July 2020 Archives
GNSS on Top of the World: Climbing Everest with CHC P5
Surveyors summit Mount Everest with a new generation of GNSS instruments. The fascination with the height of Mount Everest began one morning in 1852 when Radhanath Sikdar, an Indian-Bengali mathematician, rushed into the room of Sir Andrew Waugh and exclaimed, “Sir, I have discovered the highest mountain of the world.” Sikdar was employed by the Great Trigonometric Survey of India […]
The Early Days of 3D Scanning, Part 2: Cyra Technologies
In the 1990s I was very fortunate to get in on the ground floor of 3D laser scanning technology with a startup often credited with pioneering the technology: Cyra Technologies. Featured image: Prior to co-founding Cyra Technologies to develop 3D laser scanning, Ben Kacyra’s AEC company, Cygna, provided seismic retrofit engineering services for California’s nuclear […]
Topcon Solutions Store Leads the Way in Gearing Up
Moves to modernize surveying, engineering, and construction were already well under way—recent events have simply accelerated the process. Many, such as Topcon’s Solutions Store, have used the recent slowdown to adopt new models for workflows, collaboration, distributorships, training, and support to be ready to meet future demand. As the pause button is being released, and […]
Damage to the Underground: A Stitch in Time Saves Nine
Avoiding damage to utility infrastructure could save billions. This is a summary of a white paper “Reducing Damage to Underground Utility Infrastructure during Excavation” prepared by Geoff Zeiss and Dr. Sakura Shinoaki and published by the Geospatial Information & Technology Association. Over two decades in the United States there have been more than 400 fatalities and […]
Antiquities Trafficking and the Surveyor: How Mapping is Keeping History Public
Conflicts around the world are often funded by the sale of drugs, guns, diamonds, ivory, and antiquities. Often these cultural relics stolen from home countries are purchased unwittingly abroad. One organization is hard at work to alert buyers and the art market about this growing problem, using maps to broadcast the stories of missing artifacts. […]