ACSM (the American Congress on Surveying & Mapping) recently saw two events come together to create a synergy that should benefit geomatics professionals.

ACSM's Lobby Day provides an opportunity for surveyors and mappers from across the United States to connect face-to-face with their Senators and Representatives (and/or their staffs) on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. This year on Sept. 24, the Bureau of Land Management dovetailed this event with the unveiling ceremony for its 2009 BLM Manual of Surveying Instructions, adding 50 to 60 people to the number who attended the unveiling. This collaboration was a huge success.

During the Lobby Day effort, more than 60 meetings were held in Senate and House members' offices, along with one very fruitful meeting with the deputy assistant secretary for transportation policy in the Department of Transportation. This meeting furthered ACSM's effort to have legislation introduced to address the destruction of monumentation and supporting documents necessary to establish or re-establish right-of-way/property lines along rail lines.

Other items presented during Lobby Day relate to funding for the NSPS Trig-Star program, support for repeal of the Tax Increase Prevention and Reconciliation Act of 2005, support for the appropriation of funds for Coastal Mapping (H. R. 365 and S. 174), and support for funding to federal land management agencies to address the need for surveys of federal lands.

—Curtis W. Sumner

Executive Director, ACSM

In virtually all aspects—including overall attendance, the number of companies exhibiting, and expansion beyond German borders—Intergeo 2009 in Karlsruhe, Germany, September 22-24, exceeded the expectations of most involved.
 

In what has been a down worldwide economy, organizers of this self-proclaimed "world's most important congress trade fair for geodesy, geoinformation and land management" were clearly pleased with the overall results this year.

"Here in Karlsruhe, Intergeo has once again demonstrated very impressively that it is the industry's most important international meeting point, even in difficult times," says a delighted Dr. Hartmut Rosengarten, Chairman of the Intergeo Exhibitor Advisory Board. "There is no doubt that 'Geo is in!'"

Nine conference presentations were devoted to the use of sensors and microprocessors in everyday geodata applications, focusing on current and future opportunities in the areas of geoinformation, positioning, remote sensing, and satellite technology.

Click on PSM’s YouTube channel for exclusive video interviews from Intergeo, and see the November print magazine for a full conference recap.

Many new geotech products were released just in time for Intergeo.

Topcon

• Pocket 3D software for GRS-1 rover
• LC-4X crossline laser
• Grader, dozer slope sensor
• NET-G3A: GNSS receiver
  
• ScanMaster: 3D point cloud collection
  

Hemisphere GPS

• XF102 DGPS receiver
• A220 and A221 dual frequency smart antennas
  

Leica Geosystems

• Leica Viva: A new generation measurement system
• Leica GS09: the scalable GNSS system
  

Trimble

• Integrated Surveying Solutions
  
• New version of Trident-3D software
• Nikon Nivo total station series
• Spectra Precision's new portfolio of optical survey solutions, data collectors, & field software

Carlson Software

• Carlson 2010: Survey, Civil, Hydrology, Takeoff, GIS, Mining, Field, Construction
  
• MOBA3D machine control system software engine

Miscellaneous

• Magellan's Proflex 500 multi-constellation GNSS receiver
  
• Riegl's mobile laser scanning system: VMX-250
  
• Scan editing and conversion for AutoCAD 2010
• Rugged tablet computer for field service
  

Chinese space scientists have completed the world's highest resolution 3D map of the moon. Covering the whole surface, the map was based on image data obtained by a charge-coupled device stereo camera carried by the Chang'e-1, China's first lunar probe (launched in  2007). The map's spatial resolution, measured by the distance of two features within an image that can be clearly defined, is 500 meters.

Liu Xianlin, head of the expert team that made the accreditation, said the map could greatly help study the features, laws, and creation of the moon's surface and deepen understanding of lunar geology and its evolution. (Image Courtesy: NASA)