2024

The National Center for Vegetation Development and Combating Desertification (NCVC) has completed a significant step in its fight against desertification: the first phase of a project to assess the state of land degradation across the Kingdom, which resulted in the creation of 246 detailed maps. These maps provide valuable insight into desertification trends and the ...

ideaForge Technology Limited, a drone technology company, announced the Beta launch of its groundbreaking Flyght Cloud platform, poised to redefine the landscape of drone data analytics. This innovative platform can eliminate the complexities of multiple vendors, regulations, and inefficient workflows. Operated with a subscription-based pricing model, it provides flexibility and affordability through various workflows tailored ...

University of Liverpool researchers have been awarded funding from Smart Data Research UK (SDR UK) for a new project that aims to quantify and adjust existing biases in smart data on human mobility. Called DEBIAS, the project is led by Professor Francisco Rowe, who specialises in population data science with specific expertise in human mobility, ...

The advantage of incorporating 5G within a global positioning solution lies in its extensive coverage and accessibility, especially in urban areas, where GNSS signal quality can be significantly compromised. The NAVISP-funded HYPER-5G project was aimed at studying, designing and developing algorithms and software needed to drive a precise positioning engine that would use both multi-constellation ...

China sent a new set of four Beijing-3 optical remote sensing satellites into orbit late Sunday. A Long March 2D rocket lifted off at 11:06 p.m. Eastern, May 19 (0306 UTC, May 20), from the Taiyuan Satellite Launch Center, north China. The China Aerospace Science and Technology Group (CASC) confirmed launch success within an hour ...

The new Tandem Dual-Antenna Spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) Interferometry (TDA-InSAR) system, addresses the limitations of current spaceborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) systems by providing a more reliable and efficient method for 3D surface mapping. The system’s innovative design allows for single-pass acquisitions, significantly reducing the time required for data collection and enhancing the precision ...

A research team has recently published a comprehensive review on the innovative integration of spectral data and phylogeographic patterns to study plant genetic variation. The findings demonstrate the effectiveness of remote sensing technology in identifying and analyzing genetic variations in plants across different geographical regions. This methodology not only deepens our understanding of plant diversity ...

The geology along Ecuador’s Coca River is moving in fast-forward. In a scientific field where natural wonders form over millennia, but natural disasters occur in minutes, speed is less than desirable. Over the last four years, the river and its surrounding area within the Amazon basin have experienced a lava dam collapse, 500 million tons ...

Google DeepMind introduced a new AI assistant model named Astra at their Google I/O developer conference. Astra is designed to be a highly functional AI assistant capable of understanding and responding to complex and dynamic environments. It aims to be proactive, teachable, and personal, allowing for natural and lag-free interactions. This groundbreaking technology is expected ...

The MBZ-SAT, the most advanced satellite in the region named after the UAE President, has been approved for launch which will take place no earlier than October 2024. The Earth-observation satellite will be launched on a SpaceX rocket further solidifying the UAE’s position in the global space industry. Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed, Crown Prince of ...

A project at the UK’s Aston University has received financial support for its work on enhancing lidar for crop monitoring applications. The award of a Royal Society Industry Fellowship grant worth £174,000 will be used to further develop a polarimetic lidar, funding work underway at the Aston Institute of Photonic Technologies (AIPT) in the lab ...

The UK has successfully tested quantum-based navigation systems in flight. This commercial trial, led by the quantum technology firm Infleqtion, aims to enhance resilience against GPS jamming and spoofing. Although GPS jamming typically does not affect an aircraft’s flight path, Quantum-based Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) systems aim to provide accurate and resilient navigation, complementing ...

A new map showing the bed of Lake Wānaka in “incredible detail” will help scientists work out the lake’s potential for earthquakes and tsunami, Niwa says. The work was done after an active fault was found under the lake three years ago. Lake Wānaka is thought to be at risk of a tsunami-like event due ...

Satellite laser ranging (SLR) is one of the space geodetic techniques that uses lasers to measure the distance between ground stations and satellites with retroreflectors. This precise measurement provides critical data for determining the geocenter motion, terrestrial scale and Earth Rotation Parameters (ERP)—parameters fundamental to the International Terrestrial Reference Frame (ITRF). In an innovative study ...

Climate change stands as one of the most pressing challenges confronting global ecosystems and human livelihoods. The agriculture sector of Anuradhapura district, Sri Lanka, well renowned for its pivotal role in the nation’s food production, faces an increasing threat from the changing climate. A recent study by Millennium City aims to incorporate the indicator system ...

At its annual Google I/O 2024 conference, Google announced that users will soon be able to access geospatial augmented reality (AR) content directly on Google Maps on their phones. The feature will first appear in Singapore and Paris as part of a pilot program launching later this year. Users will be able to access the ...

Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has announced an investment of A$566-million over the next decade to bolster geoscientific research across the nation. The Geoscience Australia-led initiative, welcomed by industry bodies such as the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA) and the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (Amec), aims to unlock the vast potential of Australia’s ...

Das Projekt DERLA macht Erinnerungsorte und -zeichen an die Opfer und Orte des Terrors des Nationalsozialismus in Österreich sichtbar. Die digitale Plattform bietet selbstgeführte, aufbereitete Rundgänge zu diesen Orten an und bietet direkt auf der Seite didaktische Hilfestellung zur Nutzung der Webseite. Vor allem Pädagoginnen und Pädagogen sollen von der Webseite profitieren: So sind hier ...

The Town of The Blue Mountains will soon have its own online and interactive Cultural Map. For the past several months, the town’s museum staff and the town’s GIS department have been working together on the cultural mapping project. Together, they are creating a comprehensive record of the cultural, natural and intangible features that define ...

A West Yorkshire hospital has become the first in the UK to use new geospatial software to help pinpoint high-risk crumbling concrete panels. More than 80% of floors, walls and ceilings at the Airedale Hospital, in Keighley, are made of Raac, or reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete, which has a lifespan of about 30 years. Though ...

NASA has selected four proposals for concept studies of missions to help us better understand Earth science key focus areas for the benefit of all including greenhouse gases, the ozone layer, ocean surface currents, and changes in ice and glaciers around the world. These four investigations are part of the agency’s new Earth System Explorers ...

Germany’s Federal Agency for Cartography and Geodesy (BKG) will continue to manage production of pan-European datasets after signing a new agreement with EuroGeographics. As a result, BKG is responsible for three open datasets available via the Open Maps For Europe (OME) user interface, as well as a database of administrative boundaries and 1:250 000 topographic ...

Investigadores de la Universidad de Jaén pertenecientes al Grupo Tecnologías Avanzadas en Ingeniería Civil: Construcción y Transporte Terrestre (TEP-980), en colaboración con el grupo Informática Gráfica y Geomática (TIC-144), han realizado una serie de campañas en el Castillo de Puertas Arenas (Campillo de Arenas, Jaén) con el objetivo de evaluar su estado de conservación para ...

The UK government has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Government of Ontario, Canada, to share knowledge and technology related to creating digital maps of underground infrastructure. The agreement was signed by Viscount Camrose, Minister for Intellectual Property, and Kinga Surma, Minister of Infrastructure with the Government of Ontario. The MoU outlines a ...

EarthSense, today announced a partnership with GISCAD, a Portugal-based geomatics and civil engineering solutions company, to bring its air quality monitoring solutions and services to Portugal, Angola and Mozambique. GISCAD provides a range of advanced technology equipment, software and technical support to its clients in the geomatics, engineering, construction and architecture sectors. Its partnership with ...

Driving at night might be a scary challenge for a new driver, but with hours of practice it soon becomes second nature. For self-driving cars, however, practice may not be enough because the lidar sensors that often act as these vehicles’ “eyes” have difficulty detecting dark-colored objects. New research published in ACS Applied Materials & ...

UK government has unveils a significant investment in its digital future with the announcement of a brand new £37.6 million National Digital Twin Centre to be established in Belfast. This state-of-the-art facility, led by the government-backed innovation agency Digital Catapult, promises to not only accelerate the adoption of digital twins but also bridge the gap ...

The University of Florida’s Center for Landscape Conservation Planning (CLCP) and GeoPlan Center have developed two new tools to support land protection decisions in Florida – a web map viewer and web-based dashboard for the Florida Ecological Greenway Network (FEGN). The FEGN is a statewide database that identifies and prioritizes a functionally connected statewide ecological ...

One natural strategy to reduce heat-related deaths is to increase tree coverage in urban areas, which helps lower temperatures. A recent study highlights the disparities in health and energy consumption across the United States, stemming from insufficient urban tree coverage. It also details the potential health and economic advantages that increased tree presence can offer ...

Kia India on Thursday said it has tied up with Map My India to offer navigation solutions to its customers nationwide. The platform’s four-wheeler-specific points of interest search, spanning over 450 categories, enables easy discovery of vital services like dealerships and service centres, fuel stations, hospitals, hotels, restaurants, and more, the automaker said in a ...