In June 2016, GHGSat Inc. of Montreal launched a microsatellite called Claire on an ambitious demonstration mission to prove that greenhouse gas emissions from point sources on the ground could be monitored from space.
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.
How Do I Choose the Correct Image-Capture Settings for 3D Models?
What are the effects of the angle between images setting in circular missions when it comes to 3D reconstruction?
Small Satellites, Big Market: Boundaries to Space-Based Earth Observation Rapidly Disappearing
For what SmallSats lack in size, they more than make up for in quantity and breadth of coverage, and that goes beyond just their physical dimensions. Along with unmanned aerial systems (UASs or drones), SmallSats (which have several related subsets such as cubesats, nanosats, microsats and others) seem to dominate headlines and conversations in Earth-observation industries and media.
Earth Observation and Big Data: Creatively Collecting, Processing and Applying Global Information
To help Earth observation (EO) at Big Data scales, teams outside GIS and remote sensing are increasingly rising to the challenge to understand data sources, management and processing.
LiDAR, GIS and the Chesapeake Conservancy: Making Precision Conservation Possible for All
Building on the practice of precision agriculture and exploiting recent computer advances, the Chesapeake Conservancy (CC) is developing open-source geoprocessing and analysis tools that help environmental nonprofits and local-government agencies prioritize conservation and restoration decision making. From creating new, high-resolution land-cover data and flow-path analyses based on LiDAR elevation data to developing custom Web applications, it's giving partners with little or no expertise in GIS or complex modeling access to large-scale data and modeling produced by state and federal agencies as well as larger non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Into the Glacial Abyss: Laser Scanning and UAS Technology Model Ancient Ice Cave
Working in difficult and frozen conditions 3,000 meters above sea level, with only a small time window due to changing weather and potentially melting surroundings, explorers, photographers and scientists used a laser scanner, an unmanned aerial system (UAS) vehicle and cameras to map out The Abyss of Cenote, one of the largest glacial caves in the Italian Dolomites.
Keeping the County Current: A Remote-Sensing and GIS Approach to Base Mapping
Loudoun County, Va., located within the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area, is approximately 520 square miles and has been one of the fastest-growing U.S. counties for the last decade. The county's eastern portion is developing rapidly, while many western areas remain rural. This rapidly changing landscape and growing population have necessitated aggressive maintenance of the county's base map, and aerial imagery is playing a major role.
CONABIO Creates a Countrywide Conservation Baseline: Deforestation Monitoring Aids Overall Environmental Effort
Mexico is among the ambitious countries that committed to the Tier 3 requirements of the Reduce Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation (REDD+) international conservation mechanism. At all tiers, REDD+ involves estimating carbon stocks in forests as well as management practices that improve a forest's carbon-carrying capacity.
Earth Observation Embracing the New Space Environment: The Significance of EO Smallsat Constellations
During the last several years, numerous companies announced their intention to launch low-cost Earth-observation satellite systems, most of which will be constellations of satellites. This implies a significant increase in the amount of Earth-observation data being collected and a growing number of supply choices, but what are the industry implications?