Category Archives: Aerial/UAS
Aerial Mapping
Above: Fusion of data from multiple sensors is becoming a common request from geospatial users. Here, a 10cm RGB image was fused with a classified lidar point cloud that was collected at 25 ppsm. The resultant data provides users with an enhanced ability to support a wider array of applications than each dataset used discretely. New...
UAVs for the Whole World
UAVs are fundamentally changing our world. From use in conservation, humanitarian relief efforts, precision agriculture, and a myriad of other commercial applications, more people are realizing the benefits UAVs can bring for changing businesses for the better and saving and improving people’s lives. A growing diversity of markets and applications are creating substantial opportunities for...
COAs from an Operational Applicant’s Perspective
Above picture: As COAs cross different airspace types, more coordination is required for the FAA to allows safe UAS operations in the National Airspace. By now, most everyone reading this has at least some understanding of the potential benefits an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) has on their industry. I have read publications that mention that precision...
ROPOS: ROV Cool
I recently accompanied a film crew working on a documentary on maritime technologies to the NOAA facility in Newport, Oregon to catch a glimpse of what is widely celebrated as the “coolest ROV in the world.” The Remotely Operated Platform for Ocean Sciences (ROPOS) is the flagship research ROV of the Canadian Scientific Submersible Facility...
All Over the Map
The regulations and uses of UAVs for mapping in Latin America are as diverse as those cultures, but their drivers are much the same as we see here in the United States. Using manned airplanes for aerial photography and photogrammetry is an especially expensive proposition for countries south of the Rio Grande. The reasons are...
What is xyHt?
Stand in the place where you live Now face North Think about direction Wonder why you haven’t before “Stand” – R.E.M. Why an obscure geodetic expression? It’s not all that obscure—it represents a foundational element requisite to nearly all human endeavor. It touches your life explicitly and in the abstract. All of the ways that...
