Category Archives: Surveying

Affordable GNSS: Post-Processing Kinematic in the Cloud

In 1990 I had the privilege to work with a group of pioneers in Canada in the early development of land surveying techniques using a revolutionary new technology known as global positioning system or GPS. Back then, there was only a handful of satellites and the availability of a workable constellation that would allow for...

Riegl Officially Opens New Headquarters

On November 18th and under a persistent Florida drizzle, Dr. Johannes Riegl cut the ribbon that officially opened their new North American headquarters for business. Attended by over 150 people, Dr. Riegl and his son Johannes Riegl Jr., presided over a well-orchestrated and masterfully executed opening gala at the new Winter Garden, FL location. The...

Safety First

If you look at a list of the most dangerous jobs in America, you won’t see surveyor listed in the top 25, but I believe that is because most of us only spend a small percentage of our time working along the highway or on a construction site. As many can attest, those situations are...

It’s All About the Journey

I was recently looking at the archive of past Field Notes and was amazed how far back I had to go to get to my first one – March 2016. What began as a lone article submission on subsidence in California has resulted in a five-plus-year journey of writing this monthly piece— a journey I...

Autonomy Comes to UAVs

Trending tech has UAV software looking futuristic To a certain degree, autonomous operations are already baked into the current state of data collection (aka reality capture) software for UAVs. Pre-mission planning consists of using a map-based interface to highlight the area that needs to be mapped or inspected, the appropriate flight pattern and height (AGL)...

Exit Interview

Questions and answers with retiring NSPS Executive Director Curtis Sumner Curtis Sumner has had a venerable career in surveying, starting as an 18-year-old straight out of high school and finishing as the long-time executive director of the National Society of Professional Surveyors (NSPS). Raised in the beautiful Blue Ridge Mountains of southwestern Virginia, Sumner gained...