Tenacity of spirit is one of the great virtues. Supporters of geospatial technology have often had to endure steadfast resolve convincing others of the multi-dimensional value GIS provides. It is a battle best won by seeing and doing rather than by words. Jack Maple proved the value of GIS to public safety in the early 1990s by using it to... read more
As technology evolves, the Civil Air Patrol will continue to be a platform for implementing new technologies to secure the country in times of crisis. The strength of this country isn’t in buildings of brick and steel. It’s in the hearts of those who have sworn to fight for its freedom! —Captain America If you are someone who likes aviation,... read more
The world so close has never seemed so far away. Locked up and adrift, somewhere between the comfort of the past and the anxiety of the future, the present slowly passes by in a procession of nameless days. The living room has become a sundial. Shadows pass from one wall in the morning to the far side by day’s end.... read more
Birth of an epidemic Men wearing white bio-suits entered the market from the main entrance. A panic ensued at the sight, and a commotion quickly spread through the crowd. Shop keepers, sensing the worst, hurriedly gathered their belongings. People rushed towards the exits. More armed soldiers in white bio-suits pressed in, sealing off escape. Screams and weeping filled the market... read more
Connection to the Stars The Great Pyramids still cast their long shadow upon history. It’s been said that even Time kneels before them. They are monuments to the state-of-the-art technology of the builders using their most advanced astronomy, engineering, mathematics and trigonometry as a testament to their understanding of the world. They are monuments to the builder’s state-of-the-art technology at... read more
This article includes National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) undersea camera livestreams and an interview with an undersea expedition coordinator. In a case of fortuitous happenstance, I found myself in an operations support center for an undersea expedition with two, large, flat screens mounted on a wall peering into the deep through the remote viewer slowly gliding through a dark blue... read more
Read the first part of this series: The story of GIS at DHS: From Manhattan to Katrina. The Geospatial Management Office (GMO) is the designated coordinator of geospatial activities throughout the core of the Department of Homeland Security headquarters and its component agencies. Part I described how and why the GMO was formed and some of the early activities when resources... read more
Geographic information systems and augmented reality are a part of our daily lives, so much so, we hardly notice them. GPS World columnist William Tewelow explores how these technologies will continue to change our lives. Geographical information systems (GIS) and augmented reality (AR) have become a part of our daily lives, so much so that we hardly notice them. Those... read more
The just-passed Geospatial Data Act (GDA) is a unifying federal geospatial policy decades in the making, and is set to change the country, and the world. read more
GIS specialists are much more than mapmakers. Make sure your organization and customers understand how spatial analytics can help them succeed. By Adam Carnow Most non-GIS users hear the term “G-I-S” and think “M-A-P.” That is, they think of GIS, and GIS practitioners, as mapmakers. Most GIS practitioners have unknowingly perpetuated this image. Ask any GIS practitioner what they do... read more
