Why you Shouldn’t Miss GeoTalks 2023

GeoTalks 2023 will be held on Wednesday, January 26, 2023. This virtual, day-long conference hosted by Blue Marble Geographics highlights GIS workflows and projects using Global Mapper and Geographic Calculator. If you are a current user of any Blue Marble software solutions or are interested in finding out more, register today for GeoTalks 2023.

Starting at 8:30 am (US EST) and concluding at 3:30 pm, GeoTalks 2023 will offer numerous presentations from guest speakers talking about their work and projects, along with our own Blue Marble experts presenting company news, directions of future development, and workflow tips and tricks.

GeoTalks 2023 is packed with use case examples and new information relating to all Blue Marble software solutions, including sessions by the following guest speakers:

White Space Analysis with Global Mapper
Peter van de Loo, Wind Energy GIS Consultant, Germany

In his presentation, Peter will demonstrate how you can use Global Mapper to conduct a white space analysis in order to identify suitable sites for renewable energy farms. Beginning with vector data representing various restricted area types, such as residential areas, infrastructure, and natural preserves, Global Mapper’s buffer functionality, and vector editing tools are used to clearly identify available areas for renewable energy development. As a final step, additional attribute information is added to the white space areas from local municipal data. With a vast number of data layers to analyze, join Peter’s session to learn how to efficiently use Global Mapper to expedite the process.

Introduction to Satellite Navigation
Jesse Huff, Vice President, JAVAD GNSS, United States

Satellite Navigation is all around us with nearly everything we do. Phones, tablets, computers, and even our automobiles have navigation built into these products we use daily. Global Navigation and Satellite System (GNSS) technology is continually evolving, and all components are not created equally. While the principles remain similar, there are vast differences between product quality and data quality. This introduction session will cover some of the key considerations for GNSS hardware and operation, along with how JAVAD GNSS works with Global Mapper Mobile. Jesse will suggest some GNSS best practices for daily operation in professional data collection. Finally, he will look at some of the misconceptions and myths about accuracies, precisions, and techniques that affect the data quality and repeatability for mapping and spatial professionals.

Visualizing Ancient Tombs with LiDARUSA and Global Mapper
Forrest Briggs, Chief Operations Officer, LiDARUSA, United States

In the summer of 2022, LiDARUSA partnered with Dr. Davide Zori of Baylor University and the host of the television show Expedition Unknown, Josh Gates, to help unearth intact tombs from the Roman Empire. Thought to have been lost to grave robbers and thieves, these tombs were hidden in an ancient Etruscan village. Over the course of a week, LiDARUSA used the powerful Surveyor 32 lidar scanner to collect data on the village and surrounding mountains that, over time, were covered in volcanic ash and dense vegetation. The Surveyor 32 proved its robust capabilities in such a hostile environment by helping locate possibly one of the last known untouched tombs of the Etruscans. Using tools within Global Mapper, the LiDARUSA team could visualize beyond the top of the vegetation and get down to the details on the ground. Join Forrest as he demonstrates how Global Mapper was instrumental in this project.

Rationale and Expectations for The Planned Geodetic Datum Changes
David Doyle, CEO, Base 9 Geodetic Consulting Services, United States

Enhancements and additions to the network of Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS), including the U.S. NAVSTAR Global Positioning System, Russian GLONASS, European Union GALILEO, and China’s BeiDou, are significantly improving the use and positional integrity of space-based positioning systems. In order to meet the anticipated demands for an improved geospatial framework that these developments will require, the National Geodetic Survey (NGS) is implementing a strategy for the modernization of the National Spatial Reference System (NSRS) rigorously aligned with the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). Among the various topics outlined in this presentation are discussions of the rationale for and magnitude of the anticipated horizontal and vertical positional changes and how these may impact existing federal, state, and local spatial data management systems (GIS).

Automatic Classification of Point Clouds for an Electrical Substation using Global Mapper
Eduardo Islas Pérez, Electrical Industrial Engineer, Electrical Research Institute, Mexico.

In his presentation, Eduardo will demonstrate how he used Global Mapper Pro to process and generate new data layers from tiles of drone-collected lidar data for an electrical substation area located in Texcoco, Mexico. The point cloud visualization, classification, and filtering tools available in Global Mapper Pro were used to analyze the complex point cloud and remove vegetation, powerlines, buildings, and other structures in order to generate a gridded terrain model of the area. Finally, from the generated terrain model, contour lines were generated in Global Mapper to capture the elevation changes of the study area in a simple vector format for integration into the final project.

Geospatial Analysis with Online Terrain Data in Global Mapper
Natalie Findlay, Director of Engineering, Intermap Technologies, United States

Join Natalie in exploring NEXTMap®, a worldwide terrain data streaming service available in Global Mapper. She’ll show you how to connect to terrain data online, explain the differences between elevation models with comparative examples, and dive deeper into the kinds of analyses you can do with Global Mapper and the elevation data stream. She will also demonstrate how to make custom slope and aspect maps, run profiles, and viewsheds, generate contours, and more. This session will benefit those doing exploration and preliminary engineering work who wish to have quick and easy access to terrain data for any location in the world.

In addition to hearing from knowledgeable professionals about their use of Global Mapper, there will be interactive polls and questions throughout the day culminating in lucky winners of licenses to Geographic Calculator, Global Mapper, and Global Mapper Mobile.

Attendees are encouraged to attend the entire day of events or drop in for specific sessions. In addition, all Blue Marble and external presentations will be recorded and available to registered attendees after the conference, so don’t forget to register for GeoTalks 2023 today!