Category Archives: Spatial IT/GIS

Bad Elf

A Good Day with a Bad Elf

It was a beautiful early summer day, ideal weather to take a road trip to the Pike National Forest about an hour from my Eastern Colorado home. Pike National Forest comprises 1,106,604 acres southwest of Denver and is a frequent haunt of mine for camping, off-roading, and in past years dirt biking and ATV-ing. This...

Multipurpose GIS with ArcGIS Pro

You can now use point clouds and massive geospatial data with GIS through the web and your desktop with new software. Above: London rendered in 3D with London Underground data. For years, point clouds (lidar, laserscan, and multibeam) have been pretty useless to GIS users. When a GIS user had to analyze the data, often...

Esri Geo App

Free GIS Training

The ABCs of GIS via MOOC Massive open online courses (MOOCs) provide an affordable (generally free) and flexible way to learn new skills to advance or enhance your career or for your own personal development. The team over at Esri has joined the MOOC movement with five free GIS-related courses that require only a few...

HxGN 2017

HxGN LIVE 2017 Takeaways

The big buzz among those interested in laser scanning was Leica’s BLK360 laser scanner (pictured above as demonstrated to xyHt editor Gavin Schrock). The small, affordable ($16k) scanner was originally jointly announced by Leica Geosystems and Autodesk at AU 2016 in November. At HxGN LIVE 2017, attendees learned that scanner shipments had begun. The BLK360...

Dealing with Vertical Datum, the Mariners’ Way

Before 3D GIS, we were able to measure miles below the sea and miles beyond our own atmosphere to a great level of accuracy, so how did we do it? There are a few methods for working between vertical coordinate systems, but the one I want to discuss is possibly the simplest, not always the...

The iCon build: Adding Adaptable Options for Layout Automation

Leica’s “iCon build” solves a common layout automation conundrum for vertical construction firms, large and small. Editor’s note: The benefits of automation for vertical construction are not limited to projects that have implemented full-on, single-environment BIM. Many firms and projects can now use a realistic and practical mix of old and new workflows and technologies during...