Category Archives: Surveying
Wind, Water, and Fire: Hurricane Response in the Geospatial Community
Response, recovery, and rebuilding in the aftermath of hurricanes Harvey and Irma and the unprecedented wildfire season in the West may be the largest combined U.S. disaster response to date. The impacts to Texas, Florida, the broader Gulf Coast region, and many western states will require large national and international effort. We are all involved;...
Geospatial to the Rescue
In view of recent weather-related events, we’ll take a quick detour from our series on AR (augmented reality) to cover RR (real reality): the catastrophic 2017 hurricane and wildfire season. The Caribbean islands, Florida, Louisiana, and Texas are reeling from the effects of hurricanes Harvey and Irma. As of this writing, Jose is only brushing...
The GeoDude on Scanning Efficiency
A Snapshot from the GeoDude on Rich Data Here’s a comparison of today’s field and office efficiencies—for conventional surveying methods versus laser scanning—as applied to topographic and site surveys. Above: The firm that used scanning for this site survey noted that more than 60% of these types of projects entail scope creep; scanning typically avoids go-backs....
Topcon Positioning System’s Ray O’Connor on Infrastructure
Topcon Positioning System’s president and CEO, Ray O’Connor, speaks to xyHt about the U.S.’s infrastructure needs and how to meet them. Ray O’Connor, president and CEO of Topcon Positioning Systems, has many passions: producing advanced measurement and automation equipment and software, family, golf, and the subject of infrastructure—more specifically, the lack of long-term infrastructure planning. Putting...
Certifications or Licensing? Part 6
Part 6 of 6: Building a Surveyor Professional Certification Program Editor’s Note: What will regulation, certification, and licensing of the surveying profession look like in the near and distant future? Surveying is and always has been molded by external influences: markets, technologies, economic conditions, demographics, and competition from outside of the profession. Other professionals, consumers,...
Mainstreaming Augmented Reality: No Headset Required, Part 1
Augmented reality technology is rapidly evolving into the mainstream; now you can employ and enjoy AR on your smartphone. Let’s start with Apple’s ARKit, a software developers’ kit (SDK) for augmented reality. Apps developed on this platform will work with all iPhones and iPads that use the A9 or A10 processor and are running iOS...
