Category Archives: Cartography

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...

Cities around the world are seeking "digital twins" to plan, analyze, operate and design. Pau, France, is on the cutting edge with its 3D model (mesh). On the right of these images is the actual city. On the left is the 3D mesh, that can serve as the spatial foundation for a digital twin.

Twinning Pau: Multi-Platform 3D for a Royal City 

Helicopter, UAS, and terrestrial data give the ancient city of Pau a modern 3D “twin.” Featured image: Cities around the world are seeking “digital twins” to plan, analyze, operate and design. Pau, France, is on the cutting edge with its 3D model (mesh). On the right of these images is the actual city. On the...

xyHt April 202 cover banner

Another Curveball: Coronavirus and Geospatial

Out of the blue, we’re facing another curveball. The current global concern (COVID-19, aka the Coronavirus) was generally not anticipated, and the situation changes daily. It was hoped that, by the time this is published, the situation would have calmed dramatically—but sadly it has taken a turn for the worse. Thus far disruptions have only...

Outlook 2020’s 40 Under 40

The following is xyHt’s 2020 collection of 40 under 40: profiles of motivated and accomplished young professionals under 40 years of age. Click on each name to view their profiles below. Kwabena Obeng Asiam Researcher & Lecturer – Leibniz University Published PhD candidate in land administration; FIG Young Surveyors Ghana Evaluating the evidence and making...

Using Real Road Signs in GIS

At the moment, I am doing a little work with the construction industry that requires road signs and markings placed on a map to show where signs need to move as the site(s) moves through different phases. Now, a real cartographer nerd would say that good graphics and symbolization would negate the need for placing...

Vibrant Africa

Half-Earth Day 2019

E.O. Wilson Spearheads a Global Call to Action In 2016, Edward O. Wilson, the “Father of Biodiversity,” wrote a book called Half-Earth: Our Planet’s Fight for Life. In the third part of a trilogy, after The Social Conquest of Earth and The Meaning of Human Existence, Wilson refutes our impending sixth extinction and argues the...