Mapping the future for GeoPlatform.gov

GeoPlatform.gov, the web portal that provides direct access to the nation’s online geospatial resources, was launched in 2011 by member agencies of the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC). In the last 18 months, however, GeoPlatform.gov has shifted into high gear as it works to make its assets more usable with high-performance web services and better tools for managing the data.  Click here to read the full story...

FAA Finalizes Small UAS Rule

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has finalized the first operational rules, part 107, for routine commercial use of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), also known as drones. The new guidelines open pathways towards fully integrating UAS into the nation’s airspace. The regulations work to safely harness innovation and spur job growth. “We are part of a new era in aviation, and the potential for unmanned aircraft will make it safer and easier to do certain jobs, gather information, and deploy disaster relief,” says U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We look forward to working with the aviation community to support innovation, while maintaining our standards as the safest and most complex airspace in the world.” According to industry estimates, the rule could generate more than $82 billion for the U.S. economy and create more than 100,000 new jobs over the next 10 years. The new rule, which takes effect in late August, offers...Click here to read full story

USDA Forest Service - Nevada Supervisory Land Surveyor Outreach Announcement

USDA Forest Service - Nevada Supervisory Land Surveyor Outreach Announcement

The Intermountain Region will soon be advertising the Boundary and Title Zone lead for the Nevada Zone, Supervisory Land Surveyor, GS-1373-11/12, position. The position will be located in Sparks, Nevada and is located on the Humboldt-Toiyabe National Forest Supervisor’s Office.

Response deadline is July 1st.

Nevada Department of Transportation (NDOT) is Not a Design Professional for Certificate of Merit Purposes

Like many states, Nevada has heightened requirements for actions against design professionals for professional negligence. Commonly known in other jurisdictions as a “certificate of merit”, NRS 11.256 – NRS 11.259 require that a complaint filed against a design professional in the nonresidential construction context be accompanied by an attorney affidavit and an expert report which must include, among other information, a statement from the expert that...Click here to read full story

Invention makes 3D mapping more accurate

A new 3D mapping model integrates multi-platform satellite/aerial imagery and laser scanning data to achieve a higher accuracy in mapping products by 26-66% to centimeter level compared to the conventional mapping technologies. Click here to read the full story...

American Surveyor - Vantage Point: "I Should Have Hired a Surveyor..."

It isn't often that we see a line like that in the news, so it certainly grabbed my attention. More frequently I hear moaning about surveying being a dying profession. Here is just one (expensive) example of why I disagree.  Solebury Township in southeastern Pennsylvania still boasts a number of old hardwood trees, and the miscreant in this instance was a property owner who simply wanted a better view from the deck of the country home he had just bought but not yet moved into. He hired an arborist to clear some trees that he thought were on his property. 22 trees later, the landowner (a retired lawyer) realized...Click here to read full story...

Ontario Land Surveyors Lose Class Action Copyright Lawsuit

Teranet Inc., the company that has the rights to distribute Ontario’s real estate and land records online, has defeated a class action lawsuit in which 350 land surveyors claimed the company was breaching their copyright.  Click here to read full story...

GNSS and the Real-time Network: The Surveyor’s Best Friend

A lot of talk is being made about UAVs these days and how this technology is going to revolutionize many industries, with surveying being one of the biggest users. I won’t deny the impact this new tool is going to have on our profession (as written in my last column). But I don’t think it will compare to the use of GNSS technology and how it modernized measuring methods for the surveyor. I’m often asked by young surveyors what I think is the biggest improvement experienced by the surveying profession. Click here to read full story....

FLAIR Act

Senate passes energy bill with FLAIR Act which includes the collection of energy-related "data gathered by geomatics techniques, including tools and techniques used in land surveying, remote sensing, cartography, geographic information systems, global navigation satellite systems, photogrammetry, geophysics, geography, or other remote means." Click here to read full story...

UAS: The Must-Have Survey Tool

Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are the newest supplemental tool for many established engineering and surveying firms.
For numerous startup UAS entities, performing engineering and surveying
services represents a clear path to economic feasibility. We spoke with
established engineering and surveying firms and UAS companies to
highlight how each are operating—and benefiting at— their respective
organizations with UAS.  Click the link below to read the full story.



UAS Magazine – The Latest News on Unmanned Aerial Systems - UAS: The Must-Have Survey Tool