Category Archives: Surveying

Summertime, and the Surveying Ain’t Easy

Now that winter and even spring have finished thrashing half the country, we can officially enjoy summer. As a laser scanner operator I have a fairly easy job this season due to the limitations of the instrument—at least, it’s easier than being a field surveyor. If you’ve ever worked on a survey crew in the...

normal distribution

Surveying Statistics

Part 2: The Normal Distribution Part 1 of this series appeared in the May 2015 issue. Errors in observations can be classified as systematic or random. Systematic errors follow physical laws and can be mathematically corrected or removed by following proper field procedures with instruments. For example, the expansion or contraction of a steel tape...

Normal Distribution Curve

The Normal Distribution, Part 1

Errors in observations can be classified as systematic or random. Systematic errors are errors that follow physical laws and can be mathematically corrected or removed by following proper field procedures with instruments. For example, the expansion or contraction of a steel tape caused by temperatures that differ from the tape’s standard temperature is a systematic...

A mosiac of panoramic images provides a complete, detailed view of a processing facility. A few minutes of imaging can replace hours of more conventional surveying. The precise locations of the photostations (shown as models of the imaging rover) are measured using GNSS or total stations.

Creating Energy From Images

Geospatial information has long played an essential role in the energy industry, but now a new technology is cutting costs while improving the flow of knowledge. Editor’s note: The energy sector, oil and gas in particular, has grown more rapidly in the past half dozen years than in the past half a century. New fields,...

xyHt’s 40 Geospatial Leaders under 40

Join xyHt in Celebrating Young Leadership in Geospatial Professions, Industries, and Sciences!  Who are the current young geo-leaders internationally? And where are they making a difference? There is a maxim:  “We teach children their future, and not our past.” With the exception (in the geospatial realm) of archaeology, forensics, monitoring, and boundary survey (where historical...

The geospatially aware Jackal robots are configured with different imaging and navigation systems depending on the needs of the autonomous application.

Robot Revolution

Clearpath Robotics CEO Matt Rendall discusses unmanned systems, land survey, and robotic industry trends.   The robot revolution is hitting a big milestone. Robotic use is expanding beyond research activities, aerial applications, and industrial manipulators through a new kind of deployment: the service robot. These robots are autonomous, they’re geospatially aware, and they can manipulate...