Opinions Research and Other Hard Things Published April 1, 2010 By Alan Cameron Once again, I reach into the mail bag to pull out this gem, from someone both high up and deep down in administrative matters relating to GPS and other technologies. Herewith: Two quotes — with Some Accompanying Thoughts “If we knew what we were doing, it wouldn’t be called research, would it?” —Albert Einstein […] Read more » Wide Awake blog
Opinions Expert Advice: Jamming: A Clear and Present Danger Published April 1, 2010 By GPS World Staff Join the Discussion A packed audience attended the National Physical Laboratory in the United Kingdom for a February 23 meeting titled, “GPS Jamming and Interference: A Clear and Present Danger,” organized by the Digital Systems Knowledge Transfer Network. In his keynote address, David Last described a dark, silent and dangerous world without GPS. His final insight was this: “Navigation is no longer about how to measure where you are accurately. That’s easy. Now it’s how to do so reliably, safely, robustly.” Read more » eLoran Expert Advice GPS jamming jamming
GIS at its Finest: Storm Surge Analysis Published March 31, 2010 By Eric Gakstatter Join the Discussion Earlier this week, First American Spatial Solutions (FASS) released a report detailing the risk of 13 coastal cities in the United States to storm surge. It’s a fantastic example of how GIS analysis can be used in a very practical way and on a very broad scale. Did you know that there is a difference […] Read more » GSS GSS Monthly
Opinions Wide Awake Bridging the Gap Published March 30, 2010 By Alan Cameron I gave this talk at the Munich Satellite Navigation Summit, in a concluding session titled “Bridging the Gap: A Journalistic View on Progress and Problems of GNSS.” __________ Before telling you what I came here to say today, I should really attempt to answer the question posed by our moderator:Is the world ready for new […] Read more » Munich Satellite Navigation Summit Wide Awake blog
GNSS GPS GPS Gaps Closing Up; West Coast Launches Aired Published March 30, 2010 By GPS World Staff Join the Discussion The U.S. General Accountability Office is revising its April 2009 report that forecast future gaps in GPS constellation availability, now using a more optimistic model of satellite lifetimes that is borne out by recent performance. The undersecretary of the Air Force for space has reportedly said the service is looking at some future GPS launches from Vandenberg Air Force Base on the West Coast. Read more » GAO
Survey On the Edge: Lost Graves, Trail of Tears Published March 27, 2010 By GPS World Staff Join the Discussion During the winter of 1838–39, the great Native American Cherokee Nation trekked across southern Illinois, in a forced removal by the U.S. government from their ancestral homeland in Tennessee. Harried, unequipped, and unsupported by their captors, thousands died on the Trail of Tears. Burial records were not kept, and burial locations remain lost to this day. Local history suggests that some Illinois settlers allowed the Cherokee to bury their dead on small plots of land adjacent to their own family cemeteries. One such plot, the Campground Presbyterian Church cemetery near Anna, Illinois, may contain unmarked Cherokee graves. Read more » built structures Leica Geosystems mapping real-time kinematic surveying Tennessee Trail of Tears
Augmented Reality and Podcast Interview with Accela Published March 24, 2010 By Eric Gakstatter Join the Discussion I recently viewed a TED presentation on augmented reality that was quite impressive. Honestly, I hadn’t heard much about augmented reality by name, I really have been thinking about it for some time. An example is when I’ve been in the field mapping existing features such as irrigation piping or drainage that is eventually filled […] Read more » GSS GSS Monthly
Opinions Letters to the Editor: The Other Shoe Published March 23, 2010 By GPS World Staff Join the Discussion The Other Shoe, The Spy, The Other Spy Read more » letters
Opinions Survey LSAW Conference RTK Network Discussion Roundtable Published March 18, 2010 By Eric Gakstatter Join the Discussion A couple of weeks ago, I participated in a roundtable discussion at the Land Surveyors Association of Washington (LSAW) annual conference on the subject of RTK networks (RTN). I always enjoy listening to heavy RTK users on their thoughts, their procedures, and how they arrived at them. We danced around a number of subjects with one being the “RTN’s biggest flaw.” My first thought was the communications link, but... Read more » RTK network Survey Scene
The Consumerization of GIS: Golf Carts on a Roll Published March 16, 2010 By Eric Gakstatter Join the Discussion I had an interesting experience last month that opened my eyes and had me thinking about how consumer electronics has transformed GIS over the last several years. Google Earth was cool when it first came out, but nothing earth-shattering. We’ve been doing the same thing (albeit on a smaller scale) for many years. Although you […] Read more » GSS GSS Monthly