Category Archives: Aerial/UAS
A Crowning Achievement in Nepal
An ICIMOD team manually validated the accuracy of the 2011 classification maps. Pairing satellite imagery with advanced object-based image analysis helps people in Nepal better manage vital resources. For decades, the high-mountain regions of Nepal have been caught in a perpetual catch-22. The small populations of these remote, isolated areas depend nearly exclusively on local...
xyHt Doer: Jeff DeBoer
Jeff DeBoer is program manager of OEM & Mobile Mapping Systems at Topcon Positioning Systems. My main role at Topcon is supporting our customers and working with our mass data collection systems. My responsibilities range from working internally with our engineering teams to help develop and improve products to going out in the field conducting...
Treasure Hunting with Geospatial Tech: Part One
Geospatial tech is increasingly being called upon in the search for treasure. Let’s look at some examples, and maybe you, too, could discover hidden riches! Pangaea #155 As the wind keens and the snow piles up outside my door I retreat into my cozy home for some arm-chair treasure hunting. I start with the Travel Channel’s...
An Inside Look
The New FAA UAS Registration Recommendations The UAS Registration Task Force (RTF) Aviation Rulemaking Committee has recently published its recommendations. For an insider’s look, we talked to Altavian’s John Perry, a member of the committee. Unmanned & Unlimited: Could you give us your take on the process? As a representative of MAPPS and as a...
Mapping as a Service
Fueled by the convergence of cloud computing, digital automation, and internet distribution, subscription mapping creates new opportunities. Subscription aerial mapping sets out to rid the industry of its dated legacies. One in particular is the commissioning of aerial mapping projects. The process can be bureaucratic, expensive, and subject to a long approval. This could lead...
The Long Drive
Topcon Positioning Systems’ president and CEO Ray O’Connor talks about automation, integrated solutions, smart phones, golf, and the coming era of continuous representation of reality. The occasion of our conversation with Ray O’Connor was a visit to the headquarters of Topcon Positioning Systems in Livermore, California, which included a tour of their manufacturing facility, a...