by Matt Ball on February 9, 2012
Did that title get your attention? The same exact title appeared in a feature in today’s People’s Daily. The feature highlights major accomplishments, such as full countrywide mapping coverage at 1:50,000, digital urban model construction, Internet mapping sytems, precision measurement, and the real-time monitoring of changing geographic conditions. The launch of a high-resolution earth observation [...]
by Matt Ball on February 8, 2012
An FAA bill that calls for the integration of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) into the national airspace system now goes to the president for his signature. The rapid technological advancements brought on by widespread military use have elevated the technology to a safety level that make it an attractive option for a variety of tasks [...]
by Matt Ball on February 7, 2012
Ericsson Labs has recently released a Geo Location Messaging API for quick and simple location-based content delivery. The API can be used to push content to clients in a selected location or to alert clients about data. Users can subscribe to information channels or services in order to receive these pushed messages. While the API [...]
by Matt Ball on February 6, 2012
The BBC have done a nice job of summarizing the possibilities, and future potential, for augmented reality in this video. The piece highlights the 110 Stories application that places a silhouetted image of the Twin Towers at the right height, in the right orientation into your smart phone, allowing you to take and share a [...]
by Matt Ball on February 3, 2012
This may be a perennial question, as certainly the rise and promise of universal 3D geovisualization keeps coming in waves that are similar to the promise of location-based services. With each wave, we all ride the crest, and perhaps a few move toward the ongoing capture and visualization of our geographies beyond just a project [...]
by Matt Ball on February 2, 2012
The Open Geospatial Consortium has recently released a professionally-produced video that condenses the value of interconnected geospatial data (particularly through sensors) as well as the value of the consortium. The piece uses a multi-narrator approach, where different actors from different nationalities finish each other’s sentences. The result is a compelling global appeal for the value [...]
by Matt Ball on January 31, 2012
The National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) has released an online atlas that shows the potential for renewable energy across the country. The atlas allows users to display the types of resources that are of interest to them, including hydro, geothermal, biomass, concentrated solar power, solar photovoltaic, wind offshore, wind onshore, and wave power density. The [...]
by Matt Ball on January 30, 2012
The Islands Trust, which focuses on preserving island communities in British Columbia, have just launched MapIT as a means to explore island properties and ecosystems for better land-use planning and resource management. The Islands Trust Area covers the islands and waters between the British Columbia mainland and southern Vancouver Island, including Howe Sound and as [...]
by Matt Ball on January 26, 2012
The U.S. Geological Survey’s NetQuakes project is rolling out a new network of seismograph sensors that will form a denser network of readings to better measure ground motion during earthquakes. The new type of digital seismograph connects to a local network via WiFi and transmits its data direct to the USGS after an earthquake of [...]
by Matt Ball on January 20, 2012
UpNext debuts interactive and fluid 3D maps, available on iPad and Android. There are enhanced 3D models of 23 cities in the United States with 50 world cities that show points of interest and Foursquare checkins, with the idea that you’ll be able to see the activities that are “up next” in your area. View [...]