Category Archives: Surveying

Infrastructure, BIM, and the Brothers Bentley

Infrastructure—the human footprint on the planet, the processes, systems, instrumentalities and built environment we inhabit—makes our lives possible. It provides the foundation for the lives we hope to live in the near and distant future. Modern infrastructure is the global tendrils of humanity, reaching all corners of the globe and binding us together in our...

Outlook January 2018 cover

You Do What?

Outlook 2018 Editorial When you tell non-geo people what you do for a living, many of them probably respond with, “You do what?” It’s not an affront, and it’s perfectly understandable. Our geospatial work is often perceived as obscure and esoteric. Let’s face it: the geospatial world has evolved rapidly in the past century, even...

Topcon IoT Construction

IoT for Construction

Greater interconnectivity is transforming the way we go about construction. Probably the best definition of the Internet of Things (IoT) appears in a Forbes magazine article written by the futurist Jacob Morgan; it’s the concept of “connecting any device with an on and off switch to the internet (and/or to each other).” This includes everything from...

Raw field data from GNSS, total stations, and scanning can be processed and combined in a single environment using Trimble Business Center.

Geospatial Data United

Industry trends are moving toward consolidated environments for data visualization, processing, and management. From the title you might get the impression this article is about a soccer team. To geospatial professionals, however, the title phrase could describe an ideal situation—the ability to handle all geospatial data in a common software environment. A soccer team is made up...

Firebiner multi-function carabiner

7 Gifts under $70 for Surveyors

I’ve put together this year’s list of gifts with practical ideas that any field surveyor should find useful. All prices are accurate at the time of writing; I’m not responsible for price hikes. All items are highly rated (four- to five-star online reviews), but use your best judgement) 1) Yeti Loadout Bucket. Five-gallon buckets are...

Elizabeth Person's map of the Pacific Northwest

The Pacific Northwest

Maps as Art These earth-toned watercolors reflect the greens, browns, yellows, and blues of the verdant Pacific Northwest. I spent hours comparing source material and drawing and re-drawing this map, so I have a new depth of admiration for the mapmakers of old who pioneered this exacting business. I begin every map with a 1″...