Susan SmithSusan Smith has worked as an editor and writer in the technology industry for over 16 years. As an editor she has been responsible for the launch of a number of technology trade publications, both in print and online. Currently, Susan is the Editor of GISCafe and AECCafe, as well as those sites’ newsletters and blogs. She writes on a number of topics, including but not limited to geospatial, architecture, engineering and construction. As many technologies evolve and occasionally merge, Susan finds herself uniquely situated to be able to cover diverse topics with facility. « Less
Susan SmithSusan Smith has worked as an editor and writer in the technology industry for over 16 years. As an editor she has been responsible for the launch of a number of technology trade publications, both in print and online. Currently, Susan is the Editor of GISCafe and AECCafe, as well as those sites’ … More »
October 3rd, 2014 by Susan Smith
Recently I spoke with Mosaik Solutions’ John Gilmer, VP, Data Integrity, Brian McNamara, product manager, Todd Cotts, director, Product Management and Matt Oak, manager GIS department regarding their business and recent announcements.
 Mosaik Solutions Coverage
Read the rest of Mosaik Solutions: from roaming guides to GIS and core analytics
Tags: ArcGIS, cloud, crowdsourcing, data, ESRI, geospatial, Google, imagery, Infrastructure, intelligence, location, mapping, maps, satellite imagery Posted in ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, asset management, climate change, cloud, cloud network analytics, conversion, Esri, field GIS, geocoding, geospatial, image-delivery software, lidar, location based sensor fusion, location based services, location intelligence, mapping, mobile, photogrammetry, satellite imagery, sensors, Uncategorized, wireless networks | No Comments »
September 25th, 2014 by Susan Smith
In response to recent catastrophic natural disasters such as the earthquake and tsunami in Tohoku, Japan in 2011, the hurricanes of the Gulf of Mexico, and the Colorado floods of 2013, the Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst software has been developed by USGS. The reason for the focus on pedestrians in evacuations is that during the brief period of time between the onset of a disaster and the arrival of the consequences of the event, citizens generally evacuate themselves without a government mandate, and they are usually on foot, across the landscape (according to Wood and Schmidtlein, 2012).
In cases where there is tremendous flooding or tsunamis, evacuation would be to higher ground but that isn’t always available. Evacuation modeling has revealed that some kind of vertical-evacuation structures may be good to have in a critical area.
Read the rest of The Pedestrian Evacuation Analyst software from USGS is here
Tags: cloud, crowdsourcing, geospatial, location, mapping, maps, USGS Posted in geospatial, GIS, image-delivery software, location based services, Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 23rd, 2014 by Susan Smith
Not to be outdone by some of Google’s larger acquisitions, Jetpac, a contextual image company, has been acquired by the search engine giant. What Google wants from Jetpac is their iPhone app that helps users find destinations using shared smartphone photos. It is also a very powerful crowdsourcing tool.
Read the rest of Google acquires Jetpac iPhone app
Tags: cloud, crowdsourcing, data, GIS, Google, Google Maps, location, maps, mobile, satellite imagery, smartphones, social media Posted in Big Data, climate change, cloud, conversion, crowd source, data, drones, geocoding, geospatial, GIS, Google, image-delivery software, indoor location technology, iPhone, location based services, mapping, mobile, Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 15th, 2014 by Susan Smith
Satellite imagery has undergone a paradigm shift in the past couple of years.
 Airbus MOJ Tracker
Read the rest of Special Coverage: Greater Clarity from Space — Update on Satellite Imagery
Tags: cloud, data, DigitalGlobe, ESRI, imagery, intelligence, LiDAR, location, mapping, maps, Microsoft, mobile, NASA, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, NOAA, remote sensing, satellite imagery Posted in ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, Big Data, BlackBridge, Bluesky, cloud, conversion, data, DigitalGlobe, DMTI Spatial, eSpatial, Esri, Esri UC 2014, field GIS, geocoding, GeoEYE, geomatics, geospatial, GIS, Google, GPS, Intergraph, Intermap, laser radar, LBS, Leica Geosystems, lidar, location based sensor fusion, location based services, location intelligence, mapping, mobile, NASA, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »
September 11th, 2014 by Susan Smith
GISCafe Voice is running a Special Feature Blog on the topic of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) the week of October 20th. If you wish to have your company included, please let me know, Susan Smith at susan.smith@ibsystems.com The GISCafe UAS Questionnaire will be sent to all companies who offer UAV and UAS products and services, so that we may thoroughly cover all opportunities available. Or, you can print it yourself from this blog and email it to me.
Read the rest of New indepth coverage for October: Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS)
Tags: UAS, UAVs, Unmanned Aerial Systems, Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Posted in Accela, Big Data, geospatial, GIS, Intermap, LBS, lidar, location based sensor fusion, location based services, location intelligence, mobile, NASA, satellite imagery, sensors, spatial data, SPOT 7 satellite, Trimble, UAS, UAV, Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 8th, 2014 by Susan Smith
PDF3D 3D PDF conversion and publishing software has released their latest version update with more features of their advanced PRC technology for GIS users. The development timeframe has been speeded up to bring this technology to market early.
 LiDAR draped over hills
Read the rest of PDF3D conversion and publishing software addresses merging GIS and CAD data from diverse sources
Tags: 3D PDF, Autodesk, cloud, collaboration, conversion, ESRI, geospatial, GIS, Google Maps, imagery, LiDAR, maps, mobile, PDF3D, satellite imagery Posted in 3D PDF, ArcGIS, Autodesk, cloud, conversion, data, field GIS, geospatial, Google, GPS, image-delivery software, lidar, mapping, PDF3D | No Comments »
September 4th, 2014 by Susan Smith
Jon Skiffington, LizardTech director of Product Management, spoke to the GISCafe Voice about the latest release of GeoGofer, LizardTech’s latest software solution for finding geospatial imagery quickly and efficiently, regardless of where it is located is now available for only $250.
Read the rest of LizardTech’s GeoGofer finds, organizes and tracks geospatial imagery
Tags: ArcGIS, crowdsourcing, data, ESRI, geospatial, GIS, Google Maps, location, mapping, mobile, satellite imagery Posted in ArcGIS, ArcGIS Online, Big Data, cloud, data, Esri, geospatial, GIS, GPS, image-delivery software, lidar, mapping, photogrammetry, satellite imagery, Uncategorized | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2014 by Susan Smith
Reposting: During the week of September 15th, GISCafe Voice will run a special feature blog on the topic, “Satellite Imaging.”

If you wish to have your company included, please let me know, Susan Smith at susan.smith@ibsystems.com The Satellite Imaging Questionnaire will be sent to all companies who offer satellite imaging products and services, so that we may thoroughly cover all opportunities available. Or, you can print it yourself from this blog and email it to me.
At Esri UC, we heard about the launch of DigitalGlobe’s WorldView-3 from DigitalGlobe senior scientist, Product Development and Labs, Bill Baugh. This satellite will be especially helpful for mapping mineral mining.
WorldView-3 is superspectral and has 16 spectrums, and contains the overall structure of spectrum. “The bands coming in WorldView-3 will allow you to go after data you might not be able to go after normally,” said Baugh. “You’ll be able to see iron, rocks (short wave infrared) and steel infrastructure.”Additionally, with SWIR-6 you can see through the smoke from a fire, which would be valuable for crisis response, when you have to see what’s on the ground.
At the other end of the spectrum (excuse the pun), in 2009, a couple of Stanford grad students envisioned that they could “index the earth the way Google indexes the Internet.” This is how the radical satellite imaging company Skybox was born. And now Google has acquired the company. So I guess that’s where Google comes in: already there, in the way of indexing. And Skybox is already there in terms of providing the satellite. Last November the company launched its first mini-bar-sized satellite, SkySat-1 into orbit aboard a Russian Dnepr rocket. Plans are to launch eight more by the end of 2015. Skybox even has its own rocket.
I spoke to many of you at Esri UC, but I know there are many out there that I may have missed seeing. Please contact me at your earliest convenience to be included in the September coverage. Deadline for materials: September 1, 2014.
Satellite Imaging Questionnaire
Tags: geospatial, GIS, Google Maps, location, mapping, mobile, NASA, National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, navigation, satellite imagery, social media Posted in Big Data | No Comments »
September 2nd, 2014 by Susan Smith
Five-year-old Uber, a company whose expertise is in getting you from one location to another, wants to add the service of how to deliver goods to people’s homes also.

Recently Uber announced Uber Corner Store, a pilot program which is a service that would enable Uber users in the Washington D.C. region to order grocery or pharmacy items such as toothpaste delivered from local stores, much like some mom-and-pop stores used to make home deliveries. The pilot is expected to only last for a few weeks, but signals what the long term vision of the company is. This would put Uber at more than a location company to a bonafide logistics company.
Uber CEO Travis Kalanick’s idea of the Corner Store could position the company in direct competition with the two superpowers Google and Amazon, who have been going after that same-day delivery market for a number of years. The on-demand economy is growing and both companies have their version of instant gratification for that economy. The other part of that is to keep shoppers engaged in their one service so they don’t shop elsewhere. Google has added new retailers to its Shopping Express offering. Amazon expanded it’s Get It Today service to six new locations.
Uber has not figured out a way to make this service earn money, and currently the service is free for customers. Uber has an advantage in that it has been in the forefront of educating users to treat their smartphones like “remote controls” so that they can get anything by using an app or just touching a button on their mobile device.
Read the rest of Uber may be taking on Google and Amazon
Tags: crowdsourcing, data, geospatial, GIS, location, mapping, maps Posted in Big Data, citizen science, cloud, crowd source, data, geospatial, GIS, mapping, mobile, Uncategorized | No Comments »
August 28th, 2014 by Susan Smith
The face of GIS and Geospatial education has changed dramatically over the past few years, with online courses being offered in numerous subjects, ranging from GIS fundamentals to Spatial Analytics and Geodesign. What is more phenomenal is that these courses reach out to all corners of the earth, making a GIS/geospatial education a possibility for almost everyone on the planet.
 Screenshot from a Washington College lecture
Read the rest of Special Coverage: Online GIS Courses Change the Face of Geospatial Education
Tags: cloud, crowdsourcing, data, education, ESRI, geospatial, GIS, Google, Google Maps, GPS, Infrastructure, LiDAR, location, mapping, maps, mobile, NASA, Online GIS courses, satellite imagery, UAS Posted in Big Data, CityEngine 2014, climate change, cloud, crowd source, developers, drones, Esri, Esri UC 2014, geocoding, geomatics, geospatial, GIS, image-delivery software, indoor location technology, LBS, lidar, location based sensor fusion, location based services, location intelligence, mapping, mobile, Online GIS courses, remote sensing, satellite imagery, sensors, spatial data, storm surge, UAS, Uncategorized, urban information models | No Comments »
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