Sang-Ho Yun

Sang-Ho Yun is the disaster response lead of the Advanced Rapid Imaging and Analysis (ARIA) project at JPL and Caltech. Over the past decade, he and his team have supported over 90 major disaster events globally. He is currently the principal investigator for three NASA projects for global rapid damage and flood mapping as well as the COVID-19 global pandemic response. (read more)

2021-01-14 09:15:24

Multiplatform Lidar Use in Digital City Projects

CHCNAV AlphaUni 900 Application Case

Following its emergence more than a decade ago, digital twin technology has developed to become a complex and comprehensive technical system that supports the construction of new smart cities. It is also an advanced model for the continuous innovation of intelligent urban development and a future form of modernization of the combined ‘virtual and real’ world. (This article is brought to you by CHCNAV) The establishment of the digital twin city brings to the forefront high-level topographic tools that are able to deliver comprehensive, multi-dimensional, large-scale and high-resolution datasets. Traditional methods of collecting and representing 2D spatial data, such as... (read more)

2021-01-14 09:10:36

Satellites Reveal the Impact of the Izmir Earthquake

Rapid Analysis of Changes Observed with Radar and Optical Imagery

Rapid analysis of SAR imagery and high-resolution optical imagery supported on-the-ground recovery efforts following a strong earthquake between Greece and Turkey in October 2020. Following a magnitude 6.8-7.0 earthquake that occurred at 16-21km depth between Samos (Greece) and Izmir (Turkey) at 11:51:27 (UTC) on 30 October 2020, the NASA Disasters Program analysed radar and optical imagery to assess its impact. The variations in the magnitude and depth of the earthquake were due to the preliminary nature of solutions obtained from the seismic data. Synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery and high-resolution optical imagery allowed scientists to map impacts rapidly in order... (read more)

2021-01-14 08:22:23

Fugro to Provide First Topographic Lidar Base Map for Island Nation of Palau

Fugro has been awarded a contract by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to perform high-resolution topographic Lidar base mapping for the Republic of Palau. The new countrywide topography will establish an accurate baseline for climate resilience assessments, allowing Palau to create adaptation strategies that support economic and environmental sustainability. Located in the western Pacific Ocean and comprising 340 islands, Palau is recognized by the UN as a small developing island state (SIDS) whose remote location, low-lying landmasses and heavily populated coastlines make it especially vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. Topobathy Fugro will acquire geodata for the project... (read more)

2021-01-12 10:36:41

2 GIS Heroes Receive New Year’s Honours

Two leading GIS professionals at international humanitarian mapping charity MapAction have been recognized in the Queen’s New Year’s Honours List. Alan Mills, a GIS and remote-sensing expert, has become an MBE (Member of the Order of the British Empire) for his services to international development through MapAction. Additionally, Liz Hughes, MapAction’s chief executive, has been awarded an OBE (Officer of the Order of the British Empire) for her services to humanitarian crisis operations. Alan Mills has been a MapAction volunteer since 2005, applying his knowledge of geospatial systems to help get aid as quickly as possible to people caught up in... (read more)

2021-01-07 09:29:53

Geneq Releases New Rugged Tablet for Field Professionals

Geneq has announced the SXtab RTK, the latest tablet model in the SXtab series. The rugged tablet is aimed at improving the mobility of professional field workers, and designed with a view to reducing the equipment used to achieve high accuracy during data collection. The SXtab RTK can receive RTK corrections, which let the user achieve great accuracy using either the Antenna that comes with the tablet or an external antenna. This tablet runs on an Android OS, offering a wide variety of compatible data collection applications and allowing a perfect all-in-one solution. The SXtab features an 8-inch and sunlight-readable... (read more)

2020-12-23 09:06:13

Processing Collected Satellite Image and Data in Orbit

UP42 has announced that image data and information from the planned LatConnect 60 constellation of mid-inclined orbit remote sensing satellites will be available on the UP42 developer platform for Earth observation data and analytics. In early 2022, LatConnect 60 will launch its first two 'smart' small satellites equipped with onboard artificial intelligence (AI) for data pre-processing and advanced tip-and-cue functionality. This on-board AI has the possibility to significantly reduce costs for resellers and end users, making enterprise-quality satellite data available to a wider range of small and medium enterprises. “UP42 and LatConnect 60 share the common goal of democratizing access... (read more)

2020-12-17 09:34:46

Phase One Launches Nadir and Oblique Aerial Camera System

Phase One has unveiled the PAS 880, a fully integrated large-format nadir and oblique camera system for aerial mapping. The PAS 880 integrates a 280MP nadir camera with four oblique 150MP cameras into a single pod to simultaneously capture photogrammetric 2D and 3D digital imagery. “The outstanding image quality and accuracy combined with unsurpassed data collection rate make the PAS 880 the most productive large-format aerial mapping solution on the market today, based on established Phase One technology,” said Dov Kalinski, Phase One vice president of geospatial business. Operating at a 2 frames/second capture rate, the PAS 880 covers extremely... (read more)

2020-12-17 09:46:21

Unlocking the Full Potential of UAVs for Advanced Mapping

Ask the Specialist

In this edition of ‘Ask the Specialist’ the question is: how can we unlock the full potential of drones for advanced mapping operations? For our ‘Ask the Specialist’ features, we invite readers to send us their burning questions about geospatial surveying. We pass the questions on to relevant industry experts who provide comprehensive and detailed answers to point geospatial professionals in the right direction. It is no secret that, today, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs or ‘drones’) are a viable and mainstream commercial mapping tool that provide a robust return on investment. But technology does not stand still, and the result... (read more)

2020-12-10 09:46:28

Coptrz and Wingtra Enter Strategic Partnership

Coptrz, a UK-based commercial drone solutions provider, has become the first premium partner in Europe of Wingtra, a VTOL fixed-wing UAV manufacturer based in Switzerland. Coptrz and Wingtra began working together in 2017 and has been expanding their footprint in the UK market ever since. Wingtra is one of the world’s leading VTOL drone producers for mapping, survey and mining industry professionals. Since its market entry in early 2017, Wingtra has partnered with more than 70 of the biggest global equipment dealers and has been selling mapping drones globally ever since. Steve Coulson, CEO of Coptrz: “We’re proud to work with... (read more)

2020-12-10 09:07:32