Imaging

3D Laser Mapping campaigns for open-source lidar data

3D Laser Mapping will be offering open access to point cloud data which can be viewed and manipulated using GIS software. This information can be extracted for use by businesses, academic research and for in-house training opportunities.

The company will be releasing data collected using its flexible ROBIN mobile mapping system, which can be used on foot, in a vehicle and mounted to aircraft and UAVs. www.3dlasermapping.com.

China successfully launches remote sensing satellites

China has successfully launched remote sensing satellites designed to conduct electromagnetic probes and other experiments.

The satellites, whose number is not specified yet, were launched on a Long March-2C rocket from Xichang Satellite Launch Center in southwestern Sichuan province Xinhua news agency reported. The satellites have entered the preset orbit and the launching mission was proclaimed a success, the report said.http://economictimes.indiatimes.com

ISRO to launch remote sensing Cartosat II satellite in Dec

Indian Space Research Organisation has scheduled the launch of Cartosat II remote sensing satellite in the second half of December. The PSLV launch vehicle will carry the satellite along with 28 other foreign satellites and three Indian satellites on commercial basis. According to the Chairman of ISRO, A S Kiran Kumar, ISRO is working towards improving the robustness of PSLV to withstand external variables. www.ddinews.gov.in

SimActive automates direct georeferencing

SimActive Inc. has announced an automated solution for direct georeferencing from real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning. Within the new
workflow feature, users can easily get high accuracy in projects without the use of ground control points (GCP), saving considerable time in collecting and processing data. www.simactive.com.

DigitalGlobe and Orbital Insight partnership

DigitalGlobe has announced a multi-year agreement with Orbital Insight to expand the scope of their existing data partnership and fuel global-scale analytic solutions.

Orbital Insight, a leader in geospatial analytics, will operate at petabyte-scale as a DigitalGlobe Geospatial Big Data (GBDX) platform partner. With broader access to DigitalGlobe’s vast imagery archive, Orbital Insight will further refine its analytic capabilities, which include cases like estimating harvest yields, making more accurate retail predictions, assessing the societal and economic status of large regions and monitoring global energy and natural resource markets.

UAE Space Agency to cooperate with German Aerospace Centre

The UAE Space Agency has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the German Aerospace Centre, which defines a framework for collaboration and the exchange of information and expertise in the fields of space science, research, technology, and regulation. http://gulfnews.com

Velodyne releases VLS-128 Lidar

Velodyne has recently announced its latest product, the VLS-128 which is the most powerful LiDAR developed by it so far. It is capable of providing twice the range and three times the resolution of its predecessor. “This product was designed and built for the level 5, fully autonomous, mobility as a service market,” says Anand Gopalan, the company’s CTO, meaning it can perform as well or better than a human under any circumstances.