About This Blog
The [acronym] online blog is the public sector’s complete source of up-to-the-minute news and information about computer-aided design and related digital design technologies for the fields of AEC, manufacturing, and GIS.
Check back regularly for new insights from the [acronym] team and industry experts. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook, or subscribe to our RSS feed for regular updates!
Follow:
Share:
Category Archives: Geospatial
Top Google Maps Power Tips
Whether you use Google Maps to help you get where you need to go or to deliver up-to-date geospatial data quickly to agency employees, it’s a great resource. However, we tend to not take advantage of its full capabilities. What are some other ways you can utilize this great tool? Here are some useful Google Maps power tips: Continue reading
Arlington Cemetery Using DoD Mapping to Map Graves
Arlington National Cemetery is the first national cemetery to use an Army-designed geospatial mapping system to manage operations at its 624 acre grounds. Continue reading
RFID and GPS Technology Tracks Alabama Students as they Make their Way to School
Starting February 2012, students at three Alabama schools have been part of a pilot project
designed to enhance child safety between home and school! Using ID cards with radio frequency identification device (RFID) technology built-in, students are scanned as they get on and off school buses. Combining the RFID data with GPS, the system transmits the student’s location data to a remote server, which allows a Huntsville school official to access it if they need to. The technology is called ZPass and was developed and by Zonar Systems. ZPass is intended to improve child safety so that parents know if their kids are on their school bus. Continue reading
Monroe County, N.Y. Gets GIS Vehicle!
Did you know that the Geographic Information System (GIS) Services Division in Monroe County, New York now has its own GIS technology vehicle? “While Google’s Street View picture-snapping cars are out and about in most countries in the U.S., in New York state only Monroe County has its own GIS technology vehicle.” (Mobile GIS Vehicle Puts Monroe County, N.Y., on the Map).
Google Street View launched for five U.S. cities in May 2007 and now their 360-degree panoramic views include locations on all seven continents. Google currently uses cars, trikes, snowmobiles, and trolleys to collect imagery. (Cars, Trikes & More) Continue reading
TomTom Brings Navigation and Mapping Data to the Public Sector
Say the phrase “TomTom” and what’s most likely to come to mind is a company that manufacturers consumer automobile navigation systems. In fact, TomTom is the leading manufacturer of consumer navigation systems in Europe. But did you know that TomTom also provides navigation systems, mapping data and handheld navigations devices to Federal, State and Local governments, too?
TomTom’s government product solution line was the subject of a recent webcast, TomTom Maps and Applications for Government GIS, hosted by TomTom and our sponsor DLT Solutions. The discussion was led by James Pardue, Manager of Government Programs. Continue reading
Geospatial Treasure Chest – The [acronym] Geospatial Archive
GEOINT 2011 is right around the corner. If your’e not familiar with the event, GEOINT is the defacto gathering for defense, intelligence and homeland security communities looking to learn more about the latest trends and technologies in the geointelligence space. To get our readers prepared for what should be a successful GEOINT experience, we thought we’d take a look back at [acronym] Online’s archive of articles on geointelligence.
From using Google Maps to visualize the post-tornado destruction in Joplin, MO to helping urban residents locate HIV/AIDS testing centers, all levels of government can benefit themselves and their constituents by exploiting all the uses that GIS has to offer. Continue reading
What to Expect at GEOINT Symposium 2011
In less than three weeks, the geospatial intelligence community will gather in San Antonio, Texas for the annual GEOINT Symposium. This year’s event will be held from October 16th through the 19th will be held at the San Antonio’s Henry B. Gonzalez Convention Center.
The GEOINT Symposium is the preeminent event of the year for the defense, intelligence and homeland security communities. This year’s theme is Forged Integrated Intelligence and as such will feature such keynote speakers as Gen. Keith B. Alexander, U.S. Army, commander, U.S. Cyber Command and director, National Security Agency (NSA); Bruce Carlson, director, National Reconnaissance Office (NRO); the Honorable James R. Clapper Jr., Director of National Intelligence (DNI); and more. Continue reading
When Tools Converge to Help Cities Monitor their Entire Water System
By Pam Broviak, City Engineer/Assistant Director of Public Works at City of Geneva, Illinois.
When my past employer, the city of LaSalle, installed an automatic meter reading (AMR) system, I was excited about the technology and looked forward to improving the efficiency of our meter reading and water billing system. Some of the benefits included tracking and notifications to staff of customer leaks, immediate final reads, high/low water usage, and tampering alerts. Yet, as an engineer, I also planned on using the data for designing, monitoring, and operating our water system.
My vision had been to link the data to a digital map created from our GIS where dots represented meters. Colors and other indicators would tell us of real-time reads, flows, pressures, and all that good stuff allowing a visualization of how our system was functioning using real-time actual data. Unfortunately, once I saw the software and asked about the ability to extract data from the database, not only did the vendors seem surprised anyone would even want this information, they made it clear their system was designed for billing only. If we wanted to do anything more with the data, we would have to hire our own programmer and create our own setup. Continue reading
Flood Plain Analysis and Mapping – The Geospatial Tools that Keep Us High and Dry
The ongoing flooding in North Dakota has presented a monumental challenge to all parties affected by the natural disaster. From residents living in the affected areas to the state and local government agencies in charge of coordinating sandbagging efforts and other preventative measures. Not to mention the relief and recovery efforts that will likely continue long after the water has receded.
However technological developments are making it easier for public works departments and emergency services to better anticipate and plan for, and hopefully prevent such devastating consequences as we are seeing in North Dakota. Continue reading
Shortcutting the Geocoding Process for Easy Data Search and Visualization (on the fly)!
This blog was written by guest blogger, Eliot Danner, Principal of Reperio Concepts
The steady pace of innovation in geospatial visualization has given rise to a new problem: the need to geocode increasing quantities of data and the corresponding need to manage and search this data. In this article, I am going to discuss a new way to bring data into geospatial environments and a new way to search and manage this data.
A popular maxim in the geospatial community is “80% of all data contains geospatial information” (or something to that effect). True or not it is certainly the case that a great deal of information can be geocoded and, more importantly, that having this information geocoded, that is to say, visible on a map, can be of value to decision makers. Continue reading
