Esri has unveiled a Human Health and Climate Change App Challenge, calling on the worldwide GIS community to create apps that help communities visualize, understand and combat the health impacts of climate change. Esri will award three winners more than $15,000 in cash prizes or the equivalent in software. The deadline to enter is August 14.
The app challenge is part of Esri’s comprehensive effort in support of the White House Climate Data Initiative under President Obama’s Climate Action Plan. “Esri is committed to helping communities work smarter and more efficiently to become more livable and, as a result, more resilient to climate change,” said Esri president Jack Dangermond.
Participants are encouraged to create apps using Esri’s ArcGIS platform that provide decision-making support for health professionals and empower the public to take action. Apps should help private and public organizations combine open data to gain new insights into the impacts of climate change on health.
“Understanding the geography of climate change is critical to mitigating its health effects and creating a vibrant and sustainable future,” said Este Geraghty, Esri chief medical officer.
The app challenge is open to everyone — including developers, start-ups, governments, academics and nongovernmental organizations. Participants are encouraged to use the growing pool of open data and Esri apps, maps, services and APIs to develop their app.
Judges will select the top three apps to be highlighted at the Esri Health and Human Services GIS Conference in September. In addition to awarding prizes, Esri will feature the winning apps on its collaborative resource portal.
Intergraph Security, Government and Infrastructure (SG&I) has unveiled I/Map Editor for ArcGIS, a product that works directly with Esri’s ArcGIS Platform to migrate geospatial data into Intergraph’s Computer-Aided Dispatch software (I/CAD), creating greater efficiencies for users of both systems.
Also, SG&I has established Studio One, a user experience design and development lab that provides space for multi-disciplinary teams to collaborate on innovative, user-centered products and solutions.
I/Map Editor for ArcGIS brings advanced mapping features to Intergraph’s map build environment, automating and streamlining map creation in I/CAD. I/Map Editor for ArcGIS is designed to minimize the number of different systems and steps required for ArcGIS users, offering them a one-stop shop for uploading data into their I/CAD system.
‘I/Map Editor for ArcGIS enables ArcGIS users to more efficiently get their GIS data into I/CAD using tools familiar to them,” said Kalyn Sims, chief technology officer, Intergraph SG&I. “It also provides them with the ability to more frequently update their data, which benefits agencies and the public they serve. Our goal is to provide public safety organizations with the most up-to-date geospatial data possible within their first responder systems.”
Intergraph’s industry-leading I/CAD system is critical to public safety operations, enabling agencies to quickly answer emergency and non-emergency calls, create and update incidents and manage multiple resources in real time. Intergraph’s I/Map Editor products facilitate the use of GIS data as the source of mapping information in I/CAD.
Built on Intergraph’s GeoMedia, I/Map Editor permits the use of GIS data from third-party systems as the source of map graphics in I/CAD. Built on ArcGIS, the new I/Map Editor for ArcGIS enables I/CAD map production within ArcGIS. An extension hosted in ArcMap, it natively connects to Esri data sources.
In March, Intergraph and Esri announced collaborative efforts to enhance geospatial capabilities for public safety and security agencies. Through the collaboration, the companies have been working together to more tightly align Intergraph’s I/CAD software and Esri’s ArcGIS Platform.
Studio One. Located at Intergraph SG&I’s headquarters, Studio One is an extension of the company’s strategic efforts to ensure its products are built to meet the needs of users, some of whom are in high-pressure environments.
“The methodologies and technologies of UX (user experience) are maturing very quickly. For example, now we can accurately assess whether software raises or lowers stress,” said Amy Hawkins, UX team manager, Intergraph SG&I. “As we move information technology closer and closer to users, in the form of mobile and wearable devices, we need to be very sure that we are making people’s jobs easier, not harder. That’s why we established Studio One.”
Comprised of a distributed group of user researchers, designers, technical architects and functional designers, Intergraph SG&I’s UX team conducts customer site visits, ethnographic observation, interviews and surveys to understand customer workflows and environments. The UX team has traveled to multiple cities across the U.S., visiting a dozen different public safety agencies in four different metropolitan areas. In the Denver area, the team conducted approximately 47 ride-alongs with police, firefighters and emergency medical services personnel.
The UX team works with product development teams to build usage metrics collection into Intergraph SG&I’s products so that strategists and design and development teams have the best possible data on which to base product direction decisions. The team also works with research groups at universities such as Georgia Tech, Vanderbilt and the University of Alabama in Huntsville to get independent perspectives on user mental models and emerging technologies.
“By working directly with users, we get a clear understanding of how to meet customer needs now and in the future as new technologies and challenges emerge,” Hawkins said. “Our customers are in the business of providing important public services. Studio One is all about, helping people help people.”
Intergraph SG&I’s UX team will meet with customers for UX assessments during HxGN LIVE, Hexagon’s annual international user conference, in Las Vegas from June 1-4.
SimActive Inc., developer of photogrammetry software, has purchased the Correlator3D software by Altoa from French Guiana. The software will be used to process images and lidar data for the production of orthomosaics.
“Following our recent acquisition of two digital cameras including the Phase One color and infrared, we needed precise, powerful, and versatile photogrammetric software,” said Walid Mostafa, manager of Altoa. “After analyzing the available tools, we decided to choose Correlator3D.”
“We are pleased to see an important company in South America such as Altoa adopt Correlator3D,” said Philippe Simard, president of SimActive. “Their use of Correlator3D demonstrates the software’s ability to adapt to different production environments and to integrate a lidar sensor with a camera.”
For a live demonstration at Commercial Unmanned Show Asia 2015 (June 30-July 1, Singapore), visit booth B10 or send an email to [email protected].
Sixty seconds may not sound like much, but if given advance warning of an earthquake, people could take cover, trains could stop, and oil rigs could be shut down before the shaking hits.
The earthquake early warning app QuakeAlert, by Early Warning Labs, aims to provide that extra time. The app, with new technology developed in partnership the United States Geological Survey (USGS), will be tested by the USGS, the California Institute of Technology and other university researchers.
QuakeAlert is designed to alert users with a countdown to when shaking will strike their exact location, and tell the user how severe the intensity is expected in their location. The app simultaneously delivers important safety instructions to the user on how to respond if indoors, outside or in a moving vehicle. QuakeAlert will be provided to users free of charge.
The QuakeAlert app uses USGS seismic sensor network data, an Esri GIS backend and the Microsoft Azure cloud to deliver earthquake early warnings. The app is currently in private beta testing with university researchers at CalTech and USGS scientists, and will be available to the public for free once the USGS receives full funding of its early warning program and approves the technology for the public.
Early Warning Labs (EWL) is an Earthquake Early Warning technology developer and integrator in Santa Monica, Calif., and an official research and development partner with the USGS. Early Warning Labs is collaborating with university partners including Caltech, Berkeley and the University of Washington, as well as Esri.
Scene Sharp USA has integrated its Fuze Go MS Sharp image fusion tool into the ERDAS IMAGINE Spatial Modeler software. Exhibiting at HxGN LIVE Las Vegas 2015, Scene Sharp will demonstrate how Fuze Go MS Sharp enhances the analytical recipes scripted in Spatial Modeler for automated applications such as Change Detection.
“Scene Sharp is honored to be selected as partner, building upon IMAGINE Spatial Modeler,” said Kevin Marasch, Director of Business Development of Scene Sharp USA. “Our Fuze Go MS Sharp functionality can now be used as a key ingredient in the analytical recipes within Spatial Modeler.”
The Fuze Go MS Sharp “lossless” satellite image-processing tool fuses visible and near-infrared multispectral data with high-resolution panchromatic data to produce images with unparalleled visual quality, sharpness and fidelity. MS Sharp pansharpens up to 30 bands of satellite image data consistently and accurately without losing spectral information.
Part of the Hexagon Geospatial Power Portfolio, ERDAS IMAGINE is a full-feature raster image processing package, Scene Sharp said. The IMAGINE Spatial Modeler provides users with the tools — or ingredients — to build functions and create geospatial workflows — or analytical recipes — to extract information from raster image data. Spatial Modeler users may integrate Fuze Go MS Sharp into any custom analytical recipe built with the software.
“We are impressed with the advanced image science Scene Sharp brings to our customers.” said Steve du Plessis, director of Remote Sensing at Hexagon Geospatial. “The IMAGINE Spatial Modeler provides the perfect vehicle to incorporate the algorithms into value-added workflows. The resulting enhanced images provide the best of both the spectral and spatial information contained in the data, improving interpretation, classification, change detection and many other analyses.”
With version 2.2, Scene Sharp enhanced MS Sharp to improve the overall visual quality of the resulting imagery products even beyond their already impressive standards. In addition, Scene Sharp tweaked the many capabilities within MS Sharp that make it the most accurate and one of the fastest automated image fusion packages on the market today.
Scene Sharp will be demonstrating Fuze Go software features within the IMAGINE Spatial Modeler in booth #213 at HxGN LIVE, the Hexagon International user conference being held June 1-4 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
As digital producer for Geospatial Solutions, I spent three days this month covering Unmanned Systems 2015, the huge show hosted by the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI). This was definitely the show at which I gathered the most news and footage of exciting UAV/UAS applications in geospatial technology.
Let’s meet the experts responsible for developing high-altitude color and infrared imagery gathering of a city-sized area, a lower altitude quadcopter for surveying and mapping and a small vertical take-off and landing aircraft developed for use by warfighters that is now ready for first responders and others in small, cluttered, urban environments, giving them an eye-in-the-sky in just minutes.
From the chipset level to fully-featured aerial survey platforms to processing software, AUVSI had it all.
Intro to AUVSI’s Unmanned Systems 2015
The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International’s (AUVSI’s) Unmanned Systems 2015 show, held May 4-7 in Atlanta, convened a global community of commercial and defense leaders in intelligent robotics, drones and unmanned systems.
CEA Research: UAS Could Reach 1M U.S. Flights a Day in 20 Years
The United States will reach one million UAS flights per day within the next 20 years, given the right regulatory environment, according to new economic research from the Consumer Electronics Association.
Exelis Showcases CorvusEye at AUVSI 2015
CorvusEye 1500 is one of the programs Exelis featured at AUVSI 2015. From an altitude of 15,000 feet, CorvusEye 1500 provides color and infrared imagery of a city-sized area unavailable with comparable airborne systems. Bernard Brower, product manager for Exelis, shows us how users work with the real-time analytics and processed data to search for vehicle tracks based on location and time.
Trimble Details New OEM Module at AUVSI 2015
Akshay Bandiwdekar of Trimble Integrated Technologies details the company’s BD935-INS module that features precision GNSS with an integrated 3-D Micro-Electro-Mechanical Systems (MEMS) inertial sensor package. As part of Trimble’s GNSS OEM portfolio, the new compact module augments real-time precise positioning with 3-D orientation.
Septentrio Launches AsteRx-m UAS Reciever at AUVSI Show
Septentrio’s Jan Van Hees talks about the AsteRx-m UAS, an RTK-accurate GNSS receiver solution specially designed for the drone market. The AsteRx-m UAS provides high-accuracy GNSS positioning with low power consumption, according to Septentrio.
NavtechGPS Showcases GPS, GNSS Products for Unmanned Systems
NavtechGPS CTO Franck Boynton explains how AUVSI 2015 attendees can incorporate GPS and GNSS technology into unmanned projects. NavtechGPS represents nearly 30 leading manufacturers of GPS and GNSS products.
NovAtel Showcases FlexPak6, FlexPak-S Receivers
NovAtel’s Peter Soar talks about the company’s FlexPak6 receiver that houses its OEM628 triple-frequency plus L-Band GNSS receiver board. It has a highly configurable interface to ensure precise positioning for UAV applications. Soar explains that its “sister unit,” the FlexPak-S, contains a real-time kinematic GPS receiver with an L-3 XFACTOR Selective Availability Anti Spoofing Module (SAASM). The two receivers are both the same size and fit.
Lockheed Martin Displays K-MAX Cargo UAS Helicopter at AUVSI Show
Lockheed Martin Corporation and Kaman Aerospace Corporation transformed Kaman’s K-MAX power lift helicopter into an unmanned aircraft system capable of autonomous or remote controlled cargo delivery. Jon McMillen explains that its mission for the last three years has been to resupply battlefield cargo for the U.S. military in Afghanistan. McMillen says another possible application for K-MAX is firefighting.
NavCom Technology Offers Navigation and Positioning Capabilities for UAS
NavCom Technology’s Jim Williams explains the precise positioning and navigation solutions offered by the company for UAS. NavCom offers GNSS aerial antennas, RTK positioning and its StarFire global satellite-based augmentation system (GSBAS).
Maxtena Displays L1/L2 GPS Antennas for Use in UAS
Stani Licul, CEO of Maxena, displays some of its antennas for use in UAS. Maxtena’s active rugged antenna is designed for L1/L2 GPS and GLONASS bands for GNSS satellite and RTK applications.
Spirent Federal Systems GSS9000 GPS/GNSS Constellation Simulator
Jeff Martin of Spirent Federal Systems talks about how its GSS9000 simulator can help with UAS development. The GSS9000 simulator supports multi-system, multi-constellation GNSS testing for UAS.
NovAtel Talks GPS Anti-Jam Technology for Use in UAVs
NovAtel’s Peter Soar shares on the company’s GAJT (“Gadget”), a single unit GPS anti-jam antenna for use in UAVs. GAJT nullifies jammers, ensuring satellite signals necessary to compute position and time are always available.
Marty Apa, chief engineer for Exelis’ Integrated Electronic Warfare Systems, shows Geospatial Solutions the Disruptor SRx. The Disruptor SRx electronic warfare technology is small enough to fit into UAS. It also has the ability to switch between multiple functions in real time.
Geomatics USA’s Ahmed Mohamed showcases a UAS that uses the company’s GPS technology to take off and land quadcopters from its structure. Geomatics USA also offers its G-AT: Active Target for surveying and mapping.
Lockheed Martin Corporation Demos Indago UAS at AUVSI Show
Lockheed Martin demonstrates its Indago UAS. The Indago payload system features a quick disconnect adapter which allows the operator to choose the appropriate payload for the mission, according to Lockheed Martin. The payloads are available for a variety of different applications, including agricultural, mapping, inspection and ISR.
Exelis’ Symphony RangeVue Offers Web-Hosted Aircraft Surveillance Information
Christian Ramsey, UAS program manager for Exelis, explains that the Symphony RangeVue enables UAS operators and test-range personnel to have access to both real-time and historical aircraft surveillance information via a web-hosted platform, helping to manage mission operations across multiple locations. Symphony RangeVue can be used as command center decision support and post-event analysis tool, or in the field as a sense-and-avoid addition to UAS ground control stations. Flexible geofencing tools alert operators when a UAS approaches airspace boundaries or other aircraft are in the vicinity.
Spectracom Shows Off Rugged Product Line at AUVSI Show
Spectracom displayed its precise positioning, navigation and timing solutions that leverage GPS/GNSS signals at AUVSI 2015. Capabilities for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) include precision references, signal generation, reception, synchronization, distribution, test/validation, simulation, integration, interference, detection/mitigation, real-time embedded and technical/support services.
Jim Lau with Racelogic details the company’s GNSS Simulator and VBOX Speed Sensor IMU. VOBX is a 100-Hz dual-antenna GPS/GLONASS speed sensor (VBSSISL) that combines signals from an integrated inertial measurement unit with those from GPS to provide smoother output data even when satellite reception is interrupted.
Next year’s show has been branded XPONENTIAL 2016, “An AUVSI Experience,” and will be held in New Orleans, May 2–5. See you there!
Esri has released ArcGIS 10.3.1, bringing new capabilities.
Smart Mapping is an innovative approach for creating maps that is available through ArcGIS Online. Users can quickly style the features of a map to create useful and visually stunning maps every time, Esri said.
3D Web Scenes allow users to view, create, and share 3D web scenes in a browser. Available in ArcGIS for Server and Portal for ArcGIS, users can share these scenes within their own infrastructure or make them public.
With the ArcGIS 10.3.1 release, ArcGIS for Server with Portal for ArcGIS can now host web scenes and layers that include multipatch–based 3D models and symbology, such as photo-realistic buildings, trees, and visibility domes.
The CT4 and other rugged handhelds by Cedar Tree Technologies will now be available through Juniper Systems.
Juniper Systems is merging its subsidiary company, Cedar Tree Technologies, into Juniper Systems. The move will allow customers to purchase Cedar’s Android-operated rugged handhelds directly from Juniper Systems.
Juniper Systems launched Cedar Tree Technologies as a rugged handheld company in August 2014.
“With a reputation for top-of-the-line, ultra-rugged handheld computers, Juniper Systems aimed to expand its products to meet the needs of customers who may not need the outstanding level of ruggedness or support that Juniper handhelds provide. And that’s how Cedar Tree Technologies began. Cedar handhelds lie somewhere between consumer devices and Juniper Systems’ ultra-rugged handhelds, providing a mesh of both ruggedness and affordability,” said a statement from the company.
Cedar handhelds run on the Android operating system, offering access to thousands of business-ready apps and Google services via the Google Play Store. This provides users with an off-the-shelf product, eliminating the need to download third-party data collection software. Juniper Systems has published a blog post that outlines the differences between Cedar and Juniper handhelds.
The Cedar product line that Juniper Systems will now be carrying includes three new handheld devices:
CT7 Rugged Tablet. Featuring a large, 7-inch display, the CT7 tablet is IP67 waterproof and dustproof, and is priced at $899 USD.
CT4 Rugged Handheld. The CT4 handheld is a more compact device than the CT7. Featuring a 4.3-inch display and an IP68 waterproof and dustproof rating, it is priced at $489.
CMP1 Miniphone. The CMP1 Miniphone is rated IP65 (dustproof and resistant to water), and is ideal for swapping out a regular smartphone for outdoor excursions, for kids, or for use as an emergency phone. The CMP1 sells for $124.
Spatial Wave Inc. has released Field Mapplet Version 8.0 and Mapplet 8.0, which support ArcGIS 10.2 and 10.3.
Field Mapplet is a mobile solution for managing utility assets. It is designed to optimize utility workflows with features that are easy to use and implement, Spatial Wave said. The latest release includes enhancements in the mobile and console client, additional features to USA and Redline Extensions and Mapplet Manager, and support for Windows Server 2012R2, SQL Server 2014, and HTTPS secure service. A crucial upgrade of FM8.0 is that is supports ArcGIS 10.2 and 10.3.
With the core Field Mapplet framework, users can upgrade from FM Version 7.1 to 8.0 with minimal effort and downtime. FMv8.0 was built for day-to-day operations such as dispatching, navigation, routing, access to as-builts, engineering drawings, and redlining of location aware data. FMv8.0 is a configurable platform for building mobile applications such as customer requests, work orders and field data collections. FMv8.0 is touch-gesture-enabled and can be used on PCs, laptops and tablets.
Mapplet 8.0 is an advanced GIS viewer for viewing utility operational data and has unique capabilities to link to external data sources such as related engineering documents or tabular data. Users from an organization can gain access to business-critical data from the entire enterprise, including Customer Service, Field Operations, Engineering and Finance. The latest features include map tips, cluster symbology and heat maps. Mappletv8.0 supports ArcGIS 10.2 and 10.3 to enhance the user experience.
Secret Service detained a man Thursday afternoon who was trying to fly an unmanned aerial vehicle over the White House fence, reports CNN.
The park on the north side of the White House was locked down while the incident was investigated, but the lockdown was lifted by Thursday afternoon.
President Barack Obama is not in the White House, but at Camp David.
This is the second drone incident this year, following an incident where a hobbyist who had been drinking crashed a drone on the White House lawn. A no-fly zone covers most of the D.C. area.
Boundless, a provider of spatial IT solutions, has released OpenGeo Suite 4.6, the newest version of its powerful enterprise geospatial software platform.
OpenGeo Suite 4.6 is open-source geospatial software that powers web, mobile and desktop maps and applications across large and small organizations. New capabilities and enhancements in Version 4.6 include:
Enhanced OpenGeo Suite Composer, which allows anyone to build and style maps by making it easier to add data to GeoServer, style layers, and publish to the Web. Originally released in OpenGeo Suite 4.5, the latest release of OpenGeo Suite Composer improves layer management, allows publishing to OpenLayers3 templates for easy website embedding, and makes it even simpler to use the YSLD syntax for styling. OpenGeo Composer is available to all OpenGeo Suite Enterprise customers.
Improved reliability, handling and security when executing geospatial analysis.
Multiple updates to rendering and tile design capabilities.
Numerous updates and bug fixes to all components to improve stability and reliability across the entire software stack.
OpenGeo Suite Enterprise from Boundless is open source geospatial software designed for users with complex deployment requirements who want to build robust solutions for demanding production environments that often require features such as connections to enterprise databases, advanced runtime environments, or sophisticated clustering solutions in support of scalability requirements. Organizations with complex enterprise needs should no longer feel locked in to proprietary software with significant license costs in order to accomplish sophisticated projects, Boundless said.
“Boundless is committed to making geospatial software that is open, readily available and easy to use for all business applications,” said Ann Johnson, CEO, Boundless. “OpenGeo Suite 4.6 is the next step in our continued efforts to add features, functionality and usability to meet the demands of our customer base.”
Boundless offers a host of service packages and training to help customers and free users get the most from their OpenGeo Suite deployment. Boundless also supports a variety of deployment options, including on-premise and cloud environments such as AWS and Microsoft Azure.
