Monday, April 11th, 2016
The continuing evolution of HERE maps under the consortium of automakers AUDI AG, BMW Group and Daimler AG promises the accelerated deployment of real-time maps. This new group took ownership in early December, and they have been actively recruiting technology companies such as Amazon and Microsoft to partner and invest in a next-generation mapping platform.
Monday, March 28th, 2016
The engineering mind might answer the above question with details on what each specific sensor is tuned to measure along with figures from specification sheets with limits, resolution, response time and other characteristics. The more artistic mind, say that of a social scientist or storyteller, might speak to the data patterns and the insight that
Monday, March 14th, 2016
The evolution of mapping and geospatial information from 2D maps to interactive applications and finally to virtual reality (VR) experiences is one that is ongoing and yet each of these modes of delivery and interaction will be advancing in parallel for a very long time. It’s not an evolution where subsequent forms have replaced all
Monday, February 29th, 2016
If you’re like many geospatial professionals, the Jan. 1998 speech by then-Vice President Al Gore at the California Science Center sparked a broader awareness of what all aligned geospatial technologies could one day become. The title, “The Digital Earth: Understanding our planet in the 21st Century,” set the tone for a talk with its roots
Monday, February 15th, 2016
There has been considerable coming together between GIS and the Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) design tools of CAD and BIM over the past few years. Not only has it become much easier to share data and models between these tools, there’s also a blurring of some functions. More GIS practitioners are executing drafting functions and more
Wednesday, February 3rd, 2016
The geospatial technology industry rests on a number of different leading application areas that ebb and flow in terms of their level of investment. Some of the market surges in the past were driven by technological breakthroughs, others were due to federal spending, the emergence of a large market need or a combination of the
Monday, January 18th, 2016
It would be naive to think that there are no repercussions related to geospatial programs and research from the upcoming presidential elections. After all, the so-called “GoreSat” whole Earth-observing capacity was mothballed under George Bush’s first term and only became reality in Obama’s second term. In that same timeframe, however, we saw the rise of
Friday, January 1st, 2016
Much time is spent this time of year looking forward. Sensors & Systems has been doing this for the past nine years now, and we’ve taken another stab with this latest list. We did some reflecting on emerging issues, innovative approaches and technology trends to come up with the following predictions for 2016. On the
Tuesday, December 15th, 2015
In our regular end-of-the-year reflection, Sensors & Systems looks back over the past 12 months to come up with the top developments of 2015 that will have strong implications for geospatial industry growth and diversity in the coming years. Making the list are technology disruptions, acquisitions, modeling frameworks, mapping efforts and global change. 1. Google’s
Tuesday, December 8th, 2015
Some truly incredible and immersive virtual reality experiences are reaching the masses this year. The advent of realistic and believable environments has the near-term possibility of allowing us to experience and navigate our planet in new ways. Think of yourself wading through the shoreline or a coastal city or flying through a national park. This