Ever wondered what Geoinformatics was? It’s a thing! Geoinformatics has other names – Geographic Information Science and GIS. No matter how you see it, GIS has become a growing field in the technology industry. So, it’s no surprise that many universities in the...
Vertical Images: From Film Making to Inspection, and Why the Future of Drones Doesn't Lie in Flying
Successful drone entrepreneur Petr LnÄ›niÄka went from award-winning filmmaker to drone inspection leader in his native Czech Republic. Here he lays out 3 pieces of advice and explains why for him, the transition seemed logical, and why he believes the future of drone mapping services will place less and less emphasis on drones and more and more weight on mapping data.
Industry Insights: Enabling Cloud-Based Augmented Reality Networks
The concept of cloud-based augmented reality (AR) is on the precipice of fundamentally changing organizational decision making for all types of industries. However, with any new technological frontier, there are many innovative startups vying to take the lead in the practical, commercial application of AR. And this is exactly what's happening today, with the geospatial sector being on the forefront of this technology frontier.
A Pivot Point for Space Accessibility
Space often is viewed as a high-tech futuristic dream available only to the world’s top-notch scientists. Online satellite maps, TV and GPS have snuck into common usage, but with the controlling powers being large companies or institutions. But we’re now at a...
Industry Insights: New NASA Earth Science Missions Expand View of Our Home Planet
By Steve Cole, public affairs officer, Earth Science Division, NASA (www.nasa.gov), Washington, D.C. Four new NASA Earth-observing missions are collecting data from space—with a fifth newly in orbit—after the busiest year of NASA Earth science launches in more...
Simplicity = Power for Geospatial Solutions
By Mladen Stojic, president, Hexagon Geospatial (www.hexagongeospatial.com), Norcross, Ga. One constant in our world is change, which can have a dramatic effect on virtually any organization around the globe. Today’s dynamically transforming landscape, whether...
How Should We Teach Geospatial Analysis?
By Jason Moll, Office of Corporate Communications, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (www.nga.mil), Bethesda, Md. The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and Penn State University entered into the fourth of a five-year partnership in January...
Open Standards Benefit Earth Imaging Community
By Peter Baumann, Jacobs University Bremen, chair of the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Coverage Service Standards Working Group, and Lance McKee, OGC senior staff writer. his year marks the 20th anniversary of the founding of the Open Geospatial...
Landsat 8 Celebrates High-Flying Rookie Season
By Jon Campbell and Rebecca L. Johnson, U.S. Geological Survey (www.usgs.gov), Reston, Va., and Kate Ramsayer, NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center (www.nasa.gov/center/goddard), Greenbelt, Md. It’s hard to believe a year has passed since the launch of Landsat 8. On...
Is LiDAR Disruptive Technology?
By Patrick Cunningham, president, Blue Marble Geographics (www.bluemarblegeo.com), Hallowell, Maine. The use of light detection and ranging (LiDAR) data has taken center stage in geospatial technology during the last few years. LiDAR data collection hardware vendors...