Thursday, July 30. 2009

$50,000 Mini-Helicopter May be UAV for Everyone

Rafe Needleman at C|net is impressed with the device from Aeryon which packs into a suitcase-sized create and can fly for 20 minutes at at time up to 500 feet (FAA rules) and take digital pictures or stream live video. Another great feature: it's got enough onboard stability that anyone can "steer" it by pointing to a location on a map. For now, the Canada-based company can only demo it in that country. It hopes for FAA ok within about six months.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Remote Sensing at 07:33 | Comments (4) | Trackbacks (0) |

Agreement Cuts Red Tape on Indian Launches of U.S. Satellites

Representatives from the US and India signed a technology safeguard agreement (TSA) which allows the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) to launch US made satellites from India without case by case approvals. The document was signed during US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s recent visit to India,

The current agreement allows foreign built non-commercial satellite launches; a separate ommercial space launch agreement (CSLA) is expected to be signed soon to allow the launch of commercial satellites.

- Express Buzz

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Remote Sensing at 06:26 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, July 28. 2009

Update: 10 Geo-Orgs Support Imagery for the Nation...But not COGO

Update: MAPPS Executive Director John Palatiello informs me that the action of these ten organizations was made independent of COGO. COGO, he confirmed, has not yet reached agreement on a statement regarding Imagery for the Nation.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Remote Sensing at 11:49 | Comments (5) | Trackbacks (0) |

Tuesday, July 21. 2009

Senate Committee Approves "Small Satellites" for 2010 Intel Bill

The Senate Intelligence Committee approved a plan backed by Chairwoman Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., and ranking member Kit Bond, for smaller, less advanced satellites. The plan is part of the fiscal 2010 intelligence authorization bill.

- GovExec

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Remote Sensing at 10:26 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

Wednesday, July 15. 2009

LiDAR Data Gets Squeezed by LizardTech’s LiDAR Image Compressor (#esriuc)

Light Imaging Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) data collection provides an interesting dilemma for geospatial professionals who know the value of the information but find the huge file sizes (100’s megabits to gigabits) difficult to store and manage. Most users have typically used either the first and or last returns, these derivative data sets of LiDAR, which, for example, can yield tree canopy profiles or elevation model data, respectively. However, using all (multiple returns) of the LiDAR, the entire “point cloud,” has proven hard, again, because of file sizes. With the decrease cost of data acquisition and market growth, LizardTech saw an opportunity to use it’s expertise in data compression technology to exploit this opportunity for LiDAR data management.

LizarTech’s new LiDAR Compressor (See image at right; click for larger image) product can compress LAS and ASCII files to MrSID 4 format with approximately a 4:1 lossless result. It’s a simple compression utility and includes a simple “viewer” of point clouds.  Once compressed, the product allows the user to selectively decode an entire image by a bounding cube with geographic bounds. The product will sell for $2995 for a single user license. The product is considered so revolutionary that the company has applied for a patent for the technology behind the product.

Posted by Joe Francica in Remote Sensing, ESRI UC 09 at 20:02 | Comments (0) | Trackbacks (0) |

GeoEye Uses Best of Breed Tech and the Cloud to Better Serve up its Imagery (#ESRIUC)

I got a real "two-fer" when I spent some time with Deke Young, the Director of Business Systems at GeoEye. I got the inside scoop on the back end of its new GeoFuse applications and I learned more about the cloud and its use.

Posted by Adena Schutzberg in Google, ESRI, Microsoft, Remote Sensing, Google Earth, ESRI UC 09 at 16:38 | Comment (1) | Trackbacks (0) |