Applanix POSTrack 3.0

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

Applanix has released version 3.0 of POSTrack, its direct geo-referencing and flight management system. This version incorporates a worldwide ASTER digital elevation model product for flight planning. The DEM automatically determines an aircraft’s optimal flight path to best meet image acquisition requirements – such as photo scale, ground sample distance and image overlap. […]

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Leica PowerDigger 3D

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

Leica Geosystems has released the PowerDigger 3D, a guidance system for excavating machines. According to the manufacturer, this latest product expands the company’s PowerSnap concept, which enables panels to be swapped between laser, slope, and 3D machine control. The software offers direct support for popular 3D design models (CAD), and supports full GNSS (GPS […]

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MapData Sciences QuickMap Developer Toolkit

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

MapData Sciences has released the QuickMap Developer Toolkit. The JavaScript APIs enable web developers and programmers to create interactive mapping applications within their web pages. MDS is making the product free to developers for an eight week period while the toolkit is still in a development environment. Commercial terms and charges will apply when […]

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Preserving NSW Outback History

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

TONY PROUST I recently completed a much anticipated road trip to Cameron Corner, a surveyors’ icon, with my wife Sheila, in our 16-year-old 4WD van. My insurance – given the age of our trusty workhorse – was a hired satellite phone that gave us peace of mind. We headed west from Bourke to Tibooburra, then […]

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Virtual Brisbane for 3D City Planning

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

JONATHON POWERS The world of 3D visualisation is rapidly maturing, at least in applications designed for city planning. This is not so much about the model itself. Practical 3D modelling capability has been around for the best part of two decades. Rather, it’s about the interfaces that now exist between GIS and visualisation, and the […]

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Mapping the Ocean Floor

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

JON FAIRALL It’s a truism that the surfaces of Mars and the Moon are better mapped that the surface of the Earth. Three-quarters of our globe is covered by a layer of water several kilometres thick. Mapping through the murk is difficult and expensive. However, the news is not all bad. New technologies are making […]

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Air Traffic Control Moves to GNSS

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

About ten years ago it became clear that in many parts of the world airspace was approaching saturation point. Air transportation was plagued by delays, and safety had begun to be compromised. The existing outmoded groundbased radar systems, already stretched to the limit, were hardly able to cope. In the US, there are around 50,000 […]

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Laser Scanning for Mine Safety

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

SIMON ARTHUR and DAVID ELDRIDGE In an effort to enhance mine safety, the management of Beaconsfield gold mine, at Beaconsfield in north eastern Tasmania, has purchased a new laser scanning system. It can rapidly scan the underground workings. What’s more, it is remote-controlled, so the operators are never exposed to danger. Historically, Beaconsfield’s mine surveying […]

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Surveying the North Pole

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

JON FAIRALL Australians may still be locked into a grand debate between climate change sceptics and Greenies, but the polar bears are in no doubt. Neither are the world's oil companies. As the Arctic ice sheet collapses, the bears are heading south into the steaming heat of the Canadian steppes and the oil prospectors are […]

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Precision Agriculture: A Success Story

By Spatial Source on 13 May, 2010

DEREK TICKNER Last year, the Grains Research and Development Corporation and CSIRO released the results of a study of six farms that use information technology. The report was entitled, The Economic Benefits of Precision Agriculture: Case Studies From Australian Grain Farms. The project was led by Michael Robertson from CSIRO Sustainable Ecosystems in Western Australia. […]

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