Archives for August 2, 2007
Forest Fire damage assessment using Definiens Image Intelligence Suite
Recently, the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki recently published studies revealing that over 5000 hectares of fir and pine forest in the Mount Parnitha National Park were destroyed by the recent forest fires. Using the Definiens Enterprise Image Intelligence Suite, they automatically assessed the distribution of islands of remaining forest within the large area. “We required detailed and accurate results and insights of the Mount Parnitha forest area in a timely manner. The Definiens technology was critical in analyzing and evaluating the damage,” said Ioannis Gitas, Lecturer at the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki. More details on this application found in this story – http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/12329/. See also http://www.definiens.com/. Of interest to those wanting to test the waters (so to speak), a free demo product (Definiens developer trial) is available for download – see http://www.definiens.com/landing_pages/index.html
Add Maps to your cutom Google homepage (iGoogle) or your Google MyMaps
Imagine having the following on your desktop and constantly updating for you in real time…
traffic reports
world news headlines
KML samples
photos ser4ved via KML
a world sunlight map
images from Googleplex
Google map search
weather channel maps
virtual earth maps
traffic cams
mapquest driving directions
map of things to do in Sydney Australia
Yahoo! local maps
listing of map mashups from programmable web
These are but a few of the tools (map gadgets) now available via the Google Heomepage (custom) add stuff directory. Its also easy to add these as Mapplets to your Google Maps… The directory is accessed by clicking on the “Add content” link in the “My Maps” tab in Google Maps.
To add “Map” mapplets to your iGoogle custom homepage simply do the following:
– sign in to your google account
– go to your custom home page
– create a new tab, maybe call it “Map Stuff”
– Click Add Stuff (right side)
– Search homepage content using “maps”
For more information including documentation on how to create your own mapplet see http://www.google.com/apis/maps/documentation/mapplets/
Don’t forget you’ll need an API key – see http://www.google.com/apis/maps/signup.html
Interstate 35 (I35) Minneapolis Google Maps
I was just looking around on Google Maps to see exactly where the bridge is located that collapsed this evening in Minneapolis. Interesting to see that its actually the main interstate route into the city core – you can see the Metrodome just west of the location where the bridge crossed the Mississippi. Below are images as seen on Google maps.. the traffic map appears grayed out: