GIS, Maps, Geo and Location Technology by @gletham
An really cool web resource from the City of New York helping visitors and residents alike plan their trips to the city, locate hot spots, even seek out things to do via mobile – all powered with geospatial technology from Google. The new web resource offers users a trip planner, feature rich POIs, maps with 3D building footprints, user reviews, and event information. You can find it at http://nycgo.com or via mobile web browser at the Google Mobile site http://m.google.com/nyc
Remember theMoment, the Photosynth mosiac from the Obama Presintial Inauguration? Well, coachface, teh social media network for sports fans is putting together a photosynth from Super Bowl in Tampa, FL. Details… Take one photo of any moment during the Superbowl . If you have a digital camera with a zoom lens, take three photos (wide-angle, mid-zoom, full-zoom). Then, E-mail each photo as soon as possible to superbowl@coachface.com (one photo per message, 10MB size limit). Don’t forget to include your name in the message if you’d like to appear in the list of the contributors. Please only send in photos you took yourself. See more at http://www.coachface.com/
Here’s a very cool EDU resource providing those interested in the environment with some very nice, educational posters. The IPY Educational Posters are available for download from the Research Council of Norway (Forskningsrådet) You’ll find a set of five free downloadable educational posters for the International Polar Year (IPY), aimed at high school students. This project supports the education, outreach, and communications efforts of IPY. The five posters are available for download in high resolution and accessible formats and are free to use. The poster themes include:
1. The Polar Regions
2. Climate Change and the Poles
3. Polar People
4. Research in the Polar Regions
5. Biodiversity and the Poles
The posters address the question: “Why, and how, are the polar regions and polar research important to all people on Earth?” See http://www.grida.no/polar/ipy/2840.aspx
Details of the crew’s next UC have now been posted – save the date… April 26 – 28th, 2009 in Victoria BC, Canada… details… The conference will officially begin with a social reception on Sunday night. During the core sessions on Monday and Tuesday, we’ll offer separate session tracks for advanced developers, new developers, and non-technical attendees. See more
If you’re looking for things to do in Victoria, drop me a line and I’ll hook you up!
North Dakota View is offering four $500.00 scholarships to be given to four different students. Scholarships are available to undergraduate or graduate students using remote sensing and/or other geospatial technologies in their research at any of the NDView educational institutions, see a list HERE
More interesting results in from our GPS usage poll. Recall we wanted to know what kind of mobile device with GPS our readers used most frequently or have access to (for business or personal use)… a summary of more than 100 responses shown below… Interesting to see that Blackberry (16%) and iPhone (12%) 3G smartphones dominated as did Garmin (19%) and then Trimble (12%) GPS handleds
Forum Nokia has announced the finalists in the Calling All Innovators global contest for developers – Calling All Innovators challenged developers to think in new ways about the opportunity to affect the quality of human life with mobile applications. The contest featured three distinct categories for submissions: ECO-Challenge, Emerging Markets Challenge, Technology Showcase. The following are some of the cool apps to be selected as finalists:
– GreenDrive (EMEA) – An application that promotes vehicular fuel efficiency by sensing current and impending road conditions that influence fuel consumption and providing real-time driving directions for the shortest route in the quickest time legally allowable.
– Ticketek Mobile Ticketing (Americas) – A Series 40 and S60 Java event-ticketing application that reduces paper consumption by allowing consumers to use a barcode stored on their phone to gain admission to events.
[Read more…] about Calling All Innovators global contest for developers announces finalists
The Civil Engineers Association (ASCE) have Released a Report Card for America’s Infrastructure – The report examines and evaluates the current state of the country’s roads, bridges, aviation systems, drinking water, schools and more, including, for the first time, an evaluation of the nation’s levees. The Report Card is an assessment by professional engineers of the nation’s status in 15 categories of infrastructure. In 2009, all signs point to an infrastructure that is poorly maintained, unable to meet current and future demands, and in some cases, unsafe. Since the last Report Card in 2005, the grades have not improved. ASCE estimates the nation still stands at a D average. Deteriorating conditions and inflation have added hundreds of billions to the total cost of repairs and needed upgrades. ASCE’s current estimate is $2.2 trillion, up from $1.6 trillion in 2005.
From the report… 2009 Grades include:
Aviation D
Bridges C
Dams D
Drinking Water D-
Energy D+
Hazardous Waste D
Inland Waterways D-
Levees D-
Public Parks & Recreation C-
Rail C-
Roads D-
School D
Solid Waste C+
Transit D
Wastewater D-
Of concern from the report… “Crumbling Infrastructure Cannot Support a Healthy Economy… America’s infrastructure is in dire need of proper, sustained attention” See http://www.asce.org/reportcard/2009/index.html
Heads-up… ESRI has just released details of this summer’s internship program – Students interested in careers in the software industry and geographic information system (GIS) technologies are invited to apply to the 2009 ESRI Summer Internship Program. Internships are available at ESRI headquarters in Redlands, California, and in our 10 regional offices throughout the United States. As an ESRI intern, you will gain valuable work experience while continuing your education or preparing for life after graduation. See details here
Heads-up on this DC area meet-up in the near future… the annual dinner meeting of the American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing Potomac Region will be held at Clyde’s of Tyson’s Corner on Tuesday February 3 at 6:30. It is an excellent opportunity to network with local professionals in the remote sensing and geospatial industry. Kass Green, President of ASPRS will give a keynote address. Please see the region website for registration details. http://www.asprspotomac.org
