Category Archives: Aerial/UAS

Jeff DeBoer

xyHt Doer: Jeff DeBoer

Jeff DeBoer is program manager of OEM & Mobile Mapping Systems at Topcon Positioning Systems. My main role at Topcon is supporting our customers and working with our mass data collection systems. My responsibilities range from working internally with our engineering teams to help develop and improve products to going out in the field conducting...

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Treasure Hunting with Geospatial Tech: Part One

Geospatial tech is increasingly being called upon in the search for treasure. Let’s look at some examples, and maybe you, too, could discover hidden riches! Pangaea #155 As the wind keens and the snow piles up outside my door I retreat into my cozy home for some arm-chair treasure hunting. I start with the Travel Channel’s...

An Inside Look

The New FAA UAS Registration Recommendations The UAS Registration Task Force (RTF) Aviation Rulemaking Committee has recently published its recommendations. For an insider’s look, we talked to Altavian’s John Perry, a member of the committee. Unmanned & Unlimited: Could you give us your take on the process? As a representative of MAPPS and as a...

The Pentagon, the headquarters of the U.S. military, as captured by nearmap.

Mapping as a Service

Fueled by the convergence of cloud computing, digital automation, and internet distribution, subscription mapping creates new opportunities. Subscription aerial mapping sets out to rid the industry of its dated legacies. One in particular is the commissioning of aerial mapping projects. The process can be bureaucratic, expensive, and subject to a long approval. This could lead...

The Long Drive

Topcon Positioning Systems’ president and CEO Ray O’Connor talks about automation, integrated solutions, smart phones, golf, and the coming era of continuous representation of reality.  The occasion of our conversation with Ray O’Connor was a visit to the headquarters of Topcon Positioning Systems in Livermore, California, which included a tour of their manufacturing facility, a...

Eva-Maria Unger

Outlook 2016: 40 Under 40

In this annual issue focused on the future, we offer “40 under 40” (or “40<40”): a collection of profiles of motivated and noteworthy young professionals under 40 years of age. It is our wish that these profiles will honor those who work tirelessly to promote geospatial fields and to provide inspiration for young people considering...