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Blog: Chris Harlow on ITSearch The Harlow Report Archives
It’s not easy to measure a mountain. At 8,848 meters (29,029 feet) Mount Everest is the tallest mountain in the world above sea level. The mighty mountain’s height has been known since the middle of the nineteenth century, but how did they figure it out? Altimeters were not highly accurate at the time. GPS didn’t exist. Obtaining this seemingly basic piece of geographic information took nearly a hundred years, thousands of person hours, and a lot of trigonometry.
Mount Everest, as it is known in English, is named for Sir George Everest, who was the surveyor general of India (then a British colony) until 1843. The actual work of measuring the mountain’s height, however, began with his successor, Andrew Waugh. Waugh commissioned a wide-ranging survey of the Himalayas.
To measure Everest, Waugh’s surveyors used a method called triangulation. Observers examined the peak from several points. Knowing the distance from the points to the mountain, they were then able to measure the angle from Everest’s peak to their observation points. To calculate the mountain’s actual height above sea level, the observers themselves had to know their own elevation above sea level. Given the distance and the angle, basic trigonometry was used to calculate the mountain’s height relative to the observer.
Today, measuring altitude is a lot easier thanks to GPS, but a major wrinkle remains: mountains, especially the Himalayas, do not stay constant.
But Waugh’s team was dogged by atmospheric refraction, or the bending of light over long distances as it passes through different densities of air. Refraction causes a mirage-like effect, which can make objects appear to be taller or shorter than they really are. Refraction is worse over longer distances, and at the time, for political reasons, Waugh’s surveyors were not able to approach the mountain too closely. Most of Waugh’s observations were made from more than 100 miles away. And yet, Waugh’s team came up with the remarkably accurate measurement of 29,002 feet.
Read full story at JSTOR Daily…
first published week of: 02/26/2018
You might have noticed a problem when you try to use your smartphone to navigate a big city: your GPS location is usually super inaccurate. Sometimes it's only by a few feet, but if you’re in a particularly dense part of the city where satellite signals are blocked by high-rise buildings, the discrepancy can be orders of magnitude greater. For most people, it’s just one of the many modern-day nuisances of urban life. But for companies that rely on two people with smartphones finding each other in a labyrinth of steel and concrete — like Uber — GPS inaccuracy is a source of never-ending pain and frustration
Like ships passing in the night, a driver can be on one corner looking for a rider who’s actually on the other side of the block. This can often lead to canceled rides — Uber calls it “wasted supply” — which is money out of a driver’s pocket and Uber’s as well. This gets exponentially more problematic when you have several riders in one car, a la UberPool. And when you start thinking about driverless cars wandering aimlessly through our urban canyons, desperately searching for riders with unreliable GPS coordinates... talk about your dystopias
Recently, I sat down with two Uber engineers who may have a solution for all this chaos. Andrew Irish and Danny Iland were both PhD students at UC Santa Barbara when their startup Shadow Maps was acquired by Uber in 2016. Since then, they’ve been working on integrating their technology into Uber’s app. They recently began beta testing in 15 cities across the globe, and based on early results, they are now getting GPS signals that are twice as accurate as before.
Read full story at The Verge…
first published week of: 04/23/2018
In this special guest feature, Anthony Calamito, Chief Geospatial Officer at Boundless, an open GIS provider, discusses hybrid architectures (proprietary + open source software) for geographic information systems (GIS). As open source becomes more and more popular, enterprises are often perplexed by how to incorporate it into their existing systems, and this piece aims to demystify that process. Anthony serves as the Chief Geospatial Officer for Boundless and is responsible for product strategy and outreach, educational initiatives, and our ongoing commitment to the open source community. Anthony is a steering committee member at LocationTech, and a Fellow of the American Geographical Society. His commitment to geography education and community outreach extends beyond Boundless — he is also an adjunct instructor at George Mason University.
The adoption of open source technology continues to spread, as modern enterprises become aware of the benefits that come with incorporating it into their holistic computing strategy. The geospatial community is no exception to the growing embrace of open source. Some organizations are motivated by the realization that most of their data is already geo-enabled but vastly underutilized. Others know that virtually all data will be geo-enabled one day, and that their current IT architecture won’t be able to handle the volume or complexity of it.
Read full story at Inside BigData…
first published week of: 04/09/2018
Geospatial Corporation recently conducted a proof of concept project for one of the largest operators in the Permian Basin to capture rich spatial data and pipeline location creating an accurate and mobile map of both below ground and above ground pipelines. The solution is designed to work seamlessly with construction crews and keep a strong pace. Mark Smith, CEO of Geospatial Corporation said, “Our techniques and processes are extremely time efficient, while increases safety by using less people. In the end, we are providing data sets for operators’ systems of record that is traceable, verifiable and complete. As we spend more time in the Permian, we are confident we can provide additional operators with the most complete data and maps of their new and old infrastructure that will minimise risk while improving production rates.”
The Permian Basin of west Texas and southeast New Mexico is known as the most prolific oil and gas regions in the country and is bountiful with supplies. Operators like Pioneer Natural Resources, Chevron, ExxonMobil, Apache, Occidental Petroleum and Concho Resources have announced multi-billion dollar direct investments in the region to increase production. According to a recent report in Seeking Alpha “There's just not enough space in existing pipelines currently for the gas that is being marketed.” Mark Smith added, “We see operators challenged with moving their supplies within the old pipeline infrastructure as many drill old wells unconventionally and produce more supplies, it is clear that the infrastructure that has been around for decades is not the answer. As our clients invest in new pipeline infrastructure, it is an ideal time to gather accurate location and data that will be digitised and available for years to come. Accurate data sets, including x, y and z locational information will prove to keep operators safer, smarter and sustainable and ahead of any new regulations”.
Read full story at World Pipelines…
first published week of: 04/09/2018
http://www.information-age.com/
The Internet of Things will fuel explosive drone growth in business, and the applications go way beyond delivery services
The technology exists to deliver drones with IoT capabilities today. The ultimate goal is for the combined technologies to deliver near real-time analytics on data captured over a long periods of time.
It’s an exciting time for businesses that use location data. The ability to capture, process and make sense of geographic information impacts businesses in a range of industries. It enhances emergency response, helps farmers yield healthier crops and optimises site selection for roads, energy fields and other infrastructure.
Companies including Amazon and Dominos have captured headlines by painting a picture of a world where online purchases and pizzas descend from the sky to your front door on the backs of drones. In reality, this pigeonholes the capabilities drones can provide many different types of businesses.
Read full story at information Age…
first published week of: 02/26/2018
Map of the Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve.
Managed by The Nature Conservancy, preserve will provide a model for future conservation efforts around the globe
Esri announced that its co-founders Jack and Laura Dangermond have made a gift to The Nature Conservancy that enabled the organization to purchase and preserve thousands of acres of environmentally sensitive land at Point Conception, California.
The Nature Conservancy, a global conservation organization, will establish a preserve on a tract of undeveloped coastal habitat near Point Conception, California, called The Jack and Laura Dangermond Preserve. The nearly 25,000 acres includes more than eight miles of connected coastal habitat, protected marine areas, and crucial wildlife corridors. The 38 square miles of unspoiled land represents a unique preserve for last-of-its kind wildlife habitats and a beacon for education and scientific research.
“Jack and Laura Dangermond’s gift was, in a word, transformative,” said Michael Bell, Director of Marine and Coastal Program, The Nature Conservancy California. “It would not have otherwise been possible to secure and preserve forever this ecologically important piece of California. Their leadership has already inspired other donors across California to give their own major philanthropic gifts to support ongoing preservation of this amazing natural area.”
The Dangermonds have a history of providing thousands of trees and parklands to the city of Redlands (their home community) and to donating software to K-12 schools across the United States, Europe, and Africa. In 2016, the Dangermonds signed the Giving Pledge, created by Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett. In that pledge, they committed to use their resources to continue evolving geographic information system (GIS) technology and making a difference through three main areas: providing software, training, and technical assistance to support conservation, humanitarian activities, and STEM education—particularly geography education; acquiring land for open space conservation and parks; and making contributions to their local community.
"I can’t think of another conservation organization with the level of expertise as The Nature Conservancy,” said Jack Dangermond, president and co-founder of Esri. “The Nature Conservancy has a deep understanding of the issues in acquiring and managing a complex piece of land full of history and ecological value. We look forward to the leading-edge scientific research that will be enabled through this acquisition.”
Over the next eighteen months, The Nature Conservancy will undertake a thorough catalog of the ecological, historical, and cultural aspects of the land to inform a thorough management plan focused on preservation, research, and education. Technology and tools, including GIS, will be used to implement approaches like building a digital twin of the landscape, green infrastructure, and smart conservation planning, creating an opportunity for everyone to better understand the issues facing environmental conservation today.
first published week of: 01/08/2018