Did you realize that yesterday, June 20 was the summer solstice for the northern hemisphere and the winter solstice for the southern? I have always been fascinated by astronomy and the impact it has on our lives – most of the time without the majority of us even thinking about it. The do have ceremonies at places like Stonehenge to celebrate the solstice, but it is quite an important day of the year.
I continue to be in awe of the early astronomers like Eratosthenes who more than 200 years BC calculated the circumference of the earth to be 252,000 stadia which equates to 24,662 miles with a polar diameter of 7,850 miles, just 50 miles short of the true measure. He used the fact that the sun was vertical at the summer solstice in Syene, Egypt and some 7.2 degrees from vertical in Alexandria. He had a man pace the distance between the two cities and then did the math. Some question the accuracy, given the assumptions made, but others consider it to be the first great triumph of scientific calculation.
What about the global positioning system – GPS, as an example, and the impact that it has had on the world? Truly remarkable. Certainly right up there with the printing press, the steam engine, the PC, the Internet, or am I getting a little carried away? Regardless of whether you use GPS for its intended purpose, or for navigating your vehicle, can you imagine the world without it. I forgot my mobile phone charger the other day and actually had to stop in a gas station to ask for directions. What a weird feeling.
In spite of all of this I continue to believe that over this decade Lidar will have as big an impact on society as GPS has had. It will literally be a component of virtually every sensor system that will make up the Internet of Things – IoT.
For the inside story on GPS the In the Scan blog has recommended GPS by Paul E. Ceruzzi and GPS Declassified by Richard Easton. For a similar eye opening history of lidar we recommend The Laser That is Changing the World by Todd Neff.
Let us know what you think about the impact that GPS and lidar has had.
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