Every week, we highlight stories from friends around the internet that put a spotlight on the latest from within the geospatial, advanced visualization, and AEC industries. These stories can take many different forms, whether they be about a new innovation or workflow, an interesting and/or unique use case for technology, or a higher-level look at the state of the sector. Today, we look at a city pioneering the use of drones-as-a-service for public works, a conversation with a leader in open-source geospatial data, and how cities are using Earth Observation data.
Find links to the full articles below.
Public Works Pioneers Drones-as-a-Service Program for Salem, Oregon
Adam Carnow | Lidar Magazine
As UAVs have become more accessible, and the various payloads from which many of these workflows derive their value also become easier and cheaper to use, more industries are finding value in the technology. However, particularly for public agencies, it’s still easier said than done to access drones for everyone. This article highlights how Salem, Oregon is dealing with this issue, creating a drones-as-a-service program. With this in place, the city has six drones that can be deployed for nearly every department in the government.
New Satellite System to Improve City 3D Mapping
Jonathan Andrews | CitiesToday
This article takes a look at some of the potential knock-on effects for cities around the world after the announcement last month from Marble Visions, who are developing a high-resolution, high-frequency satellite system. The announcement has potential wide-ranging effects, but this article focuses specifically on how cities could benefit by accessing high-resolution 3D maps that are updated every four-to-six months. The article looks at some specific benefits for cities, including improved infrastructure maintenance and more efficient disaster response and planning, among others.
Niantic Spatial Bets Big on Scaniverse and Gaussian Splatting
Michael Rubloff | Radiance Fields
This article focuses on some big news that came down in the geospatial industry recently, when Niantic announced the sale of its gaming portfolio. On the surface, that doesn’t seem like super relevant news, but with the sale they are now focusing on their Scaniverse app. As Rubloff explains in this piece, this shows Niantic’s belief in both Gaussian Splatting and geospatial AI being major parts of the future in industry.
