Missed GeoTalks 2021? Here’s a Short Recap!

Blue Marble’s third annual online conference, GeoTalks, was a resounding success. The live event was hosted on January 27th, with over 900 people registered from over 100 countries. The conference was virtual, free, and provided product updates, tips and tricks, company news, and presentations from Blue Marble software users. If you missed the live event, don’t worry, you can register here to watch the recordings. Not sure if GeoTalks would benefit you? Take a look at the presentations below to see which sessions are of interest to you.

Global Mapper Past, Present, and Future

David McKittrick – Blue Marble Training & Outreach Manager

Katrina Schweikert – Blue Marble Product Manager

David and Katrina’s presentation began with a brief history of Global Mapper, focusing on some of the significant development milestones in its 20+ year history. They demonstrated some of the most important new features in the latest release and offered a sneak peek at a few of the highlights coming in version 22.1, scheduled for release in mid-February, 2021.

Create and Share Maps Online Using Global Mapper and MangoMap

Paul Gager – Director of MangoMap 

Paul discussed the current trends in cloud-based GIS and demonstrated how to publish a map created in Global Mapper to the online Mango platform. The workflow is simple and just takes the push of a button. If you are interested in learning more about how Global Mapper and Mango work together, take a look at this presentation.  

3D Change Detection

Mackenzie Mills – Blue Marble Application Specialist

Mackenzie used Global Mapper to analyze coastal erosion on beaches near Cape Cod in the state of Massachusetts. Using terrain data from 2010 and 2018, Mackenzie demonstrated the process of comparing the two layers to visualize and measure changes in surface elevation. She then created a custom shader to identify areas where the process of erosion had been most significant.

Bridging the Gap between GIS, Remote Sensing, and Land Surveying

Troy Hicks – Northern Region Surveyor for Alaska DOT

Troy explained how he and the Alaska Department of Transportation used Global Mapper to create low distortion projections for the state. By factoring in the inherent challenges in tying survey data to an accurate geodetic model, he successfully created the projections that will be used for the revised State Plane Coordinate System. Though Troy’s workflow is complex, he provided a clear and concise explanation of the process.  

Exploring Global Mapper Mobile

Jeff Hatzel – Blue Marble Product Manager

Jeff demonstrated how Global Mapper Mobile makes collecting data in the field easy and efficient. He showed how to transfer data layers from the desktop version of Global Mapper to the app on his phone, before simulating the data collection process and transferring the results back to the desktop. Jeff also highlighted some of the specific functions in the application, such as high-precision GPS support and the use of the digitizer tool. 

Blue Marble Academic Programs and Scholarship Awards

Danielle Caron – Blue Marble Operations Manager

Erneste Ntakobangize – Graduate Student at the University of Rwanda 

Danielle provided some background on Blue Marble’s Academic Programs and the annual scholarship program before introducing this year’s winner, Erneste Ntakobanize. For his winning submission, Erneste performed a topographical survey of the Rusizzi III Hydropower Plant project using drone- and field-collected data. Employing both Global Mapper and Geographic Calculator, he was able to effectively and accurately create, process, and analyze data for the study of this remote and inaccessible area.  

Creating a 3D-Fly Through

William Nobel – Blue Marble Application Specialist 

William demonstrated how to create a simulated 3D-fly through recording in Global Mapper. He first described the various options in the 3D fly-through path creation tool, including the different camera modes, speed, and altitude. He wrapped up this session by demonstrating Global Mapper’s ability to preview flights in the 3D Viewer and how to export the flight into a video file.

Bring the Site to the Expert using Global Mapper and the Ada Platform 

Keith Lay – Director of Sales and Marketing for Clirio technologies

Keith discussed the integration of the Ada Platform and Global Mapper to create and remotely share 3D holograms in a virtual reality setting. Using a custom-built Global Mapper extension, he showed how 3D scenes created in the software are exported in the Ada format and showed how teams from across the globe use this platform to remotely collaborate on 3D projects in real-time. 

Exploring GeoCalc Online

Jeff Hatzel – Blue Marble Product Manager

Jeff introduced the new functions and significant updates to Blue Marble’s cloud-based repository for coordinate systems, GeoCalc Online. He highlighted search capabilities and demonstrated the new Point-to-Point Calculator tool, which provides a powerful mobile-optimized platform for conducting basic geodetic calculations in the field. 

Exploring Geographic Calculator

Sam Knight – Blue Marble Director of Product Management

Sam provided a high-level look at Geographic Calculator and showcased the latest features and functions in the 2020 Service Pack One (SP1) release. This release lays the groundwork for the integration of future coordinate systems, including the new North American NATRF2022 system and the ability to perform NADCON5 transformations on any data. His presentation offered a concise overview of the current functionality and future of Geographic Calculator. 

Sign up to Watch

Request a link to watch the recordings of the conference by registering here.