Leica Geosystems GIS & Mapping Names Inaugural Center of Excellence

Leica Geosystems GIS & Mapping, LLC (GA, USA) has announced that it has partnered with University of Arkansas Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), naming it the inaugural Center of Excellence in Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Leica Geosystems conceived this program to foster collaboration with a small group of outstanding academic institutions, bound together by a commitment to advance concepts, technology and expertise which leverage image-based spatial data.

The University of Arkansas CAST brings together a network of researchers who focus on research, technology transfer, undergraduate and graduate education, service to communities and local governments, and professional training in a variety of geospatial and related technologies. CAST is dedicated to research and applications in geospatial analysis and modeling, enterprise spatial databases, remote sensing, digital photogrammetry, high density survey and geospatial interoperability.

CAST will integrate Leica Geosystems photogrammetric and remote sensing solutions into an array of graduate and undergraduate courses in Environmental Dynamics, Geosciences and Geography. All subsequent Centers of Excellence will be required to comparably integrate Leica Geosystems products into their academic curricula and research agendas.

Leica Geosystems will reap several benefits from this relationship, principally in obtaining access to the research results and assessments from its Centers of Excellence, which will help refine its technology development. This data, as well as workflows and case studies from the use of Leica Geosystems products in class settings, geospatial interoperability demonstrations and projects will provide insights into future requirements for effectively meeting the data and technology requirements of geospatial information consumers such as local governments. Additionally, Leica Geosystems will gain increased visibility throughout the academic research community, as well as students who will become tomorrow’s remote sensing and photogrammetry professionals.