An interesting read from the BBC… the article provides some numbers on the state of the GPS industry, noting that some 12 million+ gps devices were sold in Europe in the first 9 months of 06. That number is expected to double in 07. They note that most of the users are sailors and hikers – you know, those people that need to know their exact location all the time. But that’s expected to change in 07 with more GPS enabled handsets hitting the shelves – like the new Nokia N95 (see allaboutsymbian.com for a nice review of this device) – for more on this topic see this article on the BBC new channel – are you using an y location-sensitive apps on your cell phone yet? I use google maps (although its a bit of a pig on my nokia N80), however, once my position is known by the device and my search results are automatically “localized” the potential uses of location-sensitive apps will be much more compelling. I’m alreadu geotagging my flickr photos (occasionally) but there’s so much more that I’d like to do… where am I apps, locate a shop near me, friend finder apps, directions etc… looks like 07 just might be the year. In a shameless plug see also our own www.lbszone.com for the latest updates on location technologies and LBS.
Archives for January 2007
Trimble scores some nice revenues in Q4 2006
Looks like positioning and GPS is a nice money maker if the recent financials from Trimble are any indication. I know these financial results are usually a long,boring read but the numbers are definitely interesting to say the least. check this out… Trimble today announced results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2006, ended December 29, 2006. Revenue for the fourth quarter of 2006 was $234.1 million, up 25 percent from revenue of $186.8 million in the fourth quarter of 2005. Fiscal 2006 revenue was $940.2 million, up 21 percent when compared to fiscal 2005 revenue of $774.9 million.
MIT GIS Lab Open House
MIT Libraries is reminding us of an open house this week-end. Here’s some details – MIT GIS Lab Open House – Jan. 26, 3-5 pm
Where: MIT GIS Lab, Rotch Library, 7-238
What: Play with virtual globes likeGoogle Earth &World Wind
Explore powerful geographic information systems (GIS), such asArcGIS andPCI Geomatica
Investigate tools for mapping US Census and Demographic information such asPCensusGeolyticsCensus Tool on the MIT Geodata Repository
Come meet the GIS staff from the MIT Libraries and the Office of the Dean of Undergraduate Education over refreshments. See http://libraries.mit.edu/gis for more info
FOSS4G scheduled for Victoria, Canada, September 24-27
Also from OsGeo… a timely announcement as I have just relocated from Vancouver Island (figures!)… FOSS4G in Victoria, Canada, September 24-27, 2007 – This fall, the Free and Open Source Software for Geospatial (FOSS4G) conference will be presented by OSGeo in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from September 24th to 27th, at the Victoria Conference Centre. See details at http://www.foss4g2007.org/ 500+ attendees are expected in 2007. Sponsorship opportunities at FOSS4G are available, see http://www.foss4g2007.org/sponsorship_exhibition.html
MapGuide Open Source 1.1.0
This message recently hit the OsGeo mailing list… The MapGuide Open Source developers and project steering committee are pleased to announce the release of MapGuide Open Source 1.1.0. This release contains many bug fixes as well as the following notable enhancements:
* FDO 3.2 API support – MapGuide now supports the latest FDO API
* Direct KML support – allows layers styled in MapGuide to be displayed as layers in Google Earth
* Direct KML support – allows layers styled in MapGuide to be displayed as layers in Google Earth
Details of all enhancements and defect fixes are described at:
The new release can be downloaded from http://mapguide.osgeo.org/downloads.html
MARS FreeView free viewing application for LiDAR
Merrick & Company today announced the free download availability of
MARS® FreeView™, an intuitive, easy-to-use viewing application for LiDAR, high-resolution imagery and GIS datasets. About the app — Merrick Advanced Remote Sensing (MARS®) software is a stand-alone, Windows-based application specifically designed for processing, analyzing and managing terrain data. MARS® provides unparalleled application and visualization performance for massive LIDAR datasets and includes a modular tool suite that is used to manage field collection, data analysis, quality assurance, production, and client deliverable workflows. To download MARS® FreeView™ see here
MARS FreeView viewing application for LiDAR available
Merrick & Company today announced the free download availability of
MARS® FreeView™, an intuitive, easy-to-use viewing application for LiDAR, high-resolution imagery and GIS datasets. About the app — Merrick Advanced Remote Sensing (MARS®) software is a stand-alone, Windows-based application specifically designed for processing, analyzing and managing terrain data. MARS® provides unparalleled application and visualization performance for massive LIDAR datasets and includes a modular tool suite that is used to manage field collection, data analysis, quality assurance, production, and client deliverable workflows. To download MARS® FreeView™, please visit the following website:
http://www.merrick.com/servicelines/gis/mars/FreeView/MarsFreeViewSetup.exe
Conduit – Immersive 3D Viewing of Google Earth
Just announced this week, VRCO Conduit(TM) for Google Earth(TM) Pro Enables High-Resolution, Motion-Tracked Stereo Viewing Driven by PC Clusters. Imagine standing in a room and a large, 3D display on your wall flies you through a cave or a canyon, courtesy of Google Earth Pro… essentially extending Google Earth’s display from your PC and onto your wall… its way cool! Imagine this (from the developer)… With Conduit for Google Earth Pro, applications can leverage ultra-high resolution stereoscopic display capability and a range of advanced 3D visualization features. The Conduit middleware package enables a desktop application, like Google Earth Pro, to natively drive advanced visualization environments. This maximizes the potential insight and data interpretation accuracy, since stereoscopic viewing provides a realistic sense of depth that is especially useful when experiencing spatially complex datasets. Conduit makes it possible to use the multiple graphics outputs of PC clusters to drive the multiple projectors used for large-scale walls or walk-in immersive rooms, creating life-size experiences that completely fill peripheral vision and engage more of the senses. The Conduit package supports ultra-high resolution displays, using a series of tiled projectors or new 4096 x 2160 native projection technology, such as the Sony SXRD projector that forms the core of Fakespace’s Beacon 8MP stereoscopic PowerWall™ display system. It also enables user motion tracking that provides real-time, realistic perspectives as the viewer physically moves around when viewing the data. For intuitive navigation and manipulation of models, the middleware enables the use of wireless virtual wands, gloves and joysticks either on the desktop or in large-scale displays. Check out the video demonstration available at www.mechdyne.com
TIGOR – 2006 First Edition TIGER/Line in ESRI Shapefile format!
Hey, its not free but its pretty cheap and may be of interest to you. Product details – TIGOR is an integrated data product that gives you all the layers of the 2006 First Edition TIGER/Line® in ESRI® Shapefile format! TIGOR is based on Census Bureau TIGER/Line® files; TIGER/Line® is a registered trademark of the U.S. Census Bureau. – See http://www.nextractor.com
Of note, beware of free Tiger data that may be for sale dirt cheap on commercial sites (like the data depot, etc…) as it likely may not be reformated and is freely available via ftp download from the US Census Bureau. If its not publicized as being in SHP format then you’ll likely simply get native TIGER files which require much effort to use in your GIS
USGS Data update re. National Land Cover Database (NLCD 2001)
The U.S. Geological Survey, on behalf of the interagency Multi-Resolution Land Characteristics Consortium (MRLC), is pleased to announce the availability of NLCD 2001 products for the conterminous United States. These products are web enabled for download from the MRLC website at www.mrlc.gov. NLCD 2001 products include 21 classes of land cover, percent tree canopy and percent urban imperviousness at 30 m resolution derived from Landsat imagery. NLCD 2001 will support a wide variety of users, institutional sectors and local- to national-scale applications with this updated land-cover data. Alaska, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico will be completed by December of 2007, which will then represent the first compilation of nationwide land cover ever produced at 30-meter resolution.