A newly approved international standard may just be the key to help speed up the construction sector’s digital transformation–starting by making BIM data format accessible
Geospatial Data
Geospatial data is not just one thing. It can be quite heterogeneous. But the cost and complexity of managing all the different data types can be quite steep and intimidating.
20
Reality Capture
A group of industry experts referred to as The Committee hopes to make reality capture education accessible and relevant to the industry and aims to inspire a new generation of leaders who are ethical, diverse, and committed to making a positive impact.
24
The Business of Land Surveying
New tools are making it easier for land surveyors to do their work in the field and run their businesses in the office.
26
Managing Vegetation
Vegetation overgrowth causes about 25 percent of the nation’s power outages. Can AI and digital twins help remedy this?
30
Legal Boundaries
What a porcelean figurine tells us about our mapping past.
Looking Forward
By Jeff Thoreson
Data, Data Everywhere
THIS HINTS AT MY AGE, BUT I REMEMBER BUYING MY FIRST COMPUTER when the kids were in grade school. It was an Apple Macintosh LC, which I believe was the first Mac to support color graphics. There were a few games we could play on it (Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego), and I used it for work, mainly as a word processor with an early version of Microsoft Word for Macs.
The unit filled a good portion of my desk, even though it had only 2 MB of memory. The salesperson at Comp USA had told me I’d never need any more than that. It had a clunky keyboard that required much more exertion to press key than today’s sleek versions, although not as much as a manual typewriter. The mouse was rectangular and not very ergonomically friendly, and, of course, it has the slot to mount a 3.5-inch storage disc, onto which you could write about 40 kilobytes of information. In today’s terms, that’s about three Microsoft Word files this size of this one I’m typing away on at the moment.
Now 30 years later, that was the Stoneage of data. We chiseled our important information onto these diskettes and slid them into little racks or trays to keep them at our fingertips on our desks. It was all so simple.
Now I don’t even understand where all the data I create and collect goes. To the cloud? But what is this cloud? Where is this cloud? It must be a big cumulonimbus type of cloud because as a society we must be creating billions of 3.5-inch discs worth of data by the hour.
The geospatial sciences are collecting much of that data, and keeping track of it has become an issue. In this issue, Norman Barker, vice president of TileDB takes an interesting look at the future of data storage, management, and usage on page 18.
Another critical issue we explore this month is the construction industry’s slow progression to building information modeling. Our expert, Marc Delgado, takes an in-depth look into why and examines how this is changing.
I hope you enjoy these stories and the others in this issue.
Publisher Shawn Dewees shawn.dewees@xyht.com
Editor-in-Chief Jeff Thoreson jeff.thoreson@xyht.com
Director of Sales and Business Development Chuck Boteler chuck.boteler@xyht.com
Creative Director Ian Sager ian.sager@xyht.com
Accounting and Classifieds Angie Duman angie.duman@xyht.com
Editor, Field Notes Eric Gladhill eric.gladhill@xyht.com
Contributing Writers Norman Barker Christine Byrne Marc Delgado Kai Duebbert Mack Kowalski
Located Located Located
Mapping Your World | UAV/UAS | GNSS | New Products
Space-based Lidar To Map Entire Earth Annually
WE’RE USED TO READING ABOUT AERIAL LIDAR PLATFORMS such as fixedwing and rotary platforms and even uncrewed platforms such as UAVs. So, when I learned about a space-based lidar I was all ears.
We recently learned that Space Flight Laboratory (SFL) has been chosen to develop the bus (main body and structural component of a satellite in which the payload and all scientific instruments are held) for Mr. SPoC, the pathfinder small satellite that will demonstrate the capabilities of NUVIEW’s first commercial space-based lidar constellation. SFL has developed several pathfinder technology demonstration satellites for a variety of missions over the past 25 years and is frequently chosen for Earth observation, environmental monitoring, space astronomy, and other Microspace missions that require precise pointing of onboard data collection sensors.
NUVIEW is taking the Earth observation industry to a new level by developing the first commercial satellite constellation intended to annually map the planet’s entire land surface with lidar. NUVIEW’s plan is to use this data to advance global capabilities and transform what is possible for mankind to know about the Earth.
Based in Orlando, Florida, NUVIEW’s constellation of lidar-equipped satellites will provide constantly updated 3D elevation data for the Earth’s land surface. Space-based lidar will capture 3D surface measurements more efficiently and cost effectively than traditional airborne methods, primarily due to the extremely more efficient and inclusive collection capabilities of satellites.
Satellite-based lidar systems will enable unparalleled coverage, capturing data from the most remote and inaccessible areas on a global scale, far beyond the reach of aircraft. The technology is especially useful in remote areas, for applications related to environment, agriculture, infrastructure, forestry, cartography, and archaeology.
The space-based lidar system will provide in both DSM (Digital Surface Models) and DTM (Digital Terrain Model) formats to meet the needs of a wide range of use cases including 3D change detection, foliage penetration, digital twin creation, utility and energy corridor mapping and flood mapping, and water body management.
It will be interesting to see how NUVIEW’s proof of concept Mr. SpoC satellite performs. If it is successful, space-based lidar will represent a quantum leap in Earth Observation technology.
Compiled by Jeff Salmon
PIX4Dcatch Now Compatible with Bad Elf Flex
PIX4D HAS ANNOUNCED A NEW PARTNERSHIP WITH BAD ELF, bringing users a 3D scanning solution that combines the convenience of smartphone technology with the precision of high-accuracy GNSS. This solution is designed specifically for AEC professionals, helping capture highly accurate, georeferenced data quickly and efficiently.
Bad Elf Flex stands out as the first GNSS receiver to offer a daily choice
between L-Band and RTK accuracy. In its standard mode, it delivers 30- to 60-centimeter accuracy, ideal for most GIS applications. For projects requiring higher precision, Bad Elf Flex’s token system unlocks full RTK capabilities, achieving one-centimeter horizontal accuracy for a 24-hour period. For those who need consistent high precision, the Bad Elf Flex Extreme option offers permanently unlocked RTK capabilities.
CHRISTMAS IS COMING EARLY THIS YEAR FOR GIS USERS. On December 2, TerrSet/IDRISI, one of the world’s most popular geographic information systems and remote sensing software packages, will become free to use. The new open-access version, fittingly called TerrSet liberaGIS, will include an updated suite of GIS modules, including on-screen digitizing and editing tools, as well as improved versions of Land Change Modeler and Earth Trends Modeler.
“This new, free version of TerrSet/IDRISI is the realization of a 37-year dream to make the software accessible to everyone, everywhere,” said J. Ronald Eastman, professor emeritus of geography at Clark University.
Eastman developed the original version, then called IDRISI, at Clark Labs in the 1980s as GIS software that could be used in microcomputers to meet the needs of GIS users in the developing world.
Better Digital Twins
TWO BIG NAMES IN DIGITAL DESIGN HAVE JOINED FORCES, promising seamless 3D geospatial ecosystems. Bentley, the infrastructure engineering software company, has acquired Cesium, creator of 3D Tiles, the popular open standard for rendering massive 3D geospatial datasets such as buildings, point clouds, and photogrammetry.
The acquisition is envisioned to improve Bentley’s iTwin platform, which is used by engineering and construction firms around the world in designing and building digital twins of infrastructures. By using Cesium’s powerful open platform, developers can now effortlessly fuse 3D geospatial data with iTwin’s own engineering and enterprise data to create highly accurate digital twins.
TerrSet/ IDRISI
Now Free
“Our goal was to provide an accessible system that could perform professional-level analyses with a minimum of computer resources,” he said. “This required a special focus on algorithms that could function in a lowRAM environment and would require no more resources than those typically available on home and office microcomputers.
IDRISI has now become a powerful GIS tool that is being used in many industries and universities, including international scientific agencies working on climate change. The release of TerrSet liberaGIS will be IDRISI software’s 20th version and is made possible by the merger of Clark Labs with the university’s Clark Center for Geospatial Analytics.
—Marc Delgado, marc.delgado@xyht.com
Cesium will remain as an open-source platform.
Carlson's BRx7 GNSS RTK
THE BRX7 GNSS RECEIVER WITH SURVCE/ SURVPC delivers a modern and flexible GNSS RTK product for precision surveys, with an intuitive and familiar application software. The lightweight BRx7 receiver may be used as a rover, or as a base to send corrections to RTK UAVs or GNSS Rovers.
“With the combined capabilities of Cesium and iTwin, infrastructure professionals can make better informed decisions in full 3D geospatial context— all within a single, highly performant environment,” said Nicholas Cumins, CEO of Bentley.
While bringing Cesium into the Bentley family can be seen as a sign that the construction industry is now embracing cutting-edge technologies, it also begs the question whether
“Joining Bentley marks an important milestone for Cesium as we continue our journey to create the best developer platform for the built and natural environment—founded on open standards and open-source technologies,” said Patrick Cozzi, CEO of Cesium. “The combined power of our two organizations and our shared commitment to openness will provide new opportunities for growth and create greater value for an already flourishing developer ecosystem that ranges from small startups to global enterprises.”
—Marc Delgado, marc.delgado@xyht.com
The BRx7 provides more than 800 channels, 8gb of memory, tilt compensating ability, and a ruggedand compact IP67-rated housing. RTK performance is provided by the Athena GNSS engine, supporting multi-frequency GPS, GLONASS, BeiDou, Galileo, QZSS, IRNSS, and Atlas L-band capability. The BRx7 has an integrated dual-band UHF transceiver and a Quad-Band GSM modem together with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth.
Improving Positioning Accuracy in Mobile Phones
ALTHOUGH YOUR HANDHELD PHONE DEVICE IS GOOD ENOUGH to help you navigate around, its accuracy can still be improved.
Researchers Marcus Franz Glaner and Robert Weber from TU Wien (Vienna University of Technology) in Austria, have developed an open-source software called raPPPid that can make smartphones and other mobile devices achieve sub-meter accuracy despite being fitted with only the modest GNSS antennas and chips. To do that, the raPPPid software leverages Precise Point Positioning (PPP) techniques and the Galileo High-Accuracy Service (HAS) corrections.
Reporting their work in the scientific journal GPS Solutions, the authors underscore
how their flexible and user-friendly software package can be used to process GNSS observations from smartphone devices. Results from the smartphones that they tested showed sub-meter 2D positional accuracy with raPPPid after two to three minutes under good conditions.
Better smartphone accuracy is not only handy to navigate in densely built-up areas but is also especially useful during emergency response situations where GNSS signals are compromised. The researchers aim to develop their work to further improve raPPPid’s robustness.
—Marc
Delgado, marc.delgado@xyht.com
Trimble Dimensions
November 11-13
Las Vegas, NV
GeoBuiz Summit Europe
November 14-15
Novotel, Amsterdam
GeoBuiz Summit NA
January 13-15, 2025
Denver, CO
Geo Week February 10-12, 2025 Denver, CO
Esri Developer & Technology Summit
March 11–14, 2025
Palm Springs, CA
Amsterdam Drone Week & Commercial UAV Expo
April 8-10, 2025
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Carlson User Conference
May 6-8, 2025
Maysville, KY
XPONENTIAL (AUVSI)
May 19-22, 2025
Houston, TX
Esri User Conference
July 14–18, 2025 San Diego, CA
IGI CCNS-5 with RIEGL Lidar Scanners Offers Seamless Integration
THE SEAMLESS INTEGRATION OF IGI CCNS-5 and RIEGL lidar scanners yields a new level of precision and efficiency in aerial surveying. This powerful combination brings together two industry-leading technologies to deliver unparalleled performance and versatility in data acquisition.
The IGI CCNS-5, renowned for its advanced Flight Management System (FMS), seamlessly
integrates with RIEGL VQ airborne laser scanners, such as the new RIEGL VQ-1460 wide-area mapping system. The CCNS-5, together with its native mission planning solution IGIplan, provides a comprehensive suite of toolsets for optimal flight plan creation and execution of your airborne missions. It maximizes data acquisition efficiency, thus reducing environmental impact and contributes to overall flight safety.
India Rolls Out GNSS-based Toll Collection
THE MINISTRY OF ROAD TRANSPORT AND HIGHWAYS OF INDIA has now included satellite-based technologies to enhance its highway toll collection efforts and improve traffic flow.
Vehicles currently plying toll motorways in the subcontinent use FASTag, an electronic toll collection system that employs Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology to automatically receive payments when drivers pass through physical booths. But this system usually causes congestion, especially during peak travel periods.
The new satellite-based system will do away with fee-collecting kiosks. Instead, on-board units that are connected to Global Navigation
India’s bold GNSS-based toll payment scheme will first start with larger vehicles, covering all trucks and buses by 2025. Private vehicles will follow two years later. India will be the first—and largest—country outside Europe that will use satellite-based toll road payment scheme. Switzerland and Germany have been using GNSS tolling for heavy vehicles since the early 2000s.
—Marc Delgado, marc.delgado@xyht.com
A New Lightweight, Affordable UAV Lidar Solution
TELEDYNE GEOSPATIAL AND INERTIAL LABS HAVE LAUNCHED the EchoONE, a collaborative innovation that combines Teledyne’s lidar and camera technology, with the Remote Sensing Payload Instrument (RESEPI), leveraging Inertial Labs’ IMU and INS technology.
Combining NDAA-compliant data security, lightweight design, and real-time operation to deliver long range, engineering-grade 3D point clouds, EchoONE is designed to enhance reliability and return on investment for sensor operators in land surveying, electric utility vegetation management, and asset modeling, and transportation and infrastructure projects.
Satellite System (GNSS) will measure the exact distance of each trip that vehicles travelled on the toll network. Vehicle owners will then pay tolls based on the distance covered.
UP42 and Planet Expand Very Highresolution Sat Data
Trimble’s New Reality Capture Platform
TRIMBLE HAS ANNOUNCED ITS NEW TRIMBLE REALITY CAPTURE platform service to enable more effective collaboration and the secure sharing of massive reality capture datasets captured with 3D laser scanning, mobile mapping, and uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) systems.
The service is available as an extension to Trimble Connect, a cloud-based common data environment and collaboration platform that has supported more than 30 million users to date. Trimble Reality Capture is the most recent addition to the Trimble connected workflow ecosystem, connecting the physical and digital worlds and unlocking
UP42, A TOP EARTH OBSERVATION PLATFORM, ANNOUNCED a partnership with Planet Labs PBC, a global provider of daily satellite imagery and solutions. This collaboration significantly expands UP42’s optical data portfolio with the integration of Planet SkySat, the world’s largest constellation of high-resolution Earth observation satellites.
With 15 SkySat satellites in orbit, Planet offers one of the most frequent revisit capabilities in the commercial sector, capturing insights multiple times per day at 50-centimeter resolution.
the transformative power of reality capture data.
Built to drive deeper collaboration among owners, contractors, surveyors, and others, the Trimble Reality Capture platform service offers a secure and intuitive web-based solution for point clouds and 360-degree imagery. Professionals across building construction, surveying, transportation infrastructure, utilities, energy, and mining can now collaborate on complex reality capture projects faster and easier, while maintaining data integrity by retaining original accuracy.
BUSINESS OPEN FOR
A newly approved international standard may just be the key to help speed up the construction sector’s digital transformation–starting by making BIM data format accessible.
By Marc M. Delgado, PhD
Notwithstanding its outsized importance to the world’s modern economy, the construction sector’s digital transition has remained rather slow compared to other industries. While technological shifts have been predicted for ages, they still have to materialize due in most part to the sector’s subpar digital spending.
According to a 2016 report by McKinsey, a global consulting firm, construction companies invest less than 1 percent of revenues to improve their digital capital and assets despite the
availability of new software solutions that could increase productivity.
“The industry has not yet embraced new digital technologies that need up-front investment even if the longterm benefits are significant,” says Rajat Agarwal, Shankar Chandrasekaran, and Mukund Sridhar, the report’s authors.
Betting on new digital technologies can generate enhanced productivity by improving the efficiency of a construction firm’s processes, such as in the creation of blueprints and design drawings, which have been traditionally traced on paper. Shying away from digitization, however, results in belated information sharing, sloppy analytics, and poor coordination among partners. In construction projects where digital technologies are not actively leveraged, for example, “owners and contractors often work from different versions of reality,” notes the McKinsey report.
A useful technology, but often overlooked by the construction sec -
tor, is building information modeling (BIM). As a project-planning tool, BIM can bridge the gap between architects, engineers, and other professionals as they plan, design, and construct their projects. Because partners can interact with the same computer-generated model, BIM promotes closer teamwork while boosting work efficiency via highly detailed calculations as well as better detection of design conflicts and errors.
Yet despite its many advantages, a World Economic Forum (WEF) report observes a low adoption of BIM among construction companies compared to design and engineering firms, its earliest advocates. The significantly high setup costs related to software licensing, hardware acquisition, and staff training are commonly cited as factors that deter BIM uptake.
Promoting open data-sharing standards and open systems in BIM could help change that, asserts the WEF report. Take the case of geographic infor -
Construction cranes are common in the Vienna skyline. Austria’s capital city is growing, receiving more building permit applications every year than it can handle. Authorities are now testing how BIM can speed up the process.
mation systems (GIS) where the use of open file formats in the last decade has facilitated greater data interoperability in the mapping and surveying industries. This swing toward shareable data has not only attracted more users and lowered overhead costs, but it has also created new and innovative location-based products and services that are sustaining the growth of the $452 billion geospatial market as we know it today.
That is why the approval of IFC 4.3, the latest open standard for BIM adopted this year by the International Organization for Standardization (as ISO 16739), should be a welcome
development for the construction industry as it pursues a path to full digital transformation.
The IFC 4.3 standard has been developed by buildingSMART International, a UK-based non-profit organization, which aims to improve the exchange of information between software applications in the construction industry. Although it took the organization a decade to make IFC 4.3 an international open standard for BIM, buildingSMART International believes that it has produced a lasting data format that will help usher the construction sector into the digital future.
"The formal publication of IFC 4.3 as an internationally ac -
credited standard is a testament to the tireless efforts of everyone involved in its development,” said Clive Billiald, chief executive of buildingSMART International. “Their efforts have delivered a standard which will support the built environment sector for many years to come, contributing to a more productive and sustainable industry.”
IFC AND OPENBIM
IFC stands for Industry Foundation Classes, an open standard for the exchange of data about a building and its construction or maintenance. As a digital data model, the IFC defines how BIM-related data is organized and structured in a relational database, describing how a particular building is constructed and the physical components that make it up.
The IFC is not a new data format, however. It has been evolving for decades starting in the early 1990s when Autodesk and 12 other companies formed a consortium to cooperate in creating a data model that would allow interoperability between software platforms. The ISO-certified IFC 4.3 is the data model’s latest iteration.
As a product of cross-sector cooperation, the use of IFC in BIM is beneficial for the industry because it is vendor-neutral. This means that BIM users can create and access BIM models using various software applications, including Autodesk’s Revit, Bentley’s OpenBuildings, as well as SketchUp and Solibri, among others. Because of this agnostic nature, the IFC has become the preferred BIM data format when submitting designs of civil works in several countries such as Denmark, Finland, and Norway.
Apart from the IFC, other open data formats in BIM are also available, such as the BCF, COBie, and CityGML. The use
The construction sector lags behind digital spending compared to other industries.
of these open formats in BIM projects makes what is called the OpenBIM approach possible. From a cost-effective perspective, construction firms should find the OpenBIM approach desirable because it offers a universal approach to digital model creation. By relying on several open standard data formats and workflows, OpenBIM allows for better collaborative design, construction, and operation of buildings compared to projects that require the use of just a single software application. Essentially, users have the autonomy to choose the best BIM software that matches their budget, skills, and project scale.
According to buildingSMART International, OpenBIM’s principles of interoperability and sustainability eliminates the traditional problem in BIM data management that is “typically constrained by proprietary vendor data
formats, whether by discipline or by the phase of a project.”
Multi-software suitability, however, cannot be useful if the quality of data is compromised, especially when BIM operators switch from one platform to another. With the OpenBIM approach, this problem is avoided because by using IFC and other standard open data formats, multi-platform users can easily make design changes throughout the entire project life cycle without data loss. Maintaining data integrity allows important workflows such as structural design analysis, construction cost estimation, and project progress monitoring to be carried out.
REAL-WORLD APPLICATIONS
Taken altogether, the OpenBIM approach offers flexibility that will allow construction firms to create projects that would enable others to build upon them, effec-
tively creating BIM models that are future-proof. With the latest ISO certification of IFC 4.3, plus the panoply of BIM software platforms available to users, now is the right moment for the construction sector to sweep away paper-based data conventions and the lack of open data exchange standards as relics of the past.
Experts in the city of Vienna are doing just that. With the population growth of Austria’s capital over the last decade, the Vienna Building Authority needs to process an average of 13,000 paper-based building applications every year. To reduce the duration of construction approval, which usually takes around 12 months, the building permit process has been digitized into an integrated OpenBIM-based system.
A recent survey indicates that BIM adoption drops by 56 to 60 percent in smaller companies. Persuading and supporting small construction firms to use BIM is important.
A building’s life cycle typically starts with the application of a building permission. But because building plans are traditionally printed and submitted on paper, the information about a building’s design cannot be used directly within Vienna’s digital urban planning database. Digitizing this initial step can already speed up the building application process to automatically examine for gaps in existing building codes.
Under the guidance of the BRISE project (Building Regulations Information for Submission Evolvement), the permit application process now runs on an entirely BIM platform that uses the IFC open data standard format. Implemented since 2022, applicants can now submit their building plans as a digital BIM model, which city planners can subsequently use to cross-check against existing legal
Another example where OpenBIM can be successfully used is in the management of large infrastructure assets, such as the case of the Cancello–Benevento railway line in Italy. The 47-kilometer (29 miles) track runs south of Rome and is operated by a local transport company. Modernization efforts to make the local rail service comply with national rail standards involved the application of BIM methodologies to digitize the entire infrastructure and help improve its upkeep.
The use of OpenBIM was deemed important for an Italian railway project for two reasons. First, standardizing the digital model of the local rail assets makes it easier to be assessed against national-level safety criteria. The second reason is based on sustainability. Asset management informs future maintenance for continuous operation,
frameworks. Going digital also allows the city to provide faster feedback to the building owners and contractors.
According to the city of Vienna, the new digital building permit procedures “takes up to 50 percent less time than the conventional procedure.” The building’s stakeholders can also view the status of their application in real-time, allowing for a more transparent process.
thus updating the digital model using IFC standards should be trouble-free in the longterm. Owing to its successful BIM implementation, the Cancello–Benevento railway project was selected as a finalist in the 2021 OpenBIM buildingSMART awards.
TRANSITION TAKES TIME
The potential of BIM to modernize the construction sector is huge, and indeed
there are many more cases of on-going OpenBIM projects around the world that can show the breadth of BIM’s utility. Check out this year’s list of nominees for the buildingSMART awards and you will see OpenBIM-enabled construction projects taking place not just in North America, Europe, and China, but also in emerging countries such as Angola, Columbia, and Romania, among others.
This trend is encouraging and suggests a future where widespread use of BIM in the industry is achievable. But that transition will take time, even when vendor-neutral options already exist.
A quick glance at the history of the geospatial industry provides a valuable lesson. While open GIS data were already available during the late 1990s, it was not until the 2010s that mapping projects based on open data sources and platforms fully took off. As in any sector, users tend to be wary about the impact of new technologies.
That is why the work that many private organizations like buildingSMART do to actively promote the adoption of OpenBIM in the construction industry is laudable. However, this should also be supported by national-level initiatives and legislation that will promote open data use in construction. While European governments are leading the way on this topic, other countries should also do the same to achieve wider BIM uptake.
Perhaps persuading and supporting smaller construction firms to use BIM might also help. Results from the Digital Construction Report released last year by NBS, an organization that tracks global BIM trends, showed that BIM adoption drops by 56 to 60 percent in companies with a staff of 15 to 25 people. Digital transition is understandably slower in this segment because unlike companies with bigger revenues, smaller firms cannot simply afford to replace outdated systems in a flash.
Despite all the tech and open data available, without private and public support, BIM’s full adoption in the construction sector will remain far from reality. ■
Marc Delgado, PhD, is a GIS specialist who crisscrosses continents teaching GIS in Asia, Europe, South America, and Africa.
Passengers arrive in a train station in Italy. Digitizing with OpenBIM methods can help improve the upkeep of rail infrastructure.
Geospatial Data Future The Demands a New of Approach to Management
BY NORMAN BARKER
Geospatial data serves as the foundation for many mission-critical and time-sensitive applications, including Earth observation, location-based services, defense, population health, and more. However, geospatial data is not just one thing and can be quite heterogeneous, coming in many different forms including point clouds (e.g., lidar and sonar); polygons (e.g. buildings and areas of interest), and rasters.
Like other forms of data, geospatial data becomes inherently richer the more there is and the more it’s analyzed in aggregate. But the cost and complexity of managing all these different data types can be quite steep.
Consider collaborative projects that amalgamate data from many different partners around the world. This demands a new kind of highly efficient data storage mechanism to overcome several challenges, including the fact that different parties involved may be modifying the data and sharing it with others.
This constant sharing and duplication can make it difficult to keep track of the original source and create data governance risks. In addition, underlying data formats may not be well supported and existing APIs often don’t work well with object
stores, which could render the data defunct and unable to be included in larger initiatives.
There are additional technical challenges involved with storing and managing massive amounts of geospatial data, including:
Initiating and managing clusters at scale to enable largescale data processing in parallel. It can be very tricky to allocate resources efficiently in a cluster. If you under-provision, jobs are likely to run much too slow or even crash. However, if you over-provision, you risk wasting resources.
Spatial relational databases allow efficient spatial data storage and retrieval through optimized indexing mechanisms. It enables spatial indexing, supporting faster query processing by organizing data based on geometric properties. However, a big challenge of spatial relational databases is installing and configuring them properly, as well as ongoing maintenance, and many organizations do not have the resources to accomplish this.
Bringing together disparate geospatial pipelines and making sure the data is complete and accurate. Geospatial data taken straight from the wild usually contains a lot of errors
and may not be in its best shape. This is why roughly 80 percent to 90 percent of data scientists’ time is spent cleaning their data and preparing it for merging. You cannot expect your analysis to be accurate unless your data is in pristine condition. It’s a case of “garbage in, garbage out.”
Supporting diverse data modalities, which helps today’s data teams avoid having to rely on different, bespoke databases to manage different types of data. It can take an inordinately long time–sometimes months or more–to knit different systems together in a way that yields meaningful insights. Support for diverse data types is crucial for overlays or the process of superimposing layers of geographic data covering the same area, in order to study and understand the relationships between them.
An example is land-suitability studies, where certain parcels of land are assigned ratings based on vegetation type, soil type, and proximity to flood plains. These “layers” can be superimposed to create a new layer that combines all of this information into a comprehensive rating showing the most suitable areas for development based on an overall understanding of land characteristics.
A NEW APPROACH TO MANAGING GEOSPATIAL DATA
Given the mission-critical and time-sensitive nature of the applications being supported, there needs to be an easier way to handle all this geospatial data–a single, unified solution that manages the geospatial data objects along with the raw original data (e.g., images, text files, etc.), the machine learning embedding models, and all other data modalities in an application (tables, rasters, point clouds, etc.). Moreover, this unified database does not need to just be a geospatial database. It can
geospatial data representing geographic data objects in the world, and supporting them enables users to achieve simpler workflows for processing their geospatial data.
In addition to supporting all data modalities, a unified solution also includes code and compute, so processing happens right next to the data, reducing egress and downloads. This is especially critical for geometries and point clouds, which often number in the billions and require fast query response times.
Advances in serverless make it possible to ingest huge geospatial datasets in parallel, taking just a few minutes and at a reduced cost. Coupling serverless compute and code with the actual data increases performance while reducing cost and time to get insights.
The future of geospatial data requires a new approach to data management in the form of a multimodal cloud native database. The benefits of such an approach include efficient and high performance, easier and better data quality, and an improved ability to superimpose with simplicity. This will be
be one space to store, manage, and analyze all geospatial, tabular, ML data, and files. However, when it comes to geospatial data specifically, providing an efficient mechanism for handling the querying and storing of geometries at a grand scale (hundreds of billions of points and polygons) is particularly important. “Geometries” refer to
the key to tapping into various modalities, along with geometry support, to pose completely new questions and achieve so-called “full picture” views never before possible. ■
Norman Barker is vice president of geospatial at TileDB.
REALITY CAPTURE REVOLUTIONIZING
Imagine a world where intricate historical artifacts are meticulously preserved in digital detail, construction sites utilize 3D scans to eliminate costly errors before they happen, and filmmakers can transport audiences to breathtaking virtual environments with a click.
This future, once the realm of science fiction, is rapidly becoming a reality thanks to the efforts of The Committee, a group at the
forefront of the reality capture revolution.
From Niche Expertise to Universal Impact: A Committee Transformed
The Committee’s journey began under the umbrella of the United States Institute of Building Documentation (USIBD) as the Scanning Committee. Its initial focus was on meticulous building documentation,
The Committee’s quest for industry upliftment
BY MACK KOWALSKI
ensuring every detail of a structure was captured with precision.
However, its vision soon transcended the walls of buildings. Recognizing the vast potential of reality capture technologies, The Committee underwent a metamorphosis. Its mission evolved to encompass not just documentation, but the facilitation of testing, training, and widespread adoption of these technologies across diverse industries. This
shift reflects the ever-expanding possibilities of reality capture, with applications now extending to fields as varied as archaeology, healthcare, and even gaming development.
Collaboration is the Cornerstone: Building a Network for Innovation
The Committee understands that innovation thrives not in isolation, but in
collaboration. By forging strong partnerships with industry leaders, technology developers, and educational institutions, The Committee has cultivated a dynamic network of expertise. This collaborative approach yields several advantages. Industry leaders provide valuable insights into real-world needs and challenges, while technology developers keep The Committee at the cutting edge
of advancements. Educational institutions play a crucial role in creating a future generation equipped with the skills to leverage these powerful tools. Imagine a construction company working alongside a software developer to refine on-site inspection tools using reality capture. This synergy, facilitated by The Committee’s network, is what propels innovation forward.
Beyond Technology: Building Trust and Empowering Professionals
The Committee’s impact goes far deeper than simply promoting the latest gadgets. It has established a reputation for excellence and integrity, earning the trust of the reality capture community. Its commitment to high-quality services and unwavering transparency shines through in everything it does, making members a reliable resource for professionals of all stripes. This well-deserved reputation opens doors to new collaborations, fosters knowledge exchange, and paves the way for continued growth and industry-wide influence.
Democratizing Knowledge: Putting the Power in Everyone’s Hands
The Committee’s vision extends beyond technological breakthroughs. It is driven by a desire to empower professionals by ensuring everyone has access to the knowledge and tools needed to leverage reality capture.
Through targeted training programs, informative presentations, and strategic initiatives, The Committee is actively working to “democratize” reality capture. This focus on inclusivity ensures that smaller companies and individual practitioners aren’t left behind in the
A point cloud generated from a moving car using a single Ouster OS1 lidar.
technological wave. A democratized reality capture landscape not only fosters a more equitable playing field, but also maximizes the technology’s potential by allowing a wider range of voices and perspectives to contribute to its development and implementation.
A Brighter Future: Revolutionizing Workflows and Unleashing Creativity
The Committee’s dedication to collaboration, knowledge sharing, and inclusivity is poised to fundamentally change the way industries approach reality capture. From streamlined workflows in construction to the creation of immersive virtual experiences in entertainment, the possibilities are limited only by our collective imagination.
Imagine a world where archaeologists can use reality capture to create 3D models of ancient ruins for preservation and study, or where healthcare professionals can utilize detailed scans for personalized surgical planning. By championing innovation, The Committee is paving the way for a future where reality capture unlocks a new era of efficiency, creativity, and collaboration across countless sectors.
Join the Movement: Become Part of the Reality Capture Revolution
The Committee’s work is far from finished. It is constantly seeking new partners and collaborators to push the boundaries of what is possible. If you’re a professional interested in learning more about reality capture or an organization looking to leverage its power, consider reaching out to The Committee. Together, we can shape the future of this transformative technology and unlock its full potential to revolutionize the way we capture, understand, and interact with the world around us. ■
Mack Kowalski has more than 10 years of experience in layout management and laser scanning to provide innovative solutions and services to our clients and partners. His passion to push the boundaries of technology and delivering high-quality results in every project led him to co-found LiDAholics consulting firm.
The Business of Surveying
Land surveyors need to be in the field to do their work. They also need to be in the office to run their business. Does something have to give?
BY KAI DUEBBERT
Surveyors, if I asked you to take an hour of your day to commit to your personal development, do you feel like you have the freedom to do so? I am willing to bet you’d find this a challenge—and it’s doing your business a disservice.
As a surveyor by trade for more than 20 years and now CEO and founder of Kompass BMS, I have had the privilege of experiencing firsthand the dramatic evolution within the geospatial industry. The rapid advancements in technology, coupled with an increased recognition of the value of geospatial data, have transformed the role of surveyors from traditional mappers to critical players in an increasingly data-driven world.
With these changes come challenges that demand agility and business acumen, as the demands on the sector grow. All of this is best supported by continuous learning, something that’s best facilitated by time—and we know that’s in poor supply in our industry.
When I began my career, surveying was primarily focused on collecting precise data from the physical world and translating it into usable formats for architects, engineers, and planners. The tools of the trade were straightforward, and the skill set required was well-defined. However, as technology has advanced, the role of the surveyor has expanded beyond simple data collection.
Today, surveyors are expected to interpret complex datasets, integrate information across multiple platforms, and provide insights that drive critical decisions in a variety of sectors.
This transformation is exciting but also daunting. The sheer volume of data available today, coupled with the complexity of modern
surveying tasks, means that surveyors must continuously adapt and grow their skill sets. This is where continuous learning and professional development become essential. Surveyors who fail to keep pace with technological advancements risk falling behind, not only in terms of skills but also in their ability to deliver value to their clients.
One of the most significant opportunities presented by these advancements is the increased focus on geospatial data’s value. With the integration of AI and machine learning, surveyors can now analyze data in ways that were previously unimaginable.
AI can identify patterns, predict outcomes, and even suggest optimal solutions, allowing surveyors to make better decisions and provide greater value to their clients. However, leveraging these opportunities and getting the time to do so means that surveyors need access to the underpinning technology that make the day-to-day running of the business simpler.
This is something I found was in short supply—systems which were made for surveyors, by surveyors to help us do our job. During my tenure as managing director of the UK at Murphy Geospatial, I grew increasingly frustrated with the lack of a solution that catered specifically to the needs of geospatial organizations.
Surveyors were often forced to use multiple systems—one for project management, another for proposals, another for scheduling crews and equipment, a system for managing your team’s training,
and yet another for timesheets—the list goes on. These systems rarely communicated with each other, leading to inefficiencies and complex administrative processes. This was especially problematic during periods of rapid growth, where the need for streamlined operations became even more critical.
What started as an internal system to manage our UK operations at Murphy Geospatial soon evolved into something much more significant. We realized that this was not just a solution for our firm but a solution for the entire industry.
The system, now known as Kompass BMS, was developed by surveyors for surveyors, and it is specifically designed to meet the unique challenges faced by geospatial organizations.
Kompass BMS is not just about managing projects or tracking time. It’s about empowering surveyors to focus on what they
do best. By reducing the time spent on complex administrative tasks and minimizing the need to juggle multiple systems, surveyors can dedicate more time to honing their technical skills. As they move up the ranks, they can also focus on developing essential skills like people or business management, positioning themselves to capitalize on emerging opportunities to progress in their own careers.
Since becoming independent from Murphy Geospatial in 2020, Kompass BMS has supported geospatial firms across the U.S., Canada, and most recently the UK and Ireland. The response has been overwhelmingly positive, reinforcing my belief that this was a solution the industry desperately needed. We were not a software company deciding to develop something for a sector. We were a sector that decided to develop something for itself.
The evolving role of surveyors in today’s
data-driven world presents incredible opportunities, but only for those who are willing to adapt, learn, and leverage the right technology. Continuous professional development is no longer optional—it is a necessity. And with the support of tools like Kompass BMS, surveyors can reduce the burden of administrative tasks, allowing them to focus on delivering value, staying ahead of the curve, and ultimately, excelling in their careers.
As the industry continues to evolve, those who embrace these changes will be best positioned to succeed. By gaining access to essential insights on your business operations, you can integrate advanced tools like AI to further reduce inefficiencies and enhance synergies. ■
Kai Duebbert is CEO and Founder of Kompass BMS.
UTILITY MANAGEMENT VEGETATION
Addressing its critical role in the nation’s power grid and how integrating AI and digital twins will help
By Christine Byrne
Managing vegetation around America’s electric transmission and distribution infrastructure is crucial for ensuring uninterrupted power delivery. Utility Vegetation Management (UVM) is highly complex and represents a significant cost burden on utility operations and maintenance (O&M) budgets. This includes essential tasks such as tree trimming near power lines, which are critical for service reliability, grid resiliency, and operational safety.
Research from Texas A&M University highlights that vegetation management is one of the largest O&M expenses for utilities, demanding substantial resources and posing logistical and safety challenges.
Each vegetation encroachment area requires specialized crews and equipment capable of working near live power lines, often involving planned de-energization, arborists, and traffic control. Electric utilities rely on external contractors who must adhere to local and regulatory standards, mitigate outage risks, and maintain service continuity to meet SAIDI (System Average Interruption Duration Index) and SAIFI (System Average Interruption Frequency Index) goals.
SAIDI measures the total minutes of electric interruptions experienced by the average customer per year, while SAIFI tracks the frequency of these interruptions. Traditionally, UVM follows fixed maintenance schedules—typically
ranging from two to five years—and involves high budgets, often leading to inefficiencies and increased costs.
THE SCALE OF THE CHALLENGE
Utilities manage thousands of tree trimmings each year, significantly straining their resources. Handling hundreds of trimmings weekly poses operational challenges that test efficiency. Reactive UVM, which addresses issues only after service disruptions, proves more costly than proactive strategies. Preventative measures not only reduce outage repair costs but also lower legal liabilities from incidents like prolonged outages or wildfires.
REACTIVE VS. PROACTIVE UVM
Traditional vegetation management often reacts to issues as they arise, rather than proactively mitigating risks. However, utilities are increasingly adopting proactive strategies using AI and digital twins.
AI analyzes data from satellites, drones, and ground sensors to predict vegetation growth and identify potential threats before they escalate. This predictive capability optimizes resource allocation, potentially reducing outages by up to 15 percent through efficient scheduling.
While UVM incurs high operational costs, proactive maintenance is more cost-effective than post-outage repairs or wildfire-related liabilities. A survey by Des Moine, Iowa-based CNUC, a vegetation management company, found that nearly a quarter of U.S. energy outages are vegetation related.
To address these challenges, utilities are
investing heavily in advanced technological solutions. This strategic shift is evident in the approximately $8 billion spent annually on UVM in the U.S., driven by the growing demands of transmission and distribution infrastructure. This funding underscores the importance of cutting-edge technology in enhancing vegetation management.
DATA CAPTURE CHALLENGES
Current data sources vary in their ability to identify vegetation risks. Traditional methods like satellite imagery often lack the resolution to pinpoint specific threats, such as individual branch encroachments. To overcome these challenges, utilities are increasingly integrating ground-based reality capture technology. By combining AI-driven analytics with digital twins, utilities gain real-time insights into vegetation growth, optimizing maintenance planning and enabling continuous monitoring.
ENHANCING VEGETATION MANAGEMENT WITH ADVANCED TECHNOLOGY
To effectively manage the safety and reliability of power line corridors, engineering teams leverage advanced tools that integrate artificial intelligence, digital twins, and diverse data sources such as the Looq Platform, which exemplifies this approach. It starts with the proprietary handheld qCam, which combines four high-resolution cameras with survey-grade GPS and an AI processor. This camera captures detailed data, which is then uploaded to the cloud and processed by Looq’s AI-driven software. The result is survey-grade, geo-referenced
3D digital twins, along with ortho-images and AI-generated semantic information. Technology like this helps create an initial overview by identifying and analyzing vegetation and tree types along power lines. Modern remote sensing techniques pinpoint areas where vegetation might pose risks. This information allows the utility to take preventive actions, reducing the likelihood of power outages and improving grid reliability.
After vegetation management tasks, such as tree trimming, are completed, the technology gathers new data to evaluate the effectiveness of these actions. By comparing this updated data with the initial overview, the team can quickly identify any remaining risks and address them promptly.
Additionally, these tools continuously monitor vegetation growth, spotting potential hazards before they become serious problems. Real-time alerts and data-driven recommendations help the engineering team maintain the safety and reliability of power lines.
BENEFITS OF THIS APPROACH:
Automated Identification: AI can be used to automatically identify and classify power poles, power lines, vegetation, and trees, creating detailed maps of dangerous areas. It can generate risk-based trimming plans that outline priorities and necessary actions for trim crews.
Advanced 3D Modeling: Classified 3D models of power lines and their surrounding environment can be used for analysis and planning. The multi-camera system, survey-grade GPS, and AI processor, captures detailed field data up to 100 times faster than traditional methods.
Growth Predictions: These advanced modeling techniques can be used to predict vegetation growth, offer accurate forecasts and flexible reporting. The ability to generate custom reporting and integrate seamlessly with other applications can help shorten project timelines, proactively manage issues, reduce risks, and enhance client interactions.
STRATEGIC RECOMMENDATIONS
To maximize the benefits of advanced technologies, it’s essential to compare the strengths and weaknesses of various options, such as AI, digital twins, lidar,
ground control, and satellite systems. Conducting a cost-benefit analysis will highlight the return on investment of using either a single technology or a layered approach. By integrating multiple technologies, utilities can strike a balance between cost efficiency and accuracy, ensuring they get the best value for their investment.
Enhancing data precision and accessibility is also crucial. Additionally, ensuring that the data provided is user-friendly and easily interpretable for various stakeholders will facilitate better decision-making and ensure actionable information.
Ground-based assessments should remain a cornerstone of any UVM strategy. Emphasizing the value of ground inspections is vital for collecting detailed data that aerial and remote sensing technologies may not capture. Integrating ground control capabilities into offerings complements these technologies and provides a more comprehensive solution.
Building strong vendor partnerships is another critical aspect. Effective collaboration with utilities requires a deep understanding of their specific needs and challenges. Developing tailored solutions and proof of concepts will help address these
challenges. Providing ongoing support and regular check-ins will keep utilities informed of new features and improvements, ensuring successful implementation and fostering strong relationships.
Clear communication of ROI and benefits is essential. Articulating the value and advantages of technology, focusing on cost savings, efficiency improvements, and enhanced data accuracy, will resonate with stakeholders. It’s important to communicate the positive impact of technology effectively to executives. Highlighting successful case studies and demonstrating how solutions contribute to overall operational resilience will reinforce this message.
Lastly, continuous innovation is key to staying competitive. Regularly assessing and incorporating the latest technological advancements will keep offerings innovative. Keeping abreast of emerging trends and technologies ensures that solutions remain relevant. Maintaining an open feedback loop with clients allows for understanding their evolving needs and preferences, using this insight to drive product innovation and improvements.
Vegetation management is vital for maintaining the reliability and safety of
utility operations. Integrating AI, digital twins, and a comprehensive infrastructure intelligence model offers a more efficient way for utilities to manage the challenges posed by vegetation growth near power lines.
By adopting today’s available digital technologies, particularly ground-based reality capture solutions, utilities can enhance operational efficiency, reduce the risk of outages, comply with regulatory standards, and keep customers safe. As climate change continues to introduce new challenges for electric utilities, the role of advanced technology in vegetation management will become even more significant in maximizing operational efficiency.
Investing in these technologies is not just a high-tech upgrade. It is a strategic move toward a safer, resilient, and reliable power grid, allowing utilities to transition from a reactive to a more predictive vegetation management approach. ■
Christine Byrne is freelance writer specializing in amplifying global technology solutions with a focus on infrastructure.
A new platform represents a powerful solution for modernizing vegetation management and improving utility operations. Courtesy: Looq AI
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In the early part of my career as a land surveyor I got the impression that many of the licensed land surveyors I encountered in the workplace or at social gatherings had a sense of legal immunity when it came to the results of their boundary surveying work. I remember an instance at a society chapter meeting when an older surveyor stood up to let us all know his stance on the subject.
He told us that if someone did not like the results of his survey, “they can sue me.” I thought to myself, that was a bit arrogant, and at the same time wondered if he knew something I didn’t. As time moved along, I heard many other surveyors express the same sentiment in similar terms. This needed further investigation.
When I went to law school later in my career, one of the things I learned was, theoretically, nobody is immune to prosecution. I also learned if a plaintiff has enough money, anybody can be sued.
Many years later I experienced that situation firsthand, but it’s a story for another day. The critical question is, will the lawsuit be successful? As I continued developing my legal education in the arena of all things involving land surveying, e.g., property law and other legal issues affecting land surveyors and land surveying, I was on a mission to prove to arrogant and wayward surveyors that they, in fact, can be sued over the results of a survey.
That quest went on for a while, until I started seeing patterns in the cases I was studying. In most instances involving surveyors, the surveyor wasn’t the one being
sued. Even though the surveyor was the catalyst for completely unnecessary and expensive litigation, the surveyor always walked away unscathed. It was as if negligent surveying producing incorrect results was irrelevant to the surveyor and just didn’t matter to the surveying profession. This does not happen in other professions where incorrect results are met with legal consequences and board action—the two policing mechanisms for the professions.
Neither of these policing mechanisms works very well for the land surveying profession, especially litigation. A boundary dispute case is not a personal injury case, therefore there is no insurance money to fund the litigation and no big damage awards.
The parties in a boundary dispute case are funding the litigation out of their own pockets, with little or no prospects for getting their money back even if they win the lawsuit. In addition, attorney’s fees and court costs are generally not considered recoverable damages, even though the bank account is on life support. From a monetary standpoint there is literally nothing to gain by suing a surveyor.
The negligence of a surveyor in a boundary determination can go undetected for years if not decades or possibly until after the running of a statute of limitations and now it’s too late. In many cases, negligent surveying work isn’t detectable by lay persons and not discovered until another surveyor works over the same ground.
In other cases, you get the sense that something is wrong with the survey when your neighbor starts moving your fences or the bulldozer shows up at your front porch.
I’m referring to actual instances in cases I have covered.
There are other obstacles to suing a surveyor, but one final consideration is worth mentioning. There is only one person who can successfully sue the surveyor for negligence, if they can afford the cost. It is whoever went into detrimental reliance on the surveyor’s work.
That’s usually the client, but it could also include others, like every entity named in the certification on the survey. Surprisingly, it does not include the next-door neighbor who is forced to sue the surveyor’s client over the resulting boundary dispute. The next-door neighbor doesn’t rely on the survey, the survey is being opposed.
Are surveyors immune to prosecution? Try to sue a negligent surveyor, chances are you can’t. Is this good news? Not for a healthy profession it isn’t. Consequentially, the land surveying profession is slipping away right in front of our eyes, the question remains, are we going to do anything about it?
The purpose of this column is to encourage your questions on legal issues that affect the surveying profession. You are invited to send your questions to the editor of xyHt. Jeff Lucas is an attorney and land surveyor in private practice in Birmingham, Alabama. He is an author, columnist, lecturer, seminar presenter, and continuing education provider. He writes a monthly newsletter, The Lucas Letter, dealing with legal issues and the practice of surveying. For more information go to www. lucasandcompany.com
