Category Archives: Lidar/Imaging

The New Spacescape

Small satellites are changing who dominates the field of satellite remote sensing. Move over military and government policy and regulation. Make way for private companies and even the public.   There are big changes afoot in the satellite remote-sensing field: improved technology as well as regulatory shifts enabling the application of this technology (see “New Markets for Satellite...

Mobile, Indoor Sensing Devices

Above: 3D sensing mobile devices can create maps of indoor spaces, as demonstrated by this simulated image from Occipital. Credit: Occipital.   Mobile 3D sensing devices are big news right now. The announcement of one by Google’s Advanced Technology and Projects (ATAP) group made a stir on social media and the tech blogs back in February...

Capturing the Bluestone Dam

Above: Bluestone Dam is a concrete gravity dam located just upstream of the confluence of the New and Greenbrier Rivers near Hinton, West Virginia.   Editor’s note: Because the Bluestone Dam is critical infrastructure, the Corps cannot display images of its insides. In fact, security is one of the key reasons it didn’t contract out the...

Lincoln Memorial Project

Above picture: A limited section of scan data, including the Lincoln statue. In December 2013, DJS Associates, Inc., a firm specializing in 3D scanning technologies,undertook a project of enormous magnitude on behalf of the National Park Service (NPS) and CyArk, a nonprofit organization dedicated to digitally preserving cultural heritage sites around the world. The goal: digitally...

Survey. Dredge. Repeat: Keeping the Columbia River Navigable

As the skipper of Galileo 3, a 30-foot sailboat on the Columbia River, I tell my crew that I am comfortable with 15 feet of water under the keel, get nervous when it drops below 10 feet, and take immediate action if it drops below 6 feet. That’s because I cannot constantly monitor my chart...

Creating the Futuristic Worlds of 3D

We interviewed Autodesk’s technology futurist Jordan Brandt, appropriately, in the Autodesk Gallery at their One Market offices in San Francisco. The Gallery, open to the public and the venue for monthly techie events, is a showcase for eye-popping examples of the types of innovation Autodesk’s customers have been producing for more than three decades. It...