With a legacy of delivering reliable, robust, and highly accurate small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (sUAS), NASA has awarded Black Swift Technologies (BST), a specialized engineering firm based in Boulder, Colorado, the contract to develop and deliver a purpose-built scientific platform to explore volcanoes in order to improve air traffic management systems and the accuracy of ashfall measurements.
BST will deliver to NASA a tightly integrated sUAS solution consisting of an airframe, avionics, and sensors specifically designed to measure selected gases and atmospheric parameters including, temperature, pressure, humidity, and 3D winds as well as more advanced measurements such as particle sizing and trace gases.
Based on BST’s commercially available SuperSwift airframe and SwiftCore Flight Management System—which have been proven in the field to provide a cost-effective, powerful, and easy-to-operate—the SuperSwift XT [figure 1] is specifically engineered to meet the demands of high altitude flights through strong winds and damaging airborne particulates typical of nomadic scientific field campaigns in harsh environments.
“NASA and similar scientific agencies require deliverables with a high degree of accuracy and reliability,” emphasizes Jack Elston, Ph.D., CEO of Black Swift Technologies. “The SuperSwift XT will be designed to collect data in harsh environments and will enhance the performance and utility of NASA’s Airborne Science fleet.”
Member organizations of NASA’s Airborne Science Program can all benefit from the measurements provided by this system in various atmospheric conditions using different sensor payloads which, by design, are easily interchangeable. The sUAS will provide targeted, in situ observations from previously inaccessible regions that can significantly advance NASA’s goal of safe, efficient growth in global aviation by aiding in the collection of scientific data from which predictive Volcanic Ash Transport and Dispersion models (VATD) can be used to inform air traffic management systems.
Leveraging BST’s proprietary Mission Planning Software, scientists can program the SuperSwift in minutes to calculate the area under review and then begin collecting data for immediate analysis and decision making. With its intuitive tab-driven interface, flight planning is simple and easy to accomplish.
Mission monitoring and mapping is all done from a handheld Android Tablet loaded with BST’s SwiftTab software. Gesture-based controls enable users to confidently deploy their SuperSwift with minimal training while being able to collect data over geography that is topically diverse with confidence.
The existence of a sUAS capable of carrying the necessary instruments routinely through harsh environments adds an invaluable contribution to the calibration and validation of data collected from ground- and satellite-based methods. The flight envelope, concept of operations (CONOPS), and rugged nature of the SuperSwift XT will permit researchers to collect data previously unobtainable through traditional data collection methods or existing sUAS.
This includes gathering difficult to obtain data sets such as from volcanic plumes shortly after eruption (i.e., particle size-frequency distribution, vertical ash concentration distribution, SO₂ flux, etc.).
The innovations of the SuperSwift XT, including the total sensor suite, can be utilized for scientific research by federal and state public agencies and other state-funded laboratories to collect data on coherent atmospheric structures such as smog, volcano plumes, wildfire smoke, chemical fires, forest humidity, etc.
Commercial applications for private industry exist as well, such as utilizing the SuperSwift XT to assess the composition, and relative danger, of chemical fires at refineries or the chemical composition of smokestack exhaust.
Boundless Desktop is a native, cross-platform desktop GIS built upon open-source software.
Boundless has been awarded a $36 million contract by the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the primary source of GEOINT for the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Intelligence Community.
The new contract supports NGA GEOINT Services and purchases services required to package, deliver, maintain and patch accredited open-source geospatial software packages.
NGA delivers geospatial intelligence, or GEOINT, that provides a decisive advantage to warfighters, policymakers, intelligence professionals and first responders. Both an intelligence agency and combat support agency, NGA fulfills the president’s national security priorities in partnership with the intelligence community and the Department of Defense.
NGA also is the lead federal agency for GEOINT and manages a global consortium of more than 400 commercial and government relationships.
Boundless offers an open GIS ecosystem through a combination of technology, products and experts that gives enterprises deeper intelligence and insights using location-based data. The Boundless platform is built upon open source technology and open APIs that generate actionable location intelligence across third-party apps, content services and plugins for enterprise applications.
In November 2016, the company extended its GIS platform with Boundless Connect, a subscription service to a comprehensive repository of GIS data, and Boundless Desktop, a full-featured, professional desktop GIS.
“It is great to see an organization like NGA adopting open source GIS,” said Andy Dearing, CEO of Boundless. “So many organizations are quickly realizing the power and flexibility of open source and the value that Boundless brings to market. This announcement further demonstrates the NGA’s commitment to Boundless and we are excited to continue our work with the agency.”
This year’s edition of the Copernicus Masters — Europe’s innovation competition for Earth observation (EO) — offers a prize pool of more than €1.5 million.
In addition, the European Space Agency (ESA) is opening the competition to upstream entries with its Sentinel Small Sat (S^3) Challenge.
The European Commission (EC) is hosting a total of six challenges thatenrich the overall Copernicus Masters prize portfolio.
Moreover, the EO innovation competition is now accompanied by dedicated Associated Regions that highlight its European regional dimension.
Finally, the Overall Winner will be invited to attend the satellite launch of ADM-Aeolus in Kourou, as well as receiving a cash prize.
Open to future-oriented teams and individuals from business, research and higher education, the Copernicus Masters is the largest international competition in the commercial use of Earth observation data. The competition is in search of outstanding ideas, applications and business concepts that make use of bespoke information in everyday life.
June 30 is the submission deadline.
“We’re very proud to have seen the Copernicus Masters develop into one of the innovation drivers for Earth observation in the last years,” said Josef Aschbacher, director of ESA’s Earth Observation Programmes. “The launches of additional Sentinel satellites will continuously boost the commercialization of related services.”
ESA Makes the Copernicus Masters Go Upstream
ESA has annually provided a challenge since the competition’s initiation. The 2017 challenge is the next level of growth.
The winner of the Sentinel Small Sat (S^3) Challenge will be awarded EUR 1 million for the design and development of the mission, and shall be provided with a launch service free of charge. In addition, the winner will receive EUR 10,000 cash prize.
The goal of this challenge is to stimulate ground-breaking satellite design, testing and manufacturing solutions leading to small missions complementary, or providing added value to current Sentinel family missions.
Six Additional EC Challenges
The EC is deeply involved in the Copernicus Masters with six new EC Challenges. Each challenge is topic-specific: sustainable development, government, big data, B2B, Copernicus services and security. The winner will be rewarded with a cash prize of EUR 5,000.
Moreover, the winner will benefit from a substantial satellite data quota worth the same value. These new features powered by the EC complement the EC program Copernicus Accelerator. The top 50 entrants of the Copernicus Masters have the opportunity to join the Copernicus Accelerator — a tailored business coaching service.
“The popularity of the Copernicus Accelerator program results mainly from its unique characteristic: involving future-oriented entrepreneurs as mentees and high-level professionals as mentors,” said Philippe Brunet, director of Aerospace, Maritime, Security and Defence Industries, EC. “The perfect interaction between these two core assets of the tailored business coaching service is what makes this EC programme so unique.”
With support from its international network, the Copernicus Masters aids participants in realizing their applications and business models. This year’s edition once again features challenges and corresponding prizes to be awarded by a series of prominent partners, including ESA, the EC, the German Aerospace Center (DLR), Stevenson Astrosat Ltd., Satellite Applications Catapult Ltd., CGI, and the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.
The University Challenge, meanwhile, is geared specifically towards students and research employees. The topics addressed by these challenges will include innovative uses of Earth observation data in the fields of upstream services, energy, health and the environment, disaster management, sustainable living, big data, digital transportation, and smart cities.
Copernicus Masters Value Chain Boosts Sinergise to Next Level
Sinergise is a significant startup that experienced a major boost through winning the Copernicus Masters and being part of the Copernicus Accelerator 2016. The Sinergise story showcases how smart use of big data from space enables new types of business.
Before submitting their idea to the Copernicus Masters in 2016, the Sinergise team already had a working solution, but only very few users. “Becoming the Overall Winner of the competition and benefitting from the follow-up coaching service provided by Francesco Liucci from Catapult, within the Copernicus Accelerator framework, helped us to boost our idea even further and to gain confidence from experts worldwide,” said Grega Milcinski, CEO of Sinergise. The company’s newly released EO Browser has the impressive number of 1.1 million processed requests by nearly 12,000 users.
Europe’s Leading Earth Observation Innovation Competition
Since 2011, the Copernicus Masters competition has evolved into the leading innovation platform for promoting user uptake of Earth observation data in a commercial and societal context. “The Copernicus Masters scouts and showcases new ideas and trends each year,” said Thorsten Rudolph, managing director, AZO. “Put into figures, the competition already selected a total of 50 winners from among more than 1,200 entrants from 50 different countries, who have submitted over 900 cutting-edge business ideas. Each year, we are honored to have Europe’s most renowned space stakeholders host their own prizes in topic-specific Challenges.”
Along with cash prizes, the winners will receive access to an international network, corresponding data, startup funding and other support valued at more than EUR 1.5 million in total.
For all of the details on this year’s prizes, partners and terms of participation, visit the Copernicus Masters website.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) plans to release the first set of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) facility maps on April 27. The maps will depict areas and altitudes near airports where UAS may operate safely.
The maps are designed to help drone operators improve the quality of their Part 107 airspace authorization requests, which will help the FAA process these requests more quickly.
Beginning April 27, users can access the facility maps at http://www.faa.gov/uas. Users will be able to download the data in several formats, view the site on mobile devices, and customize their views.
By referring to the facility maps when completing airspace authorization applications, remote pilots will be able to tailor their requests to align with locations and altitudes that the maps indicate are likely to be approved for small UAS operations. This will help simplify the process and increase the likelihood that the FAA will approve their requests.
FAA air traffic personnel will use the maps to process Part 107 airspace authorization requests. Altitudes that exceed what are depicted on the maps require additional safety analysis and coordination to determine if an application can be approved.
The maps will be informational only. They do not automatically authorize flights. Remote pilots must still submit online airspace authorization applications at https://www.faa.gov/uas/. The maps also do not guarantee approval for requests within the guidelines indicated by the maps. Only the FAA can grant controlled airspace access, which must be done through the authorization process.
The agency is releasing the maps in phases, with the first release on April 27 containing approximately 200 facility maps. The FAA plans to release facility maps over the next 12 months. Updates to the maps database will coincide with the agency’s existing 56-day aeronautical chart production schedule (PDF). If a map is not yet available, it can be expected in future releases.
The FAA’s website will be updated within the several weeks with additional guidance and information about the facility maps.
Questions can be directed to the FAA’s UAS Integration Office via [email protected] or by calling 844-FLY-MY-UA.
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is addressing national security concerns about unauthorized drone operations over 133 military facilities.
This is the first time the agency has instituted airspace restrictions that specifically apply only to unmanned aircraft. The authority, under Title 14 of the Code of Federal Regulations (14 CFR) § 99.7 — “Special Security Instructions” — is limited to requests based on national security interests from the Department of Defense and U.S. federal security and intelligence agencies.
The FAA and the Department of Defense have agreed to restrict drone flights up to 400 feet within the lateral boundaries of these 133 facilities. The restrictions are effective as of April 14. There are only a few exceptions that permit drone flights within these restrictions, and they must be coordinated with the individual facility and the FAA.
Operators who violate the airspace restrictions may be subject to enforcement action, including potential civil penalties and criminal charges.
To ensure the public is aware of these restricted locations, the FAA has created an interactive map online. The link to these restrictions is also included in the FAA’s B4UFLY mobile app. The app will be updated within 60 days to reflect these airspace restrictions. Additional information, including frequently asked questions, is available on the FAA’s UAS website.
Section 2209 of the FAA Extension, Safety and Security Act of 2016 also directs the Secretary of Transportation to establish a process to accept petitions to prohibit or restrict UAS operations over critical infrastructure and other facilities. The Department of Transportation and the FAA are currently evaluating options to implement such a process.
The FAA is considering additional requests from federal security and intelligence agencies for restrictions using the FAA’s § 99.7 authority as they are received.
TCarta Marine, a global provider of marine geospatial products, will unveil two new offshore data offerings at the 2017 Esri Petroleum GIS Conference in Houston — the Gulf of Mexico Marine Basemap Plus service and 2-meter Satellite Derived Bathymetry dataset.
The Marine Basemap Plus is a streaming data service that delivers up-to-date value-added marine layers directly into Esri ArcGIS on a subscription basis.
The 2-meter Bathymetry product is an off-the-shelf shallow water, coastal zone bathymetric dataset derived from high-resolution satellite imagery.
Both products will be demonstrated by TCarta Marine in booth #403 at the Esri Petroleum Conference being held April 12-13, in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center.
“The Marine Basemap service covering the entire Gulf of Mexico is available now,” said TCarta Marine President Kyle Goodrich. “Datasets for additional marine regions around the world will be added this year with the North Sea available this summer.”
The streaming data service was developed with the oil and gas industry in mind, allowing customers to choose from two subscription tiers for the Gulf of Mexico. The GoM Marine Basemap is a tiled map service intended to provide users with an informative and aesthetically pleasing backdrop streamed into the desktop GIS environment. The Basemap is a scale-dependent display of a stylized bathymetry image with labeled contour lines and marine feature names
The Marine Basemap Plus incorporates best-available resolution bathymetry grids, contour lines and other valuable data for modeling, analysis and derivative work. The entire gulf is covered at 90-meter resolution while many areas have been mapped at 30-meters, with higher resolution data to be added.
“Marine Basemap Plus will appeal to oil and gas companies of all sizes because the streaming data is extremely affordable and updated constantly through the subscription process,” said Goodrich. “The GIS manager at an energy company will never have to worry about obtaining the most recent or highest quality offshore data because it will be downloaded automatically.”
The Gulf of Mexico Marine Basemap Plus also includes information enhanced from authoritative sources such as the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA), National Ocean Service, Department of Energy and Bureau of Energy Management. The five main value-added layers relate to:
Navigation – Seafloor elevation data including dredged channels and shipping lanes
Geology – Natural features and seismic anomalies
Lease Blocks – Active leases, well, and pipeline information
Habitat – Reefs, grasses, corals and other marine ecosystems
Shoreline – Vector derived from lidar and satellite imagery
Also making its U.S. debut at the Esri Petroleum show will be the 2-meter Satellite Derived Bathymetry offering developed by TCarta Marine, DHI and DigitalGlobe with funding from the European Space Agency. This is an off-the-shelf version of a custom product introduced in 2011 by Proteus Geo, which merged with TCarta Marine this year. It will eventually be a global marine dataset.
To create this product, accurate seafloor depths are extracted by DHI using a primary production technique before TCarta Marine ensures that all data undergoes a rigorous quality control procedure. All depths are derived from eight-band multispectral imagery captured by DigitalGlobe’s high-resolution WorldView satellites, the commercial imaging constellation.
“This process derives bathymetric measurements at 2-meter resolution to an average depth of 20 meters in the near-shore coastal zone, where environmental conditions allow,” Goodrich said. “The 2-meter product will be sold by the square kilometer, which means clients only pay for the data they need, making this a very cost-effective product.”
The off-the-shelf 2-meter product covering the Arabian Gulf is available for purchase now, with the Red Sea planned for completion by later this year. By mid-2017, TCarta Marine will make the 2-meter products available for instant searching, purchasing and downloading through an online portal called Bathymetrics.
The Gulf of Mexico Marine Basemap Plus and 2-meter Bathymetric products can be ordered through [email protected].
Remote sensing technology has come a long way and is delivering serious benefits across a wide range of industries. Since the early 1970s, when the first LANDSAT satellites were launched, there has been rapid technological innovation in platform architecture and sensor technology used to collect both active and passive spectral information.
These advancements have dramatically changed the way we collate, interpret and act on geographic information system (GIS) data in virtually every discipline and in our day-to-day lives. Efficiencies in data acquisition coupled with revolutionary improvements in analytic platforms have pushed remote sensing technology to the forefront of scientific and business-critical decision making, delivering insights not previously possible.
Let’s examine how new sensor technologies, acquisition platforms and high-performance, cloud-based computing enable greater visibility and provide detailed data that enhances public safety, improves reliability of critical infrastructure and supports proactive planning.
Figure 1. Time-lapse of fixed-wing aircraft collecting near-shore topobathy lidar after Superstorm Sandy near Holden Beach, North Carolina. (Photo: Brett Murphy)
A Sample of the Latest Technologies
Remote sensors work by recording the radiance of specific wavelengths of the electromagnetic (EM) spectrum tuned for particular applications. Today, sensors of all sizes, types and designs — accommodating an almost limitless variety of spectral bands and fusion of these bands — are being deployed for an array of remote sensing applications.
There are two general types of sensors: active, which transmit and record their own light source; and passive, which measure reflected or emitted energy produced from an external source. Most modern sensors are integrated with inertial navigation systems (INS) and global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), which provide high-precision and spatially accurate data. Active sensors also can provide extremely accurate range information for detailed 3-D applications, while 2-D passive sensors, relying on relatively new techniques using structure from motion (SfM), can achieve similar ranging capabilities.
Among the types of active and passive sensors in mainstream use today are:
Topographic lidar. Best known for producing highly accurate 3-D point cloud data, it is used for topographic and above ground analyses, 3-D reconstructions and advanced artificial intelligence applications.
Topobathy lidar. A specialized airborne sensor capable of penetrating water to map underwater surfaces. It also offers the potential to simultaneously map land and sea floor and reaches areas too shallow for survey boats.
Thermal Imaging. It records radiation emitted from objects and differences in temperature across a scene.
Multispectral Imaging. It measures energy within specific bands of the EM spectrum, most commonly visible blue, green and red, as well as near infrared.
Hyperspectral Imaging. Capable of collecting visible to long-wave reflected solar energy across more than 200 bands. With each additional band of information, the data dimensionality grows and increases the potential for discriminating specific materials based on diagnostic spectral features.
When evaluating new remote sensing tools, sensor technology innovation is only one piece of the puzzle. The platforms that carry these sensors are also rapidly evolving. Manufacturers are producing cheaper and lightweight versions of sensors making it possible to mount them on compact satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), automobiles, handheld devices and autonomous robotic vehicles.
How to Use and Interact with Remote Sensing Data
Recent trends in data fusion and multitemporal data analysis are leading to new approaches and solutions to complex geospatial problems. We can now acquire, combine and analyze data in ways that allow us to do even more things. But, users also are faced with challenges in managing the ever-increasing data volumes, and associated storage and processing capabilities, that come with higher spatial resolution, increased point densities, collection of hundreds of spectral bands and fusion with other data sources.
The rise of cloud-based and high-performance computing environments enable new rapid data processing and retrieval techniques. Historically, the volume of data from hyperspectral sensors made it difficult to quickly analyze and derive actionable information. Only recently has computing power caught up to sensor technology, enabling data analysis for vast areas in a reasonable time frame.
Now that large amounts of data can be converted into high-quality analytics, consumers require an organized, intuitive and integrated delivery mechanism to fully leverage the intrinsic advantages of the extracted information. These needs are being addressed by integrated cloud-based platforms that rapidly update and distribute intelligence across organizations.
Remote Sensing in Action
Many applications, like the ones below, historically relied on antiquated collection platforms or time-consuming manual data collection and interpretation. Now, technological advancements in remote sensing are being leveraged to address diverse and complex problems.
Hurricane Sandy: Near Shore, Post-Disaster Survey
In 2012, Superstorm Sandy grew to the largest Atlantic hurricane on record, affecting the entire Eastern Seaboard from Florida to Maine and moving west across the Appalachian Mountains to Michigan and Wisconsin. Damage was estimated at more than $63 billion, the second costliest hurricane in United States history.
Following the storm, the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Geodetic Survey required collection and processing of airborne topobathy lidar and multispectral imagery. The data collected would enable accurate and consistent measurement of the national shoreline for coastal zone management, inundation modeling, habitat mapping and restoration purposes. In less than six months, the NOAA project team, of which Quantum Spatial Inc. (QSI) and Dewberry were members, successfully mapped more than 2,772 square miles of shoreline encompassing the outer coastline from New York to South Carolina.
The airborne topobathy lidar enabled the rapid survey of shallow water areas that are difficult, dangerous or impossible to reach using water-borne platforms. They also were able to collect topographic and hydrographic data concurrently to provide seamless data from land to water (see Figure 2).
Figure 2. Lynnhaven Inlet, Virginia Beach: Lidar point cloud collected from a single topobathy acquisition flight. Topographic data shown in grayscale and subsurface water depth in bluescale.
Water Infrastructure: Leak and Corrosion Detection
In 2016, a municipal water district expressed interest in a technology that could help solve ongoing concerns about underground water leaks and infrastructure corrosion. QSI engineered a solution incorporating lightweight thermal and multispectral sensors mounted on a UAV operated by 5-D Robotics in a pilot program.
The plan was to simulate a leak by pouring a bucket of water near the pipeline and image it over the course of a few hours to show the thermal response of soil moisture. The UAV also flew over the rest of the site to build a SfM 3-D point cloud, identify signs of degradation and map leaks on the reservoir. Within 24 hours of data acquisition, not only was the simulated leak detected, but an actual leak was detected from an underground pipe 10 feet from the simulated leak (see Figure 3).
The survey also revealed water leaking on the surface of a reservoir cover, rust on pipes and tanks, and identified a cracked cap on a tank pressure release valve. One limited drone operation generated the exact information that is supposed to be identified in monthly manual inspections, yet had not been noted by the professionals.
Figure 3. Visible multispectral (left) and thermal imagery of active water leak collected from a UAV.
Forest Assessment: Species and Tree Health
Last year, QSI partnered with Davey Resource Group to classify individual tree types and health for a 2,500-acre area in the Louisville, Ky., metro area. Specifically they wanted to identify and assess ash trees because of damage caused by the emerald ash borer.
Individual tree crowns were separated from one another with automated tools using lidar point-based segmentation routines. At the same time, powerful machine-learning algorithms were used on co-acquired hyperspectral data to both classify and assess canopy stress at the pixel scale (see Figure 4). Typically it would take foot patrols months or years to take only a partial sampling of a survey area this size. However, within a matter of weeks, QSI was able to detect individual trees across the entire area, and classify the dominant tree types with an overall accuracy of 83 percent.
Figure 4. Lidar data from Louisville, Kentucky, colored by tree type (above) and health (below).
Beginning in 2014, a leading transportation company began continually collecting 3-D data along along its railways using lidar sensors attached to specially equipped geometry cars. Last year, QSI was tasked with rapidly analyzing the raw data to develop a baseline asset inventory of important infrastructure, including signage, signals, track locations, vegetation encroachment and road crossings. Following the initial inventory, data from serial acquisitions were then leveraged to monitor changes along the railway corridor.
Advanced machine learning algorithms were used in a parallel processing environment to rapidly ingest and classify the lidar point cloud for multiple time frames. Using the same cloud-based processing utilities, QSI provided automated difference reporting a few days after new point lidar data was collected. A web-based platform was then used to distribute and visualize the analytic results in an interactive 3-D environment (see Figure 5).
Most rail companies lack an accurate spatial inventory of assets given the cost of ground-based surveys or methods requiring manual interpretation of imagery. Machine learning, parallel processing and automated 3D change detection offer new ways to catalog and track assets in near real-time to address maintenance and safety along entire corridor networks.
Figure 5. Lidar point cloud viewer showing changes detected along a rail corridor between two years of acquisition flights.
Pipeline Monitoring: Integrity Analysis
On the North Slope of Alaska, above-ground pipeline supports are subject to settlement and heave due to the yearly freeze/thaw cycle, loss of permafrost, as well as water movement and other terrain failures. Routine inspections of pipelines are required to identify areas of stress that exceed established tolerances. However, limited access and rugged terrain make it difficult to do ground surveys and manual inspections.
Since 2014, QSI has conducted annual aerial patrols in Alaska utilizing high-density aerial lidar to map pipelines and support structures in detail. Precise pipeline elevation values at supports are automatically extracted and analyzed to find areas of stress and potential for failures. Recurring surveys monitor changes at specific structure over time, providing integrity managers powerful planning tools to identify risks before significant damage occurs (see Figure 6).
Figure 6. Lidar point cloud of pipeline pumping station near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska.
Conclusion
Innovations in remote sensing technology and platforms, such as UAVs and robots that can carry sensors, have coupled with cloud-based, high-performance computing environments to enable new applications for data collection and analysis. With these advancements, organizations of all types now can quickly access mission-critical, actionable information that enables them to protect critical infrastructure, ensure public safety and improve the reliability of their operations.
Will Fellers is product manager for Quantum Spatial Inc.Since 2006, Will has spearheaded the technical development of a comprehensive set of innovative products utilized across technical platforms at Quantum Spatial. He and his team are focused on state-of-the-art solutions for remote sensing applications using machine learning/artificial intelligence systems, advanced data analytics, high-performance cluster computing, immersive 3-D environments and cloud-based data distribution models.
Remote GeoSystems Inc. has released a new LineVision Google Earth Extension. The extension is commercial software for UAV, airborne and terrestrial mobile inspection and survey projects requiring georeferenced video playback, analysis, collaboration and reporting using Google Earth and other GIS applications.
Unlike its stand-alone predecessor, the new LineVision Google Earth is a true application extension and gives users the full functionality of native Google Earth, including Pro edition. Now anyone with a GPS-enabled video camera, drone or geospatial DVR that can geotag video in the proper format can immediately load their videos and photos to Google Earth along with compatible KML and other traditional geospatial data.
As the video plays, a position marker moves along an aerial or terrestrial GPS track positioned three-dimensionally in Google Earth, continuously indicating where the current frames were recorded. Users may also geospatially “navigate” a video recording by simply clicking a single point along an aerial or terrestrial GPS track.
The video then automatically advances to that point in the recording so that users can visually interpret what was recorded at that specific place and time. If something of interest is detected in the video, users may also “snap” a still image from the video, which is geotagged and saved for future analysis.
The LineVision Google Earth Extension was designed to be an open and versatile tool for geotagged video analysis. The software is compatible with properly formatted georeferenced video files from a variety of consumer handheld and action video cameras, drones and specialized mobile geospatial DVRs, including Remote GeoSystems’ own geoDVR geospatial FMV recorder.
In addition to video, users can import oblique photos and KML data from survey and inspection projects. All these imported data types can be saved in a Remote GeoSystems geoProject file for data portability, reporting and future analysis in other versions of LineVision desktop, cloud and server applications.
Features include:
Playing videos from single and multi-camera data collection platforms
“Click-on-Map” video navigation
Setting a custom geo-fence around the moving position marker
Loading any Google Earth-compatible KML or shapefiles
Saving video and photo work as geoProjects for simple project reporting, archive and search
I’ve attended a couple of Esri events these past couple of months. They are on the move. For a big software company (est. $1 billion in annual revenues), they are reasonably nimble. Of course, if you’ve worked with Esri software, no doubt you’ve been frustrated at times, but considering the size of the organization and the dynamic nature of GIS technology, it’s understandable.
Keeping up with the GIS technology makes me dizzy at times; I can only imagine what it’s like in the Esri roadmap planning meetings. Thank goodness Esri is a privately held company (versus a public company listed on a stock exchange). Being a privately held company gives Esri executives the flexibility to make and implement decisions quickly without worrying about quarterly (or even annual) financial performance.
Following are roadmap slides for some of the Esri mobile GIS products. Incidentally, did you know that mobile GIS apps are the hottest in the Esri software suite?
Collector for ArcGIS
The big news for Collector is that it’s being rewritten using a runtime library. The current Collector will be enhanced and supported (per the above image) for the foreseeable future. Once the new runtime version of Collector (CollectorX) has caught up to legacy Collector, the legacy Collector will begin the road to retirement. In the meantime, version 10.4.3 will likely be released sometime in April. It will implement GPS point averaging, renaming photos and Workforce integration.
Esri Collector for ArcGIS roadmap.
Expect another Collector release (10.4.4) with minor enhancements before the Esri User Conference (UC), which will take place July 10-14 in San Diego, California. According to Esri, Collector and mobile GIS in general (such as Survey123, Workforce, Navigator), are the hottest products in the Esri software suite, and iOS continues to be the dominant device that Collector is being deployed on.
ArcGIS for Windows Mobile
For those of you still working on the ArcGIS for Windows Mobile platform (not to be confused with Microsoft Windows Mobile on handheld devices), remember that at last year’s UC, Esri extended support (patches and hot fixes) for ArcGIS for Windows Mobile will be discontinued in July 2017 and enter mature support (request cases, phone/chat, online support services).
ArcGIS for Windows Mobile (Water Utility Mobile Mapp app)
If you’re still using ArcGIS for Windows Mobile, it’s time to start thinking about adopting a new mobile GIS platform. Two Esri options are Collector for ArcGIS (iOS, Android and Windows) and ArcPad (Windows and Windows Mobile). Before you start pummeling me about ArcPad, it’s a powerful and flexible mobile GIS. Unlike Collector, its user interface and functionality can be highly customized (see example screenshot below) and hit ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Enterprise (ArcGIS Server) in real time, just like Collector.
Esri ArcPad – highly customized
Survey123 for ArcGIS
Quickly moving along, Survey123 for ArcGIS (iOS/Android/Windows) has become a powerful tool for collecting mobile GIS data, with one of its key features being data-collection forms using conditional logic (for instance, if/then) and the ability to create forms using Excel. Following is Survey123’s product roadmap.
Survey123 for ArcGIS roadmap.
Navigator for ArcGIS
Navigator for ArcGIS (iOS/Android) is an interesting product owing to the ability to integrate one’s roads into the app. Navigator includes standard Street Map data with turn-by-turn directions. What’s cool about adding proprietary roads is that one can navigate to rural, proprietary assets (like a pipeline valve) using turn-by-turn directions. The time savings to guide folks to assets in an unfamiliar geographic area can be compelling.
Navigator for ArcGIS.
Workforce for ArcGIS
Rounding out the mobile apps is Workforce for ArcGIS, which is a simple workforce management tool for assigning and coordinating field work crew tasks. Assign a task along with a location to a number of work crews and monitor the progress of the tasks as they are completed.
Workforce for ArcGIS Road Map
ArcGIS Online
All of the above apps are free to use with the exception of Navigator, which is $50 a year per device. In other words, when you buy an ArcGIS desktop license, you get access to these apps as well as ArcGIS Online.
ArcGIS Desktop & Pro
A quick word about ArcGIS Desktop: Esri is beginning to transition away from ArcGIS Desktop and towards ArcGIS Pro. Expect Esri to start encouraging you to move that direction, too. If you already have an ArcGIS Desktop license, you have access to ArcGIS Pro.
The focus of Esri development is going to be on the ArcGIS Pro platform, so you’ll need to head that direction eventually. ArcGIS Pro is Esri’s next-generation 3D, analysis, image processing and data management GIS platform.
Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS
Finally, I’d like to mention Operations Dashboard for ArcGIS. While it’s not a mobile GIS app, it certainly leverages data collected by mobile GIS. Another free app from Esri, Operations Dashboard allows one to create an executive dashboard showing a variety of charts, maps and gauges for monitoring project progress. It is available as a Windows client and a browser-based application (think iPad).
An executive doesn’t need to have a piece of Windows software installed to view an executive dashboard. Simply email a link to the custom dashboard and they can view it on their iPad while on the go. Dashboards can be customized with widgets and map tools using the ArcGIS API for Javascript.
Whether you love them or not, Esri is pushing the technology envelope. For a company like Esri that thoroughly dominates an industry, it would be easy for them to sit on their laurels, enjoy the fruits of their labor and be averse to taking risks. Hand it to the Esri team for continuing to stick their necks out.
Upcoming events
For those interested, I’m conducting a couple of one-day workshops in Oregon and Washington in May:
This workshop explores the growing trend of using smartphones and tablets (BYOD) for high-precision GNSS/GIS data collection.
I hope to see you at one, or both, workshops. We already have quite a roster registered, so sign up ASAP if you’re interested in attending.
Editor’s note: In the next month or two, look for an update and continuation of January’s column, “3D GNSS data and the GEOID.” It’s a complicated subject (see if you can spot the error in the article), but one that needs attention.
Crisp orthophotos map 300 acres with sUAS flying over 14,000 feet
Overcoming the challenges of mapping terrain in difficult conditions at altitudes exceeding 14,000 feet using a small unmanned aircraft system (sUAS), Black Swift Technologies demonstrated that a sUAS can successfully be deployed at extreme altitudes.
Black Swift Technologies (BST), a specialized engineering firm based in Boulder, Colorado, was able to obtain geo-referenced digital aerial images with detailed actionable information, obtained cost-effectively without concern for a surveyor’s well being or equipment malfunctions.
Using BST’s SwiftTrainer, a turnkey sUAS flight system designed specifically for GIS mapping applications, BST captured millions of data points in a fully autonomous flight over Colorado’s Mount Evans. The geotagged images were easily integrated into processing software, resulting in an accurate 3D orthomosaic (a highly detailed map in true scale).
“Surveyors have been using sUAS in place of more expensive manned aerial missions for quite some time now,” said Jack Elston, Ph.D., CEO of Black Swift Technologies. “Being able to demonstrate that a sUAS can be an effective and accurate mapping platform in areas inaccessible to vehicles or at extreme altitudes solidifies the added value surveyors can offer their clients.”
Using BST’s own Mission Planning Software, surveyors can program the SwiftTrainer in minutes to calculate the area under review and then begin collecting data for immediate analysis and decision making. Leveraging an intuitive tab-driven interface, flight planning is simple and easy to accomplish. Mission monitoring and mapping is all done from a handheld Android Tablet loaded with BST’s SwiftTab software. Intuitive gesture-based controls enable users to confidently deploy their SwiftTrainer with minimal training while being able to collect data over geography that is topically diverse with confidence.
Unlike other sUAS offerings that cobble together hardware and software from a variety of sources to assemble their solutions, BST’s aerospace and software engineers designed the hardware, flight management system, and essential software from the ground up. This unified, fully integrated approach ensures that users have the right airframe and sensor suite to address their specific application requirements without compromise.
Topcon Positioning Group introduced Topcon ContextCapture, powered by Bentley Systems, a reality modeling software solution that will be offered with Topcon UAS (unmanned aerial systems).
Context Capture software by Topcon.
The system is designed for mapping, construction and surveying professionals to quickly turn simple photographs and or point-cloud data into true-to-life, highly detailed 3D models for use throughout a project lifecycle.
“The offering will include Topcon ContextCapture Standard and Topcon ContextCapture Advanced,” said Charles Rihner, vice president of the Topcon GeoPositioning Solutions Group. “The standard package will be bundled with Falcon 8 and Sirius Basic/Pro and allows operators to process data from these UAS into textured 3D reality meshes, point clouds and orthophotos. ContextCapture Advanced allows users to process data from any UAS. It also includes ContextCapture Editor, which enables operators to take advantage of all project data by integrating reality meshes and point clouds, into infrastructure workflows. The result is access to a wide variety of reality modeling tools to help increase productivity.”
The ContextCapture Advanced integration includes computer-aided design (CAD), inspection, GIS, civil engineering, and survey workflows on desktop and mobile devices, in multiple formats.
“This represents the next step in the Topcon and Bentley collaboration to advance the concept of constructioneering — allowing users to start from a reality-captured survey context and leverage and update their digital engineering models throughout the construction process, and finally deliver the as-built infrastructure in real time,” Rihner said.
“We are excited to bring to market this new joint offering that enables greater efficiency and productivity in the global construction market,” said Phil Christensen, Bentley vice president of reality modeling. “Our reality modeling solution for mapping, construction, and surveying professionals will enable them to quickly turn UAS imagery into engineering-ready 3D reality models that can be used immediately and updated throughout the construction lifecycle. Since we announced our constructioneering partnership last November, we see this as only one of many new integrations between Bentley and Topcon that will enable better project outcomes.”
The Sentinel-2B satellite was launched for the European Commission on Monday, March 6, at 10:49 p.m. local time from the Guiana Space Center (CSG), Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
Following the successful launches of Sentinel-1A, Sentinel-2A and Sentinel-1B, the mission with Sentinel-2B marks the fourth satellite in the European Commission’s Copernicus Earth observation program to be orbited by Arianespace from the Guiana Space Center, within the scope of a contract with the European Space Agency (ESA).
The Sentinel-2B Earth observation satellite mainly focuses on monitoring land masses and coastal zones around the world. It will be positioned in an orbit opposite that of Sentinel-2A to ensure optimum coverage and data delivery. The pair of Sentinel-2 satellites will cover the Earth’s entire surface in five days. This high frequency means they will capture brand-new views of the Earth, driving considerable progress in monitoring and predicting changes in vegetation and aquatic pollution.
Sentinel-2B combines a multispectral, wide-swath, very-high-resolution optical imaging instrument with a dedicated platform developed by Airbus, a long-standing partner to Arianespace. It is the 61st Earth observation satellite to be launched by Arianespace.
ESA’s Sentinel program includes six families of satellites:
Sentinel-1 will ensure data continuity with the ERS and Envisat radar satellites.
Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-3 are designed to help provide a better understanding of how climate change impacts our daily lives.
Sentinel-4 and Sentinel-5 are dedicated to meteorology and climatology, with a special focus on studying the composition of the Earth’s atmosphere.
Sentinel-6 will measure ocean topography, mainly for operational oceanography and climatology.
This was the third launch of the year for Arianespace and the first in 2017 with the Vega light launcher. It also marked the ninth successful launch in a row for Vega, which made its debut at the Guiana Space Center in 2012.
