by Matt Ball on February 21, 2012
Ericsson, with their research focus on networked society, are the sponsor of a new documentary on Thinking Cities that looks at the role that cities play. The 15-minute video outlines the necessary approach to address the problems that we face. A cameo is given to Carlos Ratti of MIT’s Senseable Cities Lab, where he compares [...]
by Matt Ball on February 17, 2012
We’ve long used sensors to track performance of networks, but the smart city that is comprised of a network of networks that inform and report on infrastructure is a relatively new concept that is taking hold. We’re seeing whole cities built around the concept of constant monitoring and feedback, with central control for increased efficiency. [...]
by Matt Ball on February 9, 2012
The Earth Observation and Environmental Remote Sensing (EO-ERS) laboratory of the Masdar Institute of Science and Technology (MIST) has developed an animated video that shows the urban expansion of Abu Dhabi from 1986 through 2010. The animation makes use of satellite data from NASA and the USGS. With MIST’s focus on advanced energy and sustainable [...]
by Matt Ball on February 8, 2012
The Hexagon year-end report for 2011 just came out, and there is a recorded webinar with slides and an overview from Ola Rollen, president and CEO, that is available online. Rollen’s commentary highlighted many different areas of performance and business change, including: The blended Intergraph (software) and Hexagon (hardware) business has a favorable effect on [...]
by Matt Ball on February 4, 2012
The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration’s City Planning Department has created a 3D city planning map which is now online. The 3D city map includes traffic routes and infrastructure systems, which will we be added to with help from the Geo-Informatics and Space Technology Development Agency. To date there are 990 3D structures out of a total [...]
by Matt Ball on February 3, 2012
This may be a perennial question, as certainly the rise and promise of universal 3D geovisualization keeps coming in waves that are similar to the promise of location-based services. With each wave, we all ride the crest, and perhaps a few move toward the ongoing capture and visualization of our geographies beyond just a project [...]
by Matt Ball on February 2, 2012
A detailed map of block-by-block energy use has been created by the Columbia University Engineering School with data from the Mayor’s Office of Long-Term Planning and Sustainability. The interactive map demonstrates the energy used to heat and cool buildings, which accounts for two-thirds of the energy used in the city. The research built a statistical [...]
by Matt Ball on January 25, 2012
The Copenhagen Post reports that the Environment Ministry is set to lay off 115 positions from three different agencies, including 25 from their Mapping and Surveying Agency. The cuts come as the ministry works toward a 2.5 percent reduction in their budget that will double to 5 percent in 2015. The entire Environment Ministry is [...]
by Matt Ball on January 23, 2012
Safe Software continues to innovate far beyond the extract, transform and load of different spatial data formats. The company takes its role of being an aid to workflows seriously, and has recently added functionality to their FME Server that provides a conduit between sensors and systems. I spoke to Dale Lutz, co-founder & VP Development, [...]
by Matt Ball on January 22, 2012
One of the more interesting aspects of the ongoing LightSquared drama has been the eye-opening awareness of the Global Positioning System’s fragility. The potential repercussions of degraded or blocked signals has been prominent in the news, and has fostered a backlash. Hard to say if this chapter is completely over yet, but the defense of [...]