Category Archives: Spatial IT/GIS
On the House
Free data make the mapping world go round Reliable geospatial data used to be hard to find and expensive. But thanks to the profusion of online data repositories, it’s now at our fingertips for free. It is telling that one of the first websites where mapmakers can have access to free satellite imagery was created...
URISA Announces 2022 Digital Competition Results
URISA’s Vanguard Cabinet is pleased to announce the results of the 2022 Student and Young Professional Digital Competition. Eligible participants were currently enrolled in a college or university, a recent graduate, or a young or emerging geospatial professional with fewer than five years of experience. The competition was limited to projects that utilize web and mobile platforms, such...
Virtual Cities Are Rising
Cutting-edge 3D city models lead the way to better urban planning via digital simulation Take a peek at Helsinki’s virtual 3D city model and what might at first seem to be just rows of solid objects soon reveal themselves as handsome blocks of buildings that line gridiron streets. This is the digital doppelganger of Finland’s...
Embracing the Drone Revolution
Surveyor business models changing in the BVLOS era Over the past few months, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), working with the drone industry, academia, and general aviation membership organizations such as AOPA (www.aopa.org) and NBAA (www.nbaa.org), has been able to advance the cause of uncrewed flights beyond visual line of sight of the operator (BVLOS). ...
Refining Measurement
A land surveyor unpacks the concept of accuracy “Accuracy is addictive,” my friend David Doyle once said. Doyle is a geodesist by trade. For someone in his line of work, this addiction has a rich tradition. Geodesy is the study of Earth’s shape, rotation, and gravity field. The discipline involves an eternal quest to refine...
Upgrading GIS for a Better 911
The complex system of emergency call routing and critical location data delivery is getting a makeover Minutes can make a difference between life and death for 911 callers. A quick response with suitable equipment and knowledgeable personnel is the goal of 911 call centers across the country. However, managing calls and texts from mobile phones...
