth A503 in the Sands Expo/Venetian Hotel. Nearmap is also hosting a breakout session (“Aerial Imagery Transforming AEC”) on Nov. 15 at 9:15 a.m.

    Nearmap is also exhibiting at the International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) at the Long Beach Convention & Entertainment Center in California from Nov. 13-15. Interested parties can visit Nearmap at booth 441, exhibit hall A.

  • A search engine for the planet? Try the demo

    Descartes-search
    Play ball! GeoVisual Search finds baseball stadiums. (Image: Descartes Labs)

    Where are all the windmills on Earth? Or oil derricks? How about baseball stadiums?

    You could scan through the millions of satellite images snapped by hundreds of satellites now circling the planet. Or you could try Descartes Labs’ demo search engine.

    Satellites are snapping images of the Earth every day. Alongside Planet Inc. and DigitalGlobe satellites, constellations are planned from companies such as Urthecast and Astro Digital (the latter launched its first pair of satellites in July). But how do we make use of all of that data in an organized, searchable way?

    New Mexico startup Descartes Labs has created a cloud-based supercomputing platform to apply machine intelligence to massive data sets, using satellite imagery to model complex systems on the planet.

    While Descartes started by focusing on forestry and agriculture, its new tool Geovisual Search allows users to find similar-looking objects of any kind all over the globe. Just click anywhere on the map and a red tile appears, enabling users to search for similar objects. “To do this, we use deep learning, a form of artificial intelligence that is loosely inspired by the structure of the brain,” Descartes Labs explains.

    “Last year, a team at Carnegie Mellon University applied the principles of visual search to seven cities around the world in a demo called Terrapattern. We were impressed with their work and wondered: could we do this not just for a few cities, but for the entire globe?”

    Terrapattern was designed as a prototype for scanning geographical areas for specific visual features. Its focus is on helping people identify, characterize and track indicators that have not been detected or measured previously, and which have sociological, humanitarian, scientific or cultural significance. So far, it focuses only on specific cities: Pittsburgh, San Francisco, New York City, Detroit, Berlin, Miami and Austin.

    Terrapattern locates cul-de-sacs in Pittsburgh.
    Terrapattern locates cul-de-sacs in Pittsburgh. (Image: Terrapattern)

    Inspired by Terrapattern, Descartes goes farther. The company has built three demo maps on three different scales.

    • The continental United States — This map uses aerial imagery at 1-meter per pixel from the U.S. National Agriculture Imagery Program (NAIP). The high-resolution imagery enables detection of smaller items such as orchards.
    • China — This map uses satellite imagery at 4-meter resolution from Planet. Though the resolution isn’t as high as the NAIP map over the U.S., Planet’s satellites will soon be providing daily pictures of the globe. In this map, you’ll be able to find solar farms and stadiums.
    • The entire world — This map uses Landsat 8 and is at 15-meter resolution. Though much coarser than the other maps, you’ll be able to find larger scale objects such pivot irrigation and suburbs.

    Every time you click on a tile, GeoVisual Search looks over the entire map for visually similar tiles. At this point, GeoVisual Search isn’t trying to get an accurate count of objects such as windmills. Instead, a search will return the top results, up to 1,000.

    However, Descartes Labs’ research on teaching the computer visual patterns is an important step on the road to counting objects accurately, the company said in a blog announcing the search engine.

    “We use a type of artificial intelligence called deep learning, which is loosely inspired by neurons and the structure of the brain. For every tile on the map we run it through a deep learning algorithm that creates a fingerprint for that tile. Basically, you can think of it as abstracting some of the qualities of that tile in a way that allows the computer to begin representing the image like a human does: with colors, edges, and other features of the image. When you click on something, we compare every other image to that fingerprint and try to return the ones that look like each other.

    “Our research will start to focus on object detection at scale: how do we look for wind turbines, derricks, oil tanks, buildings and other important objects all over the planet. For these objects, we’ll use the underlying principles of visual similarity to teach the computer what a wind turbine looks like in all of its forms and then try to do an accurate count of all the turbines globally. Obviously this is a very difficult task, but we think we’ve got the science to tackle this problem.

    “Once we’ve counted objects, we can start looking at maps through time and see what changes — how many new wind turbines are there and where are they, for example.”

    Descartes is inviting geospatial developers to take part in the search engine’s development. “If you have ideas about what you’d like to do with GeoVisual Search today and have a team of developers who are experts at machine learning and/or geospatial data, drop us a line for early access to our underlying platform.”

    Descartes is evolving the demo, so a release date hasn’t yet been set. Read about the tech behind the demo.

  • USGS tool allows users to explore mountains worldwide

    The Global Mountain Explorer. (USGS)
    The Global Mountain Explorer. (USGS)

    A new tool that gives users a detailed view of the world’s mountains is now available from the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS).

    The Global Mountain Explorer can help users ranging from hikers to scientists, resource managers and policy makers seeking information on these prominent yet often understudied landscapes.

    Mountains occupy from 12 to 31 percent of the land surface of the Earth, but despite their importance, few attempts have been made to scientifically define and map these regions worldwide with detail, the USGS said.

    The Global Mountain Explorer “allows anyone with access to the Internet to explore where mountains are, whether they are low or high, scattered or continuous, snowy or snow-free,” said USGS ecosystems geographer Roger Sayre, who led the project.

    Mountain Explorer provides information from global scales down to specific mountains, such as Borah Peak, Idaho, pictured here. (Public domain)
    Mountain Explorer provides information from global scales down to specific mountains, such as Borah Peak, Idaho, pictured here. (Public domain)

    “Mountain Explorer users can visualize and compare in one place and for the first time the three major global mountain maps that have been produced,” he said.

    Mountains provide significant water, timber and mineral resources, and food, fiber and fuel products. They are home to diverse ecosystems and wildlife and are valued for their esthetic beauty and recreational offerings.

    Mountain areas are also prone to natural hazards. But despite their importance, surprisingly few attempts have been made to scientifically define and map these regions worldwide with detail.

    The USGS developed the Global Mountain Explorer, in partnership with Esri, and three organizations at the University of Bern in Switzerland — the Center for Development and Environment, the Global Mountain Biodiversity Assessment and the Mountain Research Initiative.

    Twilight image of snow-covered Mount Shasta with city lights visible at its base. The Global Mountain Explorer allows users to view mountains and surrounding terrain. (Public domain)
    Twilight image of snow-covered Mount Shasta with city lights visible at its base. The Global Mountain Explorer allows users to view mountains and surrounding terrain. (Public domain)

    The tool was developed as part of a Group on Earth Observations initiative to accurately delineate mountain regions using best available data. It is intended to provide information on the global distribution and a variety of mountain data with a resolution 16 times more detailed than previous mapping efforts.

    Users can select an area by zooming in or by typing a place name like Mt. Kilimanjaro to view its elevation and type. They can also select from a number of backdrops — satellite images, topographic maps or political boundary maps— on which to display the different types of mountain classes. A tutorial showing the full features for the Global Map Explorer is shown below.

  • Orbital Witness wins Airbus’ Global Earth Observation Challenge

    Airbus has named Orbital Witness the winner of its Global Earth Observation Challenge.

    Orbital Witness will receive a voucher worth €50,000 for the acquisition of satellite data and will benefit from both technical and business coaching.

    The competition encourages startups to innovate and develop new applications primarily based on Airbus’ satellite data. The winning British startup Orbital Witness proposes to use satellite imagery to provide a new perspective for legal due diligence in real estate.

    Launched on May 30, the goal of the four-month challenge was to create added value for new businesses focusing on themes identified as important topics for the global population, ranging from forestry and agriculture to smart cities and maritime.

    More than 130 projects from five continents were entered for the competition, among which 23 startups were pre-selected based on their originality and relevance as well as their technical and commercial feasibility.

    These “semi-finalists” entered a subsequent round to further develop the proposals — this ended with a second selection phase in which the six finalists were chosen.

    During the final, held Oct. 20 at the Airbus PlayLab in Toulouse, the six finalists presented their projects in front of representatives of different Airbus departments, including strategy, innovation, and marketing and sales.

    The other finalists were:

    • 23insights (the Netherlands), which tracks and predicts the human footprint in forests.
    • Ozius (Australia), which creates new landscape intelligence by fusing a variety of remote-sensing data to identify where the environmental risks and opportunities occurred in the past, where they are today, and project where they will occur in the future.
    • Ursa Space Systems Inc. (U.S.), which utilizes radar satellite data to deliver global and unbiased economic intelligence to energy and financial enterprises, providing reliable information about areas of the world that are traditionally opaque.
    • Qirate (Italy), which enhances position appeal for boosting business locations and helps people find their ideal place to live by rating the quality of life.
    • Kermap (France), which uses satellite imagery to support the ecological transition of cities.

    The runner-up projects also received satellite data vouchers: €20,000 for 23insights, €15,000 for Ozius, €10, 000 for Ursa and €5,000 for Qirate and Kermap.

  • DigitalGlobe releases images of Northern California wildfires

    DigitalGlobe has released high-resolution satellite images of the wildfires burning in Northern California. These wildfires have killed at least 21 people, destroyed at least 3,500 structures, and burned more than 115,000 acres.

    The Oct. 10 images were collected using the Shortwave Infrared (SWIR) sensor on DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3 satellite, which is uniquely able to pierce through the wildfire smoke to see where the fires are burning on the ground. For comparison, the ground and the fire line are completely obstructed by smoke in the natural color image of the same area (see the larger overview image on the first slide).

    The Oct. 11 images were taken by DigitalGlobe’s GeoEye-1 satellite. Some of these are natural color, while others are shown in the Very Near Infrared (VNIR), where burned areas appear gray and black and healthy vegetation is red.

    Additionally, DigitalGlobe has activated its Open Data Program, which provides imagery to support recovery efforts in the wake of large-scale natural disasters. Pre- and post-wildfire imagery of the affected areas are available to emergency responders on the Santa Rosa wildfires page.

    Fountain Grove Golf Club in Santa Rosa, California, natural color. (Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe.)
    Fountain Grove Golf Club in Santa Rosa, California, natural color. (Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe.)
    Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, California, color-infrared. Santa Rosa, California. (Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe)
    Coffey Park in Santa Rosa, California, color-infrared. Santa Rosa, California. (Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe)
    The northwest fire line of the wildfire that devastated Santa Rosa, California, taken by satellite Oct. 10. (Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe)
    The northwest fire line of the wildfire that devastated Santa Rosa, California. SWIR image taken by satellite Oct. 10. (Satellite image ©2017 DigitalGlobe)

  • DigitalGlobe selects Raytheon as satellite imaging payload provider

    Solution doubles DigitalGlobe’s capacity to collect 30-centimeter commercial satellite imagery.

    Raytheon Company has been selected by DigitalGlobe as the next-generation WorldView Legion satellite imaging constellation payload provider.

    Under the contract, Raytheon will deliver the telescopes, detectors and combined electronics to Space Systems Loral, the WorldView Legion space vehicle integrator.

    Raytheon’s new payload doubles DigitalGlobe’s capacity to capture multispectral and 30 cm imagery, while tripling to quadrupling the company’s capacity to image high-demand areas.

    Once the WorldView Legion constellation is on orbit, DigitalGlobe’s combined constellation will be able to image the most rapidly changing areas on Earth every 20 to 30 minutes, from sunup to sundown. WorldView Legion will begin launching in 2020.

    “We’re leveraging 45 years of extensive global experience in space imaging to provide DigitalGlobe with an unmatched view of the world from space,” said Rick Yuse, Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems president.

    Raytheon’s payload solution maximizes efficiencies while maintaining quality, extending mission life, delivering a larger field of view and increasing coverage area.

    “DigitalGlobe is proud to select Raytheon to develop the imaging payloads for our next-generation WorldView Legion satellite constellation,” said Walter Scott, DigitalGlobe founder, EVP and CTO. “We have exceptional confidence in the quality, performance and value of Raytheon’s instrument design, which will give our customers even greater insights into global events of significance and allow them to make critical decisions with confidence for many years to come.”

  • Hexagon acquires 5D visualization company Luciad

    Hexagon AB has acquired Luciad, a Belgian-based software company specializing in the visualization and analysis of real-time geospatial information.

    Hexagon_logoLuciad’s visualization technologies support live connections to dynamic sensor feeds in a 3D environment. The result is a 5D digital reality — real-time, rapid fusion of multi-source content and the ability to perform analytics on-the-fly.

    These intuitive command and control systems benefit all kinds of applications, from public safety to smart cities to defense and intelligence, enabling users to make critical decisions based on changing information in real time.

    “This acquisition strengthens Hexagon’s ability to deliver smart digital realities, enhancing our Smart M.App platform with 3D, 4D (real-time sensor feed integration) and 5D (dynamic analytics) capabilities,” said Hexagon president and CEO Ola Rollén. “The ability to rapidly integrate sensor data in a visually compelling environment provides the geospatial location intelligence and situational awareness necessary for mission critical operations.”

    Luciad has more than 100 highly-skilled professionals in eight countries, with 100,000 users of its technology globally.

    Luciad will be fully consolidated as of today, operating within Hexagon’s Geospatial division. The company’s turnover for 2016 amounted to 16 MEUR.

  • DJI’s privacy mode enables flight without internet data transfer

    DJI has launched a new Local Data Mode that stops internet traffic to and from its DJI Pilot app, providing enhanced data privacy assurances for sensitive government and enterprise customers.

    Local Data Mode will be available in the next update on the DJI Pilot app on CrystalSky and for select Android tablets.

    When an operator activates Local Data Mode, the app will stop sending or receiving any data over the internet. This adds an additional layer of security for operators of flights involving critical infrastructure, governmental projects or other sensitive missions.

    “We are creating Local Data Mode to address the needs of our enterprise customers, including public and private organizations that are using DJI technology to perform sensitive operations around the world,” said Brendan Schulman, DJI’s vice p resident of policy and legal affairs. “DJI is committed to protecting the privacy of its customers’ photos, videos and flight logs. Local Data Mode will provide added assurances for customers with heightened data security needs.”

    Since Local Data Mode blocks all internet data, the DJI Pilot app will not be able to detect the location of the user or show map and geofencing information such as No Fly Zones and temporary flight restrictions, nor will it notify drone operators of firmware updates.

    Telemetry data on flight logs such as altitude, distance or speed will remain stored on the aircraft even if the user deactivates Local Data Mode.

    Whether Local Data Mode is activated or not, photos and videos captured by the user are always stored on the drone’s SD card and are only shared if the user chooses to upload them online to the SkyPixel community, social media or other websites.

    When using Local Data Mode, drone operators are reminded that they are solely responsible for the safety of their flight operation and that they understand that features that may enhance and support the safety of their operations, but that rely on internet connectivity, are no longer available.

    Drone operators can enable Local Data Mode by opening the DJI Pilot app, clicking on “Activate LDM Mode” and entering a password which will be required to deactivate Local Data Mode when they decide to go online again.

    New drones will still have to be activated first by logging into the user’s DJI account with an email and a password. To ensure the drone has the latest firmware, users can download and update it while they have internet connectivity before re-activating Local Data Mode.

    The Local Data Mode feature may not be available in locations where an internet connection is required or highly advisable due to local regulations.

  • In Hurricane Irma’s wake, EagleView captures imagery of property damage

    Post-Irma hurricane damage is captured in aerial imagery by EagleView.
    Post-Irma hurricane damage is captured in aerial imagery by EagleView.

    EagleView Technologies has captured post event aerial imagery of two million properties in the state of Florida following Hurricane Irma.

    EagleView is a provider of aerial imagery and property data analytics for government agencies, insurance carriers and other private-sector organizations,

    With an image library dating back to 2002 in the state of Florida, EagleView is able to provide emergency services, public safety agencies, property assessors and county GIS departments with ample imagery from before and after Hurricane Irma occurred. Combining high-resolution imagery and advanced machine learning capabilities, EagleView can identify the severity of property damage following a hurricane or other extreme weather event.

    “Hurricane Irma inflicted severe damage on properties all over Florida and affected millions of people throughout the state,” said EagleView President Rishi Daga. “With a view of more than two million properties in Florida, we are assisting the agencies that use our imagery with their efforts, so they can continue to help all of those who have been affected.”

    The two million properties have been photographed via specialized camera rigs in fixed-wing aircraft. The images are taken from an orthogonal (top-down) perspective as well as at oblique angles from all four cardinal directions. Oblique aerial imagery enables insurance claims adjusters to view all sides of a home’s exterior and gives emergency response crews greater insight into the storm’s effects in their communities.

    “Our goal was to begin capturing and processing imagery as soon as possible to assist in recovery efforts, and we have done so at record speed,” said Jay Martin, Senior Vice President of Operations at EagleView. “Our next phase is to put boots on the ground and complete property inspections up close using drones as part of our EagleView OnSite solution.”

    Post-hurricane image capture and processing will continue to take place throughout the upcoming weeks.

    EagleView is completing the phase of image capture via fixed-wing aircraft and will soon move in to completing property inspections with the use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), bringing post-event data directly to insurance claims adjusters.

    As of Sept. 18, thousands of drone inspections have been scheduled through Friday, Sept. 22.

  • Hurricane barrels toward Texas, maps show impact

    Hurricane Harvey is hitting Texas with wind speeds of at least 111 mph. Widespread flooding is a risk for Texas and neighboring states as public safety groups and communities prepare.

    Esri has created a new Hurricanes and Tropical Cyclones Story Map that identifies the potential impact of the storm through a variety maps, including:

    • Public Information Map — identifies the current and recent location of Harvey as well as forecast positions and probable track; additionally, the shaded area is called the “cone of uncertainty,” the likely path of the center of Harvey.
    • Impact Summary Map — shows the storm surge by identifying locations most at risk for life-threatening inundation from storm surge; accordingly, to Esri’s data, the total population at risk is 248k people, 99k households, and 10k businesses.
    • Forecast Precipitation Map — forecasts the amount of rain expected within the next 72-hour period.

    Click here to view the story map.

    Hurricane-Harvey-Esri-storymap

  • HxIP announces updates to 2017 airborne imagery collection plans

    Latest imagery collection covers U.S., Canada, Europe; plans include territories, cities

    The Hexagon Imagery Program (HxIP) has updated its 2017 airborne imagery collection plans of Wide Area Coverage (WAC) at 30-centimeter accuracy and Urban Area Coverage (UAC) at 15-cm accuracy in North America and Europe.

    By the end of 2017, the HxIP will update its content for more than 3.9 million km² in North America. This includes a refresh of 18 previously captured U.S. states and completes the full coverage of the continental United States, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. and British Virgin Islands, and select areas of Alaska.

    The HxIP announces updates to 2017 airborne imagery collection plans of Wide Area Coverage (WAC) at 30-centimetre accuracy and Urban Area Coverage (UAC) at 15 cm accuracy in North America and Europe.
    The HxIP announces updates to 2017 airborne imagery collection plans of Wide Area Coverage (WAC) at 30-centimetre accuracy and Urban Area Coverage (UAC) at 15 cm accuracy in North America and Europe.

    In addition to the 30-cm program, the HxIP expands its 15-cm collection by 100 cities for a total of 347 U.S. urban areas covering more than 492,000 km². The HxIP also includes 23 Canadian cities at 30 cm with efforts underway to refresh and expand the Canadian library.

    This year will see the addition of approximately 650,000 km² in Europe bringing, the Western European coverage to more than 2.2 million km². Including countries such as Italy, Germany, Spain, France and Poland, this coverage expands the HxIP on the global stage, making it one of the most comprehensive, imagery programs in the world.

    Hexagon-Europe-W

    “Over the last three years since we launched the program, we have been extensively growing our coverage through adding new imagery acquisition partners and increasing our resources to support the program,” said John Welter, Hexagon Geosystems Content and Engineering Services president. “We are well on track to meet our 2017 goals, and we are continuously improving our offerings to better support our users, including completing coverage and reducing the time it takes to refresh our content.”

    Quality control by experts. Launched in June 2014, the HxIP provides valuable geospatial content and delivers professional-grade airborne images captured with Leica Geosystems’ airborne sensors, including enhanced-resolution, four-band orthos, rasterized point clouds, and stereo imagery.

    Captured by a network of Leica Geosystems airborne users, the data is processed by experienced photogrammetry professionals who ortho rectify, and correct colors and seam lines. Using the latest processing technology, these experts clean the data to be used in various applications, such as corridor mapping, real estate assessments and flood planning.

  • Nearmap delivers new 3-D content and oblique imagery

    Nearmap has announced a national survey program providing true, high-resolution oblique imagery and derivative 3-D products.

    Nearmap provides cloud-based subscription access to up-to-date 2-D orthomosaic aerial imagery. Using its patented HyperCamera2 technology, Nearmap is applying the same access model to the oblique aerial imagery market.

    Because this new camera system provides a high degree of overlap from different angles, Nearmap can reconstruct the real world in stunning detail, producing not only high-resolution orthomosaic and oblique imagery, but also surface and terrain models, natural-color point clouds and textured 3-D meshes.

    “This level of detail and scale of coverage of oblique imagery has never been available as a ready-to-use service for commercial and government needs until now,” said Patrick Quigley, senior vice president and general manager, U.S. of Nearmap. “The HyperCamera2 process maps reality, by capturing the tops, sides and view angles of locations, buildings and objects, providing specific details of what’s exactly on the ground.

    Screen capture from a Nearmap 3D fly-through of Austin, Texas, rendered from Nearmap oblique Imagery.
    Screen capture from a Nearmap 3D fly-through of Austin, Texas, rendered from Nearmap oblique Imagery.

    Users will be able to immerse themselves in 3-D textured mesh models, improving analysis and design activities. They can see different elevations and line of sight using the 3-D information.

    These features become important in many use cases, including airport or utility planning, or to determine the best location for a crane before a construction project. Other applications include wireless telecommunications network modeling, solar panel design, tactical resource deployment, real estate development promotion, property valuation, insurance underwriting and smart cities.

    “3-D brings a whole new aspect of mapping reality to both commercial and government organizations,” said Rob Newman, CEO and managing director of Nearmap. “This new service will help industries plan, design, estimate, communicate and execute their plans — everything from major construction projects to solar installations on homes and businesses.”

    Beginning in April, Nearmap has already surveyed oblique images in Las Vegas; Indianapolis; Austin, Texas; Omaha, Nebraska; Phoenix; Seattle; Denver; Kansas City, Kansas; Chicago and New York, and continues to add new areas.

    By the end of 2017, Nearmap plans to complete surveying the largest urban areas covering more than half of the U.S. population — about 150 million people.

    Nearmap imagery will be refreshed up to three times per year in these coverage areas — with three orthomosaic captures incorporating one oblique capture. Nearmap’s orthomosaic imagery already covers nearly 70 percent of the U.S. population dating back to 2014. “This gives our customers the aerial imagery services they need for their businesses and projects,” Quigley said.

    Nearmap’s oblique imagery can be accessed in the MapBrowser interface or integrated into a customer’s own web application using Nearmap’s industry-standard API. Digital surface modeling is also available for export into GIS / CAD tools, including Esri’s ArcGIS Pro. Nearmap will soon enable similar access to the 3-D products.