A 'First-Timer' Recaps Autodesk University 2013
I’ve only been working with Informed Infrastructure and Vector1 Media for a short while, but I’ve been in the geospatial technology industry for 17 years. So it’s a bit surprising that I’ve never been to an Autodesk University event. And although I’ve been to Las Vegas many times in my travels, this was my first stay at The Venetian hotel and casino, which hosted the event. With beautiful paintings and artwork throughout, The Venetian makes for a lovely conference host. Three days later, w...
Mapping the Maya: Technology Integration Captures Cultural Heritage
To set the stage of this essay I would ask each reader to think back to a time in their life when they were asked “what do I want to do when I grow up?” This simple but powerful question has been recurrent for centuries with varying answers, to the demise and success of millions, and was just as profound for me. As a young child I was always drawn to history and more importantly the swashbuckling endeavors of an ever-so-famous and iconic movie character, Indiana Jones. I can remember being fasci...
Does the term GIS mean anything at all?
I have recently been reading a series of national and state GIS articles and user needs documents, all of which talk about the need for a National GIS or a State GIS, and the importance of GIS data, without ever stating in any way what a GIS is, or what GIS data might include. While some real requirements are touched on, such as the importance of cross department information integration and information currency, and the need for decision support tools, most of the conversation focused on GIS,...
Hitting the Point: A Simple Guideline for Contracting 3D Mapping Professionals
Recently, a few technologically specific themes have surfaced in the contemporary business world that all of us can relate to. Whether you are a surveyor, engineer, analyst, or somewhere in gray the topics of “the cloud”, “big data”, and “data mining” are becoming more common in our workplaces. Almost daily, many of us are confronted with these new concepts and must make business-savvy decisions on whether to ignore or often painstakingly leverage these new technologies. In a global economy wher...
Location-enabled Smart Planning and Community Development
The economic downturn impacted many nations around the world including the US. In particular, decreasing home values left many Americans underwater on their mortgages and many companies and organizations struggling to survive. Companies downsized or went out of business altogether, leaving many out of work. The impact was far-reaching and is still being felt across most of the nation and many other regions, such as the EU, which suffered even far more devastating consequences. As our country...
Sensor Data Helps Calibrate Water Models
Thomas M. Walski, Ph.D., P.E., D.WRE, F. ASCE, is Bentley Systems senior product manager for Water and Sewer Products. Walski has been intimately involved with the modeling of water networks for decades, and has worked with Bentley Systems to introduce seminal hydraulic modeling tools such as WaterGEMS and WaterCAD. He recently discussed the impact of modeling and sensing on modern water systems with Informed Infrastructure. Informed Infrastructure: Tom, what’s your role at Bentley Systems, a...
Toward Intelligent Infrastructure
The United Nations Human Settlements Program (UN-HABITAT) report discusses the strain this global demographic shift is placing upon current urban infrastructure. We are living in a world with a rapidly growing population and an urbanization rate that is increasing year over year. According to the United Nations Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT), people living in urban areas will increase from 50% worldwide in 2011 to 75% in 2050. Over 2.5 billion people will move to urban areas in the...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
