Category Archives: Cartography

Biking to capture street imagery in the Galapagos. © Chris Beddow

Galapagos in 360 Degrees

“Like cinders… infernal… leafless…” Charles Darwin wrote those words in his diary on September 16, 1835, after setting foot for the first time on the Galapagos. Darwin, whose scientific work in the far-flung archipelago considerably changed our understanding of how life on Earth evolves, was a keen observer of nature. And on that day, while...

The Citation photogrammetry jet approaches Pico de Orizaba, the third highest peak in North America at 18,491 feet above sea level, on a photogrammetry mission.

Citation (Jet) Needed: A Start-Up Takes Off

A wealthy investor on the other end of the line said, “Juan, I understand you are photogrammetrist and a pilot. Are you ready for a challenge? I bought six Citation jets in a government auction, and I want you to help me turn them into a modern aerial photography platform.” For those of us who...

xyHt Weekly News Links 7/17/2020

*Click here to visit xyHt’s Virtual Trade Show* Congress Moves Against FCC’s Ligado Decision Bad Elf Flex™ Adopts the Hemisphere Phantom™ Module Honeywell Refines Navigation Revealing the World from Satellites Common Ground Alliance Launches New Expo    

Satellite imagery of Dura Europos, Syria, an important archaeological site, shows the scale and extent of ISIS-led looting. The image (dark blue river) from April 2009 shows little impact compared to the image (light blue river) from April 2015 that shows pockmarked evidence of digging throughout the site.

Antiquities Trafficking and the Surveyor: How Mapping is Keeping History Public

Conflicts around the world are often funded by the sale of drugs, guns, diamonds, ivory, and antiquities. Often these cultural relics stolen from home countries are purchased unwittingly abroad. One organization is hard at work to alert buyers and the art market about this growing problem, using maps to broadcast the stories of missing artifacts....

Using QGIS in the Cloud with Amazon Web Services (AWS)

It’s easy to run a popular open-source geospatial suite on this hosted cloud platform: AWS. QGIS is a great piece of software, and I would really recommend you try it out if you are currently working with ArcGIS, MapInfo or any other piece of GIS software. However, if you don’t have admin rights on your...

SLAM, Bam, Thank You Ma’am: Giving Preservation a Hand(held)

Handheld SLAM mapping technology helps preserve historical sites for future generations. Across the world, places of historical significance are regularly monitored to ensure they are cared for properly and preserved for future generations. This care and attention can help us learn more about our past and inform design and building projects of the future. When...