Jason Dolf, CP, CMS-UAS – Aerial Services, Inc.

Posted on February 21, 2019 by lidar

Jason Dolf is the Flight Operations Manager at Aerial Services, Inc. and he is a key member of the “I am ASI” campaign. ASI is seeking professionals, like you, to share your story. (See below for more information.)

Photo of Jason Dolf - I am ASI

Jason Dolf – I am ASI

Meet Jason Dolf.  Aerial Services’ Flight Operations Manager by day, firefighter and first responder by night.

Jason has been with ASI for over 21 years.  He has been a part of several company advancements in software & technology including helping to build and launch our LiDAR and UAS programs.  These programs have allowed ASI to remain a leader in the geospatial industry.

Jason has also racked up several certifications and achievements during his years, but that’s not what matters to him.  It’s the work he puts in outside of the ASI office, being a volunteer firefighter and first responder.  This is where his worlds collide.  Bringing a geospatial knowledge to his volunteer service.

Continue reading →

Posted in airborne LiDAR, Business Development, Lidar, Mapping, Photogrammetry, remote sensing, Surveying, The Industry, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Year Up – A Program to Address the Opportunity Divide

Posted on February 19, 2019 by lidar

I spent five plus hours in my car today. I heard two attention grabbing reports. The first involved an in-depth study on the potential effects of climate change (too political and scary) and the second an inside look at Year Up.

Year Up logo

Year Up

If you are still with me and are asking what does Year Up have to do with 3D laser scanning and lidar my answer is – everything! Particularly if have been following our efforts to support and develop Younger Geospatial Professionals – YGPs.

Continue reading →

Posted in Digital Transformation, Education, The Industry, Uncategorized, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged | Leave a comment

CORS and OPUS BETA Coordinates Now Available

Posted on February 18, 2019 by lidar

Attention CORS and OPUS users. The NGS has announced the availability of BETA coordinates for CORS and OPUS websites.

CORS and OPUS Feedback

CORS and OPUS Feedback

BETA Release Overview

Updated Coordinates and Velocities

BETA Continuously Operating Reference Stations (CORS) coordinates and velocities are now available on the NGS BETA web site for testing.

Continue reading →

Posted in Data, geodetic, Geomatics, GIS, GNSS, Government, Software, Surveying, Surveying Engineering | Tagged , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Lidar for Drone Conference Kicks Off Wednesday

Posted on February 16, 2019 by lidar

Well, I made it to the south of France where I will be attending YellowScan’s Lidar for Drone conference on Wednesday and Thursday of this week. These small, highly focused events are often the best learning and networking experiences. Look for tweets and updates.

Image of Lidar for Drone Conference

Lidar for Drone Conference

The YellowScan team would like to invite you to this year’s LiDAR for Drone Conference on March 20th & 21st in Montpellier, France.

This event is an excellent opportunity to discuss the latest developments in UAV LiDAR technologies, share experiences and meet your peers. Attendees will gain insight into the LiDAR industry, hear from interesting and innovative users of LiDAR and be part of this important ecosystem.

Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, Agriculture, airborne LiDAR, Business Development, Cloud, Conferences, Data, Entertainment, Environmental, Feature Extraction, Forestry, Inspection, Lidar, Mapping, Photogrammetry, point clouds, remote sensing, Software, UAS, UAVs | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

NGS 2019 Geospatial Summit – Registration is Required

Posted on February 15, 2019 by lidar

The NGS 2019 Geospatial Summit will be held in Silver Spring, MD May 6 – 7, 2019. The ongoing modernization of the National Spatial Reference System will be the main focus of the event.

Logo of NGS 2019 Geospatial Summit May 6-7, 2019

NGS 2019 Geospatial Summit May 6-7, 2019

The NGS plans to replace the North American Datum of 1983 (NAD 83) and the North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88) in 2022 as part of modernizing the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS). This is your opportunity to learn first hand what is being planned for 2022 and how this will impact your geodetic operations.

By attending the NGS 2019 Geospatial Summit you will:

  • learn about NGS’ progress in modernizing the NSRS;
  • hear how NGS has been engaging NSRS users across sectors;
  • ask questions of NGS experts; and
  • share your feedback about the planned changes

Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, Admin, Education, geodetic, Geomatics, GNSS, Government, Mapping, Research, Standards, Surveying, Surveying Engineering, training | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Younger Geospatial Professional of the Year Award for 2019

Posted on February 13, 2019 by lidar

If you have been thinking about entering the Younger Geospatial Professional of the Year Award for 2019, but have not had the time to prepare your video, the deadline has been extended 1 week to March 22, 2019 and if you would rather make a written submission it will be accepted.

logo for Younger Geospatial Professional

Younger Geospatial Professional Award 2019

New this year, the Younger Geospatial Professional of the Year Award (YGP of the Year Award) will be publicly announced at SPAR 3D Expo & Conference 2019. Brought to you by Lidar News, SPAR 3D and Leica Geosystems this is a unique opportunity to recognize a YGP for his/her achievements in the 3D geospatial technology space.

Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, Conferences, Education, The Industry, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

Studying Drought Using Lidar in the Amazon Rain Forest

Posted on February 9, 2019 by lidar

Most people would not expect the Amazon rain forest to be associated with studying drought, yet prolonged dry spells are projected to become more prevalent and severe because of climate change. The question at hand is how these droughts are going to affect the rain forest, as it has a large influence on global climate and future warming.

Photo of Studying Droughts Credit: Gleilson Miranda / Governo do Acre / Wikipedia

Studying Droughts Credit: Gleilson Miranda / Governo do Acre / Wikipedia

From an article in phys.org.

A study led by Marielle Smith, a research associate in Michigan State University’s forestry department, and Scott Stark, assistant professor of forestry, examines the Amazon’s response to droughts in order to better predict how forest growth and physiology will affect tree diversity and, ultimately, the planet’s climate.

Due to its combination of wet forest structure and a strong dry season, the Tapajós National Forest in Brazil may be a good indicator for climate change responses, which is what led researchers to the location.

Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, Agriculture, airborne LiDAR, Environmental, Forestry, GIS, Government, Laser Scanning, Lidar, Mapping, point clouds, remote sensing, Research, Sensors, topography, Uncategorized | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Never Lost Again – Must Read for 3D Digital Mappers

Posted on February 8, 2019 by lidar

When you are building your list of books to read in 2019, Never Lost Again by Bill Kilday deserves to be near the top of that list. It’s the inside story of Keyhole, Google Earth and now Niantic. An incredible set of accomplishments for a relatively small team of digital mapping visionaries that earned every inch of their success.

Image of Never Lost Again - Must Read

Never Lost Again – Must Read

Peter Batty recommended this book during his keynote at ILMF last week. Having been involved with GIS and digital mapping since the early 1980’s, reading this book is like reading my career diary.

In the mid – to – late 1990’s a partner and I were trying to launch a consumer digital mapping product that used the USGS DRG’s as the base maps and included support for a NMEA signal from a handheld GPS so that you could see your location in real time on the DRG. Amazing, but it still required a laptop computer – a huge limitation for an outdoor recreation product, but not for the Keyhole team, who were not concerned with real time navigation, in the beginning.

Continue reading →

Posted in 3D Modeling, AI, artificial intelligence, Augmented reality, Consumer, Data, Digital Transformation, GIS, Mapping, satellites, Technology, The Industry | Tagged , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Cover Letter is Key to Landing Your Dream Job

Posted on February 6, 2019 by lidar

GoGeomatics Founder and geospatial career coach, Jon Murphy provides a valuable set of recommendations for writing an effective cover letter. Some of these ideas also apply to report cover letters.

From Jon’s article in GoGeomatics.

photo of Jon Murphy on the Importance of a Cover Letter

Jon Murphy on the Importance of a Cover Letter

When applying for a geospatial position, your cover letter provides the perfect opportunity to really make sense of your skills and experience, and to relate them to the job you are applying for.

Keep your cover letter concise and to about a page in length. You should submit a cover letter every time you hand in a résumé, unless there is no chance to.

A cover letter is your opportunity to really sell yourself to the employer. Consider the cover letter and the resume as your first assignment with the prospective employer. That means it needs to be flawless.

Continue reading →

Posted in Admin, Business Development, Geomatics, GIS, The Industry, Young Geospatial Professional | Tagged , , , , , | 2 Comments

World Magnetic Model Recently Updated Ahead of Time

Posted on February 5, 2019 by lidar

Magnetic North is not a static position. The World Magnetic Model was recently updated to reflect the fact that the movement of magnetic north has been rapidly progressing northward towards Siberia.

From an article by Maya Wei-Haas in National Geographic

map of World Magnetic Model Updated

World Magnetic Model Updated

I have to admit that I did not recall that there are 3 North poles. The first is over the axis of rotation of the earth. This is True North. The second is magnetic north – the location where you compass points. And perhaps less well known, there is geomagnetic north which is a point off the northwest coast of Greenland.

Continue reading →

Posted in geodetic, Geomatics, GIS, GNSS, Government, Mapping, military, Orgs, Research, satellites, Surveying Engineering | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment