Last year at INTERGEO, FARO rocked the scanning world with its debut of the low-cost Focus^3D ; Gatewing gave everyone a new perspective on the future of photogrammetry with its launch of the X100 UAV; and Leica Geosystems drew nods of approval for its introduction of the Leica Viva TS15 Robotic Imaging Total Station. It would have been difficult to top these advances a mere 12 months later. Still exhibitors at INTERGEO 2011 in Nuremburg gave it their best shot. more...

LightSquared yesterday threw a Hail Mary pass with its announcement that it is working with Javad GNSS Inc. to develop a system that will eliminate interference issues related to high-precision GPS devices. “See, we told you a simple fix was possible!” the company essentially gloated as it spiked the ball in the end zone. Its rivals, high-precision GPS users, are clamoring for a review of the play. 
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As Hurricane Irene churned toward the Eastern seaboard in late August, preparations were already under way in state emergency operation centers along the East Coast. One of the states arguably most prepared to deal with the hurricane’s aftermath from a data standpoint was Maine. A recent LiDAR project along the Northeast coastline had generated a wealth of data that could be used to quickly pinpoint areas of erosion and could help with response and recovery efforts if the hurricane inflicted substantial damage. Although much of the data from the six-state project was still being processed, a dataset of the northern Maine coastal areas had already been delivered and accepted. 
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Last week, I received an interesting email from a highly regarded surveyor. The email contained a forwarded copy of a report by Stan Pilny, a senior in the surveying engineering program at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT), who attended the 2011 Survey Summit and Esri International User Conference in San Diego (July 7-12) as a student assistant along with 59 other students from colleges around the country.
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I’ve enjoyed following a recent discussion in the Point of Beginning (POB) group on LinkedIn trying to identify a suitable name for the profession. In less than two weeks, the topic has generated more than 80 comments voicing strong opinions. A similar discussion in my Sight Lines blog late last year generated equally impassioned responses. Still, in all the talk about titles, there is little mention of how to ensure that the business side of the profession will enjoy continued success into the future. more...

More than 14,000 people attended the Esri User Conference in San Diego July 11-15. Jack Dangermond called it Esri’s “best conference ever.”
 
At the Survey Summit, the ACSM annual conference co-hosted with Esri prior to the Esri User Conference, 550 surveyors and other geospatial professionals gathered to learn more about technology and business trends as well as how to apply GIS tools and techniques in their workflow. The attendance was higher than the 2010 ACSM conference and Esri’s 2010 Survey and Engineering GIS Summit, which each drew about 300 people. But where were the rest of the surveyors?
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Seemingly big news came out of the ACSM Congress meeting in San Diego last week: Representatives to the Congress approved a motion to disband and dissolve ACSM, with all operation, control, assets and liabilities turned over to NSPS. 
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Last week at Hexagon 2011, Leica Geosystems created a stir by launching the new ScanStation C5, a compact, scalable laser scanner that starts at under $50,000. The development creates a new level of competition in the laser scanning world and opens new doors for surveyors who have previously viewed the technology as too expensive to consider. But as the scanning market heats up, an important question needs to be asked. Are these and other new technologies the key to achieving higher productivity and increased business success? Or is there another consideration? 
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I’m at the Optech Innovative Lidar Solutions Conference this week, where innovation is a big theme. In the first keynote address, Dr. Gerald Bawden, chief scientist with the USGS Western Remote Sensing and Visualization Center, highlighted how LiDAR technology is being used to produce high-resolution 3D imagery that can help identify areas at risk for earthquake damage, snowmelt flooding, landslides, debris flows and other natural disasters so that early warning systems can be developed. The audience donned 3D glasses to view the imagery firsthand. 
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In April, a subcommittee of ASTM International Committee E57 on 3D Imaging Systems approved a new data exchange standard, ASTM E2807, Specification for 3D Imaging Data Exchange, Version 1.0. Does that mean the new standard is a done deal? Not quite.
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