Image: GeoSLAM

Geospatial mapping company GeoSLAM has expanded its mining offerings.

The company also announced an automated processing platform, GeoSLAM Connect, which provides users with the flexibility to process data to their specifications through interactive, customizable script-based workflows.

The new innovations can be used alongside GeoSLAM solutions already available, including GeoSLAM Volumes for stockpile volumetric calculations.

GeoSLAM Production Progress Mapping allows operators to make short-term decisions on newly mined production areas when coupled with the ZEB scanner and its own internal coordinate system. Once the data from each scan has been automatically processed and georeferenced using GeoSLAM Connect, it can be uploaded to compatible third-party software. Operators can overlap collected data and precisely visualize changes over time to compare with project plans.

Convergence Analysis provides mine owners with a rapid and cost-effective way to understand the environment while keeping miners safe by measuring rock support at a safe distance.

A shaft inspection cradle is built for collecting data during inspections and analyzing change. It allows users to understand the erosion of a shaft wall, view blockages and identify hanging points for ore in hard-to-reach shafts.

<p>The post GeoSLAM launches underground mining solutions first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: Mapitude

The Maptitude 2021 ZIP Code Business Count data are available now. The update includes the total number of businesses by type (by six-digit North American Industry Classification System or NAIC” codes, formerly known as SIC codes).

For each business type (for instance, full-service restaurants), users can map the number that fall into each employment size category (for instance, full-service restaurants with 1-4 employees, full-service restaurants with 1000+ employees, etc.).

These data are useful for businesses and market research analysts because they allow analysis of market potential, measuring the effectiveness of sales and advertising programs, setting sales quotas, and developing budgets. Government agencies use the data for administration and planning.

The ZIP Code Business Count data are free for Maptitude 2021 users, and is also available as shapefile, KML, KMZ or GeoJSON for a fee.

<p>The post Mapitude offers 2021 US ZIP Code business count data first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Photo: Bluesky

A new map detailing the location, height and canopy for trees more than 3 meters in height is helping Sevenoaks District Council manage its iconic ancient trees and natural woodland.

Derived from Bluesky’s National Tree Map, which provides geospatial intelligence for more than 300 million trees across the United Kingdom, the data has already been used to create a district-wide map of tree cover, to create 3D visualizations to inform development decisions, and to support planning enforcement investigations.

Sevenoaks District Council originally purchased National Tree Map data from Bluesky in November 2019, and the data is widely used across the council with specific applications in planning.

Updated this year, the original and new tree-map layers are stored in the council’s GIS alongside multiple years of aerial photography, Ordnance Survey maps, data such as Ancient Woodland and Biodiversity Opportunities, and council data including Tree Preservation Orders and Planning Applications. The tree data is accessible to all staff via the council’s intranet mapping system GISMO (GIS Online).

The name Sevenoaks (the name given to the town and more recently to the district) dates to circa 800 A.D. and is thought to be derived from “Seouenaca,” the name given to a small chapel near seven oak trees. Records of these trees through the ages are sparse; it is not until the 19th century when a group of seven trees appears on an Ordnance Survey map.

The eponymous oak trees have been replaced many times over the years, including the planting of seven oaks to commemorate the coronation of Edward VII in 1902 and tree planting by personnel from the Canadian Air Force in 1947 in gratitude for being billeted in the town.

Bluesky’s National Tree Map is created using innovative algorithms and image processing techniques in combination with the most up-to-date and detailed aerial photography, terrain and surface height data, and color infrared imagery.

In addition to the three vector map layers — Crown Polygons, Idealised Crowns and Height Points — the Bluesky National Tree Map also includes an attribute table with unique identification for each crown feature, height attributes and area calculations.

<p>The post Bluesky National Tree Map shows changing face of Sevenoaks first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: Geographical Technologies Group

In 2019, the City of Hobart Sanitary and Stormwater District (HSD) in Hobart, Indiana, recognized the benefits of geospatial technology and location intelligence to transform the city. HSD reached out to Geographic Technologies Group (GTG) to write and implement a geographic information system (GIS) strategic plan.

GTG is one of the world’s leading local government GIS companies, working to advance the science of location intelligence and geospatial technology. GTG built a GIS strategic plan for HSD using high-resolution aerial imagery from Nearmap to help build on the city’s need to deliver geospatial data to customers.

“Our content integrates easily with GTG’s applications and acts as a valuable component to their strategic planning services,” said Karl Terrey, director, Global Alliances at Nearmap. “Our imagery is refreshed multiple times per year and when combined with GTG’s technology allows governments to make decisions based on conditions in their communities in near-real-time.”

Image: Geographical Technologies Group

Before GTG, HSD was maintaining a GIS viewer web app that was not user friendly, and thus underutilized.

HSD leaders recognized the need for an interface that would serve the district as well as other city departments while being easy to navigate. Nearmap’s technology corrected this, by equipping users with controls that were customized to address all the needs of its users.

Image: Geographical Technologies Group

“Our goal has always been to solve problems, and introduce a new kind of decision support for our clients,” said James Kelt, VP of Corporate Software at GTG. “Our clients love the imagery and the more we worked with Nearmap, the more we’ve been able to provide this added value to our customers.”

With the help of the user-friendly ArcGIS Hub, where citizens could access GIS tools, and GTG’s new program, the city of Hobart gained greater citizen engagement that allowed them to find information for themselves. 

<p>The post Indiana city increases citizen engagement with user-friendly GIS program first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Photo: shaunl/E+/Getty Images

NV5 Geospatial debuts predictive modeling platform to improve utilities’ vegetation management programs

NV5 Geospatial has launched Trim Optimization, a predictive modeling platform that enables electric utilities to enhance vegetation management programs with risk-based assessments.

Using information from existing lidar and historical data, utilities can leverage Trim Optimization to prioritize tree-trimming activities by taking into account the risk posed by individual trees and other operational constraints.

“Trees are to blame for a large percentage of outages, and vegetation management is the single biggest cost for electric utilities. Yet, utilities have only started to look at proactive, risk-based management programs, rather than the traditional cycle-based ones,” said Ian Berdie, vice president of innovation for NV5 Geospatial. “NV5 Geospatial’s Trim Optimization platform will help utilities improve grid reliability through better decision making, while also saving them money through greater efficiency and the ability to target areas that have the most potential for problems.”

Vegetation is one of the largest sources of outages, accounting for more than half, according to a recent survey, “Geospatial Analytics, Resilience and Extreme Weather Readiness.” The majority of respondents also noted that they use data to analyze risk, but budget constraints often prevent them from investing in the data they need.

The trim optimization platform takes a phased approach to identify relative risk to target vegetation management work where it will have the most impact. With extensive expertise, NV5 Geospatial first identifies several attributes associated with vegetation-caused outages that can be modeled from high-density lidar and provide a relative risk score.

Utility-specific data, such as historic tree failures information or other factors, can be analyzed to enhance results further.

The final risk scores will provide a quantitative assessment of combined risk, enabling utilities to develop work plans that prioritize vegetation management mitigation efforts and result in greater operational efficiency.

NV5 is holding a webinar on Trim Optimization on Aug. 25. Register here.

<p>The post NV5 Geospatial offers vegetation management tools for utilities first appeared on GPS World.</p>

A rendering of a 6U CubeSat. (Credit: Spire Global)

King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) and Spire Global will launch the KAUST CubeSat research satellite by the end of 2022, according to the university. Spire is a space data, analytics and services provider.

The research satellite will in collecting high-quality, high-resolution data for terrestrial, coastal and ocean ecosystems for a three-year period after launch, according to Matthew McCabe, director of the KAUST Climate and Livability Initiative. McCabe described the launch as a qualitative process for the Kingdom’s efforts in the field of protecting and restoring ecosystems on land and at sea.

A CubeSat is a small satellite consisting of one or several 10x10x10 cm units, no more than 1.33 kilograms per unit. CubeSats can range from 1 unit (1U) to 12 units (12U). The KAUST satellite is 6U.

“In the past, launching a satellite was the sole domain of governments, with costs well beyond the reach of a university,” McCabe said. “CubeSats are helping to democratize space, providing the opportunity to launch a customized platform at a fraction of the traditional cost.”

The data collected will provide high-resolution details about current conditions of ecosystems in the region, and monitor improvements from environmental management strategies, supporting the Saudi Green Initiative among others.

The CubeSat is equipped with Spire’s GNSS reflectometry reflectors, as well as a hyperspectral imaging sensor. It is supported by advanced capabilities in processing and artificial intelligence.

The satellite will allow KAUST University researchers collect and analyze high-resolution images of the Earth’s surface for detailed mapping of terrestrial environments, monitoring of vegetation cover status, exploration of coastal ecosystems and coral reefs, development of precision agricultural research, and a host of other Earth and environmental science applications.

The imaging sensor can image areas of interest anywhere in the world across more than 30 user-adjustable spectral bands. The sensor data can be combined with Spire’s GNSS receiver to monitor micro-environmental variables such as soil moisture, helping in many areas such as agriculture, forestry and land management.

“The capacity to observe the Earth in high-resolution hyperspectral detail will allow for the production of enhanced metrics to map and monitor change anywhere in the world,” McCabe said. “Closer to home, Saudi Arabia is focusing considerable effort towards the protection and restoration of its precious terrestrial and ocean systems. The data from this KAUST CubeSat will be invaluable in providing new information on both the state of existing ecosystems, and for monitoring changes resulting from improved management strategies – something that can be used to support aspects of the Saudi and Middle East Green Initiatives.”

<p>The post Saudi CubeSat to launch in 2022 for ecosystem research first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Image: SPH Engineering

SPH Engineering has updated its UgCS software with a lidar toolset for UAVs. The toolset is designed to unlock the full potential of lidar sensors, making remote sensing more effective without human errors. Key features include precision calibration, flight patterns for route planning, anti-shake turns, and constant line spacing and buffer.

The UgCS lidar toolset allows users to optimize time and cost-effectiveness at all stages of data collection and processing. Time is saved on mission planning with flight patterns and turns designed for lidar surveys. During flight, users can acquire high-quality laser data with preset inertial measurement unit (IMU) initialization patterns and anti-shake lidar turns. During post-flight data analysis, the high accuracy of acquired data ensures users can get the desired results with one trip to the field and quality data analysis.

“We have received various requests from lidar producers and end-users to improve the accuracy of laser data collected with a UAV,” said Alexei Yankelevich, head of software development at SPH Engineering. “We have invested in UgCS R&D to focus mainly on automated IMU calibration commands, automatic calculation of required line spacing and overlap, and prevention of sensor shaking. Trial flights over SPH Engineering’s in-house test range have confirmed UgCS lidar toolset capacity to support main lidar market players.”

Common application areas include power-line inspections, road inspections, construction, mining, archaeology and forestry.

<p>The post UgCS software updated for drone-based lidar missions first appeared on GPS World.</p>

Vatican City satellite image. (Photo: UP42)

Deal makes data from 40 Chinese satellites available through UP42 now, another 40 by late 2021

UP42 has signed an agreement with HEAD Aerospace of Beijing to make image data from more than 40 Chinese Earth Observation satellites available on the UP42 marketplace.

The broad selection of imaging capabilities from the constellations dramatically expands the range of applications in multiple sectors, with the most significant benefits expected in infrastructure, transportation, utilities, agriculture and government.

The UP42 marketplace contains more than 50 geospatial data sets, including satellite imagery from six international organizations. The newly added satellites’ diverse and often unique imaging capabilities include wide-swath imaging at very high resolution, nighttime acquisitions, frequent intraday revisits, tri-stereo collection and hyperspectral imaging.

“This partnership is an important milestone for us as a company but, more importantly, for our customers. By diversifying our data sets, we are unlocking a broader spectrum of use cases for our users in multiple sectors. This is the true meaning of ‘democratizing access to Earth insights’,” said UP42 CEO Sean Wiid.

HEAD Aerospace is an international distributor of satellite imagery collected by commercial Earth Observation missions. The UP42-HEAD agreement includes imagery from multiple constellations, including SuperView, Earthscanner, Gaofen-7, DailyVision, NightVision, Hyperscan, and Tri-Stereo ZY3. These seven constellations will total more than 80 satellites by the end of 2021.

“Sharing a similar approach facilitating users’ easy access to an agnostic data source by a centralized portal with a wide choice of satellite attributes, we are glad to have partnered with UP42. This partnership represents another new milestone for us in expanding our global network.” said Kammy Brun, managing director of HEAD Aerospace.

While each satellite constellation was designed with one or more imaging specialties, a remarkable variety of operational capabilities are shared across the constellations to support numerous applications and industries. Examples include:

• Large-Area Very High-Resolution Mapping – Planning and monitoring critical infrastructure, including utility transmission grids and transportation networks, can be performed for entire states, countries and regions. Up to 40,000 square kilometers can be covered with wide-swath (136 km) imagery captured at a half-meter spatial resolution on a single pass.
• Intraday and Early Morning Monitoring – The EarlyEye tasking product leverages multiple HEAD Aerospace constellations to deliver early-morning frequent images, an hour earlier than usual commercial offer at 10:30 a.m. Designed for frequent monitoring of critical assets and rapidly changing situations related to energy security, defense/intelligence and infrastructure management, a high-resolution revisit schedule of four times per day is possible, with 15-minute revisit between 09:00 and 13:30 anywhere on Earth to be possible by the end of 2021.
• High Vertical Accuracy Mapping – Multiple satellites perform stereo imaging at high resolution for high-quality land use and cadastral mapping. One constellation captures single-pass tri-stereo imagery validated with onboard laser altimetry data, generating digital elevation models (DEMs), digital terrain models (DTMs), and other large-scale 3D mapping products with vertical accuracy of 5 meters. Additionally, the SuperView constellation captures daily stereo imagery with vertical accuracy of better than 2 m.
• Hyperspectral Imaging – Imaging in 25 spectral bands spanning the visible, near-infrared, and mid-infrared portions of the spectrum is designed for regional natural resource management: detecting crop stress and planning pesticide/fertilizer applications, species mapping of forests and vegetative land cover, and protecting environmentally sensitive areas. These data sets can also be used in agriculture monitoring, mineral exploration and water-quality monitoring.
• Nighttime Imaging – Monitoring and surveillance activities by government entities, energy utilities and security organizations can be carried out around the clock with true-color, high-resolution at 1 m optical and video imaging during daylight and dark of night. Nighttime collection is suitable for surveillance such as illegal camping, border surveillance, change detection (especially in rapidly evolving events), powerline incidents and designing streetlight placement in urban settings. Day and night video can detect vehicle and ship movement.

UP42 users have a growing selection of satellite imagery to choose from on the geospatial marketplace. UP42 technical experts are available to assist customers in selecting the best data set to meet the needs of specific end-use applications in all industries and sectors. These experts can also help in tasking a satellite for new image acquisition or querying the archive to obtain existing imagery.

<p>The post HEAD Aerospace satellite imagery now on UP42 marketplace first appeared on GPS World.</p>