Leica Cyclone is a purpose-built solution for reality capture

(HEERBRUGG, Switzerland, 31 March 2020) – Leica Geosystems^[1], a Hexagon company, announced today a new 3D laser scanning bundle for the Leica BLK360 and greater integration with Autodesk ecosystem.

This new bundle consists of the Leica BLK360^[2] imaging laser scanner, Leica Cyclone REGISTER 360^[3] (BLK Edition) desktop software, and Leica Cyclone FIELD 360^[4] for tablets and phones. Customers can get started straight out of the box with seamless connectivity and workflows from Leica Geosystems Reality Capture products to Autodesk’s Reality Computing^[5] and design solutions. With this bundle, Leica Geosystems will deliver point cloud production while Autodesk’s technology will consume the data.    

“We have been on a path with Autodesk to democratise the reality capture landscape through a blend of software and sensor technology,” said Faheem Khan, Leica Geosystems Vice President of Survey Solutions. “This new bundle provides an improved and seamless capture-consumption workflow for our customers with direct connectivity into the Autodesk ecosystem.”

Preparing reality capture data in one streamlined workflow    
With the new Leica Geosystems 3D laser scanning bundle, users can rely on a purpose-built workflow for preparing data from capture to registration and delivery. The new,...

Expectations for infrastructure investment plummet globally, as COVID-19 outbreak shakes confidence

According to a new survey taken before and after the pandemic, a lack of infrastructure investment driving pessimism around a post-virus economic recovery

 WASHINGTON, DC — Despite the fact that social infrastructure and water projects - clean water, wastewater operations - are identified as top priorities from private and public sector entities from around the world, a new CG/LA Infrastructure survey shows that global industry leaders are not hopeful about an increase in infrastructure spending following the worldwide spread of the coronavirus. 

In its new Global Infrastructure Industry Survey, CG/LA Infrastructure found only 5% believe that investment will “increase significantly” following the pandemic, a sharp decline from 34% before the crisis. In total, only 27% believes that infrastructure investment would increase or increase significantly - a drop from 71%, when asked previously.

Prior to the crisis only 10% of respondents thought that infrastructure investment would decrease (7%), or decrease significantly (3%), but now a majority (52%) believe that infrastructure investment will decline (34%) or decline significantly (18%).

“The data shows that the outbreak of COVID-19 cases worldwide has essentially put a halt to infrastructure investment...

RFI will feed into a study to help modernize spatial data infrastructures by integrating new tools, standards, and techniques (such as machine learning) to advance inter-jurisdictional data interoperability

31 March 2020: The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and Natural Resources Canada (NRCan), an OGC Strategic Member, are requesting information to support the Modernizing SDI: Enabling Data Interoperability for Regional Assessments and Cumulative Effects Concept Development Study (Modernizing SDI CDS). 

Responses to the Request For Information (RFI) are due May 29, 2020.

The Modernizing SDI CDS seeks to provide solutions to the challenge of inter-jurisdictional data interoperability within a rapidly evolving digital environment. Specifically: How can an ocean of environmental, foundational/framework, biological, socio-economic and other data, from multiple sources, and varying levels of standardization, be readily consumable and integratable by scientists and citizens alike?

The Modernizing SDI CDS will, therefore, gather and analyze such information as is necessary to inform and guide a modernized approach to data interoperability and exchange, with a specific focus on environmental and foundational data typically required by cumulative effects analyses. Results of the study will serve to inform future OGC Innovation Program^[1] and ...

NEW YORK, March 31, 2020 — (PRNewswire) — S&P Dow Jones Indices today released the latest results for the S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices. Data released today for January 2020 show that home prices continue to increase at a modest rate across the U.S. More than 27 years of history are available for these data series, and can be accessed in full by going to www.spdji.com^[1].

YEAR-OVER-YEAR 

The S&P CoreLogic Case-Shiller U.S. National Home Price NSA Index, covering all nine U.S. census divisions, reported a 3.9% annual gain in January, up from 3.7% in the previous month. The 10-City Composite annual increase came in at 2.6%, up from 2.3% in the previous month. The 20-City Composite posted a 3.1% year-over-year gain, up from 2.8% in the previous month.

Phoenix, Seattle and Tampa reported the highest year-over-year gains among the 20 cities. In January, Phoenix led the way with a 6.9% year-over-year price increase, followed by 5.1% increases in Seattle and Tampa. Fourteen of the 20 cities reported higher price increases in the year ending...

CALGARY, AB – March 31, 2020 – SOLV3D, a leading provider of 3D processing, geospatial data visualization and collaboration solutions, is pleased to announce the immediate availability of version 2.2.1.1937 of SOLV3D encompass™ (Encompass) and version 3.0.2 of SOLV3D engine™ (Engine).  The releases incorporate a number of new features and enhancements.

“Much of this release can be attributed to the feedback and input we’ve received from the many partners and clients we are working with.” states Tammy Peterson, Vice President of Marketing and Sales, “We are fortunate to have such an engaged ecosystem who truly contribute to our continued evolution, growth and success.”

“With these new features, we are further expanding our existing applications to solve our clients needs while continuing to provide the functionality they expect. Our ability to pivot the development team to solve the problems of our customers is part one of the many reasons our customers subscribe to our applications and ensures we are in alignment with industry needs.” said Kevin Miller, Chief Technical Officer.

The new features for both Encompass and Engine, in brief, are noted below;

Encompass
 - Pile Volume Measurements
 - Cross Section/Profile View
 - Revit Model Support (IFC File)

Engine
 - License Plate and Facial Blurring
 - A number of new algorithms...

Complimentary Technology and Lessons Support Remote Learning during COVID-19 Outbreak

REDLANDS, Calif. — (BUSINESS WIRE) — March 30, 2020 — Esri^[1], the global leader in location intelligence, today announced that it will provide free access to its ArcGIS platform and learning resources through the Learn.ArcGIS.com^[2] website to support college and university students who no longer have access to campus computer labs during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Students will receive access to ArcGIS Online and over 20 apps including ArcGIS Pro, along with a library of lessons^[3] to continue their learning and complete courses. Access is available globally to students ages 18 and over.

Learn ArcGIS^[4] promotes learning by doing through guided lessons based on real-world problems in industries such as urban planning and disaster response, and new lessons on public health have just been added. Learn ArcGIS lessons cover both beginner and advanced topics and are available in seven languages.

“We believe education creates opportunities for people of all ages, while building communities and advancing our knowledge for a better world,” said Jack Dangermond, Esri founder and president. “This is especially important now during this global crisis. We consider it part of our...

Rizing Geospatial brings location intelligence experience to the transportation industry and SAP customers

STAMFORD, Conn., March 30, 2020 — (PRNewswire) —  Rizing, LLC, a privately held multinational company and leading professional services firm that focuses primarily on SAP technology, announced today that their Geospatial Solutions^[1] business, Transcend Spatial Solutions, is rebranded as Rizing.

Location intelligence extended beyond the transportation industry

"Transcend has been instrumental in solving location data challenges in the transportation industry for over nine years," said Connie Gurchiek, Geospatial President for Rizing and founder of Transcend. "That is not changing. What is changing is our ability to present our solutions to both the transportation industry and SAP customers with a fresh market perspective."

"Transcend's innovation with products and services that empower clients to visualize location data^[2] and mobilize asset data has been an extraordinary benefit to the transportation industry and, now more recently, to our SAP Enterprise Asset Management customers," said Mike Maiolo, CEO of Rizing. "We see applications for this location intelligence across our lines of business, which is why we felt it crucial to embrace the Rizing brand for Geospatial Services."

Accelerating digital transformation

Organizations have vast...

Negotiating Debtor-in-Possession Financing to Support its Ongoing Business and a Sale Process

LONDON, UK, March 27, 2020 – OneWeb (“OneWeb,” “the Company”), the global communications company with a mission to bring connectivity to everyone everywhere, announced today that the Company and certain of its controlled affiliates have voluntarily filed for relief under Chapter 11 of the Bankruptcy Code in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York. The Company intends to use these proceedings to pursue a sale of its business in order to maximize the value of the company.

To date, the Company has successfully launched 74 satellites as part of its constellation, secured valuable global spectrum, begun development on a range of user terminals for a variety of customer markets, has half of its 44 ground stations completed or in development, and performed successful demonstrations of its system with broadband speeds in excess of 400 Mbps and latency of 32 ms. In addition, OneWeb’s commercial team has seen significant early global demand for OneWeb’s high-speed, low-latency connectivity services from governments and leaders in the automotive, maritime, enterprise, and aviation industries.

This demand for connectivity delivered from low Earth orbiting satellite constellations underscores the tremendous need for high-quality connectivity, especially for rural and under-connected communities worldwide. The OneWeb ecosystem has transformed...

Sanjay Gangal
Sanjay Gangal is the President of IBSystems, the parent company of AECCafe.com, MCADCafe, EDACafe.Com, GISCafe.Com, and ShareCG.Com.

Covid Near You – Participate in a Harvard Medical School Citizen Science Project

Source: Science Friday

As suspected and confirmed cases of COVID-19 skyrocket in the United States, testing availability remains limited, leaving people wondering if their cough is something to worry about. But testing isn’t just a balm for anxiety—public health officials need data about how far the new virus has spread to make decisions about how to best protect people, and where to send critical resources, like masks and gowns. Accurate information is the frontline of defense, but scientists still have pressing questions about the novel disease. For instance, how many people who are infected actually have symptoms? If you do have symptoms, how likely are you to get severely sick?

Until we are able to test both healthy and symptomatic people at scale, citizen science can help fill the gaps in tracking who has COVID-19. And the public health team that launched Flu Near You^[1] to track seasonal flu symptoms is now doing just that: soliciting your symptoms in the Covid Near You project.

Covid...