Using Radar on Satellites to Map and Prepare for Landslides

GIM International has an interesting article about how radar on satellites are being used to map landslides in Switzerland.  Knowing the exact extent of landslides overlayed on top of geographic data allows for planning of evacuation routes and improvement of infrastructure.  The article is short but it gives the reader how geography and technology pair up nicely together to solve critical, real world problems.

Freeware and Open Source GIS Software and Guides

Right now I am brushing up on my GIS skills via training books.  The books come with 180 day-trial versions of ESRI's famous ArcGIS software.  However, to obtain a permanent copy of ArcGIS I would need to pay $1,500 American dollars.

There is hope though for people who do not want to invest so much money for GIS knowledge.  The GIS Lounge has the article How to Go from GIS Novice to Pro without Spending a Dime and a list of free GIS software.  There is also a nice introduction to qGIS with links for more information.

GIS is still a growing industry and many, if not all, geographers will use it at least occasionally to make maps or conduct spatial research.  I highly recommend geographers learn a GIS program to gain research abilities and to build one's resume.

Online Maps May Be the Next Best Password Technology

MSNBC has an interesting article on how interactive, online maps may be the next step in encryption/decryption technology.  The key take away paragraphs are

Speaking at the New York Institute of Technology Cyber Security Conference this past Wednesday, Cheswick described how users could memorize the exact spot on a satellite photo, with the longitude and latitude serving as the access code. By zooming down through the map to the high level of resolution, users can graphically produce a nearly unbreakable password that neither people nor viruses could track.

and

By using a map with zoom, this new method renders those mouse-tracking programs useless. Sure, the virus  will know where the mouse clicks, but unless it knows what map the user is looking at, and how deeply zoomed in they are, the hacking program can’t record the longitude and latitude that serve as the password. 

So your password protocols could be to click on the church on the map or largest parking lot.  While not geography exactly, this could be a neat tie in between maps and non-geography based computer science.

Geospatial Revolution: Episode I

Geospatial Revolution is the creation of Pennsylvania State University.  The show will be released in several episodes with the first one now online.  It follows the "geospatial revolution" which is the integration of geographic quantitative data with computers.  The revolution has led to the creation of GIS, GPS, Google Maps, and so much more.  The revolution is so advanced that it is hard for any geographer, whether they be human or physical, to do any geographic study without some geospatial computing.

A top-10 app is a map!

Currently, and very oddly, one of the top-10 iPhone applications (aka 'apps') at this moment is a Sex Offender Locator. From where people are at, they can look up the whereabouts of the past-offenders, as well as see their picture and information on the crime committed. This app does cost money, even though this information is available for free through local jurisdictions.

This app was popular well-before the news story from Tech Crunch, and then picked up by other media outlets. This, as well as the other map/geography-related apps, proves that geography is not dead in this technological and interconnected age.

Downfall of GPS and eLORAN backup

There are plenty of news stories going around talking about the possible failure of GPS due to loss of satellites. The failure of the United States Air Force has worried many because of GPS wide-range of use in aeronautics, business transactions, and personal navigation.

One gap-stop backup in case of GPS failure is the LORAN system. Popular Mechanics has a short introduction to the LORAN system which uses ground stations to geolocate targets. However, the LORAN system is being cut out of the new Obama budget.

While the threat of losing GPS in 2010 is receiving more attention than the actual threat there are plenty of things which could cause GPS failure. One would hope something so critical to keeping the geoeconomy running would be in a relatively stable situation with backups.

Kosher GPS

Insert random "Traffic is Heavy, Oh Vey!" joke here (Photo Courtesy of Jerusalem POST)

Geotechnology continues to conform to its users as it becomes more and more common place in our lives. There are those who constantly examine possible markets and tap them. One market that has recently been tapped is Orthodox Jews.

Mio Ma'amin ("Mio Believer") is a GPS unit full of Jewish restaurants, holy sites, prayers, and all other sorts of Kosher goodness. Only a male voice will be available (understandable for a religious group) while phone and internet features will not be (because um... probably some reason I did not learn in Sunday School).

It will be interesting to see if this is a successful product. An Islamic version complete with directions to Mecca for prayers could be a big saler worldwide.

GPS in Underwear Cause Uproar but is Nothing New

It is being marketed as a 21st century chastity belt. It has caused some feminist and libertarians to act like it is the abolition of the constitution. What is it? GPS-fitted underwear.

The techno-underwear is being marketed as a lover's tracker and even a personal safety device. Feminists are upset because it can act as a tether on wives, lovers, and girlfriends. Libertarians are mad because it can track people and possibly be abused. Those who like safety see it as a connect to the outside world when something bad like kidnapping occurs.

Two problems exists that should have prevented this from becoming news. First off, by the picture in the story it is clear that the thing is not really that subtle. It is not like one can simply slip it in boxers or anything unnoticed. Secondly, this is nothing new. Other pieces of clothing like GPS shoes exist. With the gear embedded inside, devices like these would be a more logical tracking device/chastity belt.

Oh well. For now Catholicgauze takes great joy in the fact that his shirts, ties, shoes, and boxers are not constantly in conversation via high frequency waves with satellites in space. Never know if one could get cancer in all the wrong places.

Topographic Maps now on the Blackberry

As a person who works in Washington, District of Columbia I frequently see "hillies" (my term for staffers, pages, reporters, and others who work on Capitol Hill) with their BlackBerries. It is an odd thing to discuss hillies communication device. They love it for the instant communication but also hate it with a passion. The freedom of being out the office is gone.

Now; however, BlackBerries may be found on outdoors trails throughout the United States. Northport Systems, Inc., has announced that free Fugawi Touratel topographic mapping software for the U.S. and Canada is now available for Blackberries. The maps can also be viewed online.

So now we enter a brave new world where going out on the trail still does not protect you from the boss.

Geotechnology to Assist in Gunshot Cases

The D.C. Examiner has a short article on the Shotspotter system. The system uses acoustic technology combined with GPS to locate where guns are fired, how many shots, and the type of gun used.

The technology is in the news because it will probably be called into evidence to help convict an accused murderer in Washington D.C. According to the Examiner, "[I]n the 17 months since, the system has been used to recover 10 weapons and make eight arrests.” According to the official website Shotspotter is protecting 90 square miles in 28 cities equaling a total of 584,433 people. The website also has links to news stories, news videos, and informational videos on how the technology works and its successes.

Computer games first exposed geotechnology like this to me. I remember thinking how useful things like this would be protecting citizens. With geotechnology aiding the War on Terrorism hopefully tools like ShotSpotter can keep civilians and soldiers safe.

Mash-up Challenge

Adrian sends my way a link to Mash-Up Challenge. The site is featuring a contest on creating a new Google Maps-style mash-up. The maps have to be related to “social issues” but the definition of that is wide open.

Catholicgauze wishes everyone to participate and help create new cartographic features that spatial explain data.

Geotechnology Aids in Discovery of Mexican Smuggler Tunnels

hThere are countless smuggler tunnels under the US-Mexican border. The tunnels are primarily located between Arizona and the Pacific Coast. The reason for this is because the western section of the US-Mexican border has many more towns and cities which lie up next to each other. To the east, New Mexico to the Gulf of Mexico, there are some border meeting points like Brownsville-Matamoros and El Paso-Ciudad Juarez, but these junctions are few and far between with desert separating towns by miles. What is also a greater hinder though is physical obstacles like the Rio Grande.

These tunnels are mostly used for drug smuggling but some are also used for human trafficking. This makes them a law enforcement concern. Geotechnology is playing a part in curbing use of these tunnels. Popular Mechanics has a feature on how the types of geotechnology being used. Everything from "standard" ground penetrating radar to measuring oh so slight changes in Earth's magnetic field can be utilized. The neatest one involves cosmic rays- it is so easy a 12 year old did it!

GPS and Google Fight for the Little Guy Against the System

Some people dislike geotechnology for reasons ranging from "ruining" quiet streets, to helping terrorists, to wanting you dead. The reason for the hatred is in part due to the liberty and egalitarian nature of all technology (sometimes provding bad geographical driving directions comes into play though). Great power can be used for good or ill.

The power offered by geotechnology has been in the news lately. GPS units are now used by those who wish to fight speeding tickets. Previously any court dispute over a speeding ticket ended by being the cop's word (backed up by a radar reading which only the cop saw) versus the driver's word. Now drivers can use GPS unit printouts to show that they could have not possibly been speeding because of the lack of distance covered. Google Maps has also helped fight the law. A blogger used Google Maps to show a police officer's memory was "faulty" when it came to one-way streets.

The future of geotechnology is one of innovation and information. Let us all hope for more stories like this and not of driver's suddenly doing U-turns into corn fields because their little black box with the English-voice told them so.