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Emerging Technologies Summit - The UA Linkage
Thursday, March 29, 2007
Professor Fred Limp, the Leica Geosystems Chair in Geospatial Imaging, gave the keynote lecture at the Emerging Technologies Summit in Washington, D.C. earlier this month. The summit brought together leaders in computer gaming, 3D visualization, architecture, construction management and visualization to lay out a roadmap for the convergence of these new technologies. Around the world, information about infrastructure and buildings is increasingly gaining the attention of organizations involved in architecture, engineering and construction as well as the owners and operators of buildings and other structures. Developments to create a U.S. National Building Information Model Standard for information exchange and new homeland security and defense requirements are bringing these diverse communities together. Speakers at the conference included representatives of the gaming community from Sony Entertainment, leaders in construction management such Parsons Brinckerhoff, which is currently managing major construction projects such as construction at Ground Zero in New York City, the Big Dig in Boston and the Alaskan Way viaduct project in Seattle. Limp spoke on 3D, building information management and visualization technologies and the implications of their convergence. In addition to Limp, faculty from the University of Berlin and Harvard also made presentations during the conference.
UA opens link to fastest track Internet Offers
Arkansas' flagship university demonstrated the state's first connection to the national "e-corridor," an ultrafast Internet connection touted by researchers as a must-have economic development tool.
Faster thana speeding "internet 2" signal, the next-generation connection can deliver crisp, real-time videoconferencing.
To read more, please go to http://www.cast.uark.edu/cast/highlights/12_19_06.pdf
High Speed Hookup Goes Live
Wires no thicker than a strand of hair connect University of Arkansas researchers to colleagues across the country at blazing speed, officials announced Monday.
The Arkansas Research and Educational Optical Network went live from the Fayetteville campus Monday morning, allowing students and professors to communicate through a fiber optic network at 10 billion bytes per second.
To read more, please go to http://www.cast.uark.edu/cast/highlights/12_19_06.pdf
University of Arkansas chosen as one of the "Best Remote Sensing Education Programs" by GeoSearch.
In the November/December 2006 issue of Earth Imaging News (www.eijournal.com) Richard Serby, President of Geosearch (www.geosearch.com), provided a look at the current growing demand for
remote sensing skills in the work place. He noted that geospatial skills have been defined as one of the top three job growth areas in the US according to the US Department of Labor. He also provided a list of "The Best Remote Sensing Education and Training Programs" which included the Geosciences program here at the University of Arkansas.
Selby asked GeoSearch candidates and employers to submit their choices to the question "Which colleges, universities, or other training programs offer the best quality remote sensing education and training."
In addition to the University of Arkansas other schools listed were:
Applied Geomatics Research Group (Canada) Aquinas College James Madison University Mississippi State University Northern Arizona University Rochester Institute of Technology University of Florida University of Maine University of Mississippi University of Wisconsin Indian Institute of Remote
Sensing (India) University of Edinburg
For information on UA educational offerings go to
http://www.cast.uark.edu
Spatial Information Storehouse
CAST researchers work with NASA and other institutions to create data warehouse of spatial information for Central American countries
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. - University of Arkansas researchers worked with NASA, USAID and Central American countries to create a database of geospatial information for use by government and nonprofit agencies, scientists and others to help make informed decisions about land use.The data warehouse, called MesoStor, contains climate, soil, rainfall, land cover and infrastructure information, as well as satellite imagery and data from the 1980s to the present. The information spans countries from southern Mexico to Panama.
To read more, please go to http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/8579.htm
A Modern Survey of Ancient Ruins
Long-range, high-density laser surveying was used with great success at the Machu Picchu archaeological site in Peru
Laser surveying instruments (e.g., terrestrial light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and high-density survey (HDS) instruments) are increasingly becoming valued tools for geospatial professionals. They can quickly provide a dense set of 3-D data points that can be used to characterize buildings, engineering features and areas.
To read more, please go to http://www.geoplace.com/uploads/featurearticle/0602da.asp
New 2004 digital Land Use/Land Cover Maps of Arkansas
New digital land use / land cover (LULC) maps have been created for the entire state of Arkansas. The new map series was created from satellite imagery and represents a detailed mapping of Arkansas’ landscape in the spring, summer, and fall of 2004.
To read more, please go to http://www.cast.uark.edu/cast/research/lulc/lulc_2004.htm
Northwest Arkansas in 3D on Google Earth
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Anyone looking for a location for a new business, planning to build a
house or wanting to take a virtual tour of northwest Arkansas can now log onto the free Google
Earth Web site to view high-resolution, color images of Benton and Washington counties.
Google Earth’s 3D technology provides an unparalleled way to see the area. Visitors to the
Web site at earth.google.com must first download the free 3D map viewer to their desktop
computers, and then they can automatically connect to the Google servers and view satellite
imagery or aerial photography anywhere in the world. The beta version of the viewer is only
available for newer Windows-based computers.
To read more, please go to http://www.cast.uark.edu/new_sources.htm
Researchers Gather High-Tech Data on World's Ancient Sites
By Melissa Blouin, University Relations
FAYETTEVILLE, Ark - University of Arkansas researchers have used high-resolution technologies to map two World Heritage sites in Bolivia and Peru and are making their three-dimensional, highly accurate models of the ancient ruins available to the public and to other researchers on the World Wide Web.
Researchers Angelia Payne and Snow Winters first traveled to Tiwanaku, Bolivia, where they used three-dimensional laser mapping techniques to create a high-density survey of the ruins of an ancient city that was abandoned by about A.D. 1000. Their work was funded by a high-performance computing grant from the National Science Foundation, awarded to the University of Pennsylvania and contracted to the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies at the University of Arkansas. After completing the work at Tiwanaku, Payne then traveled to Peru to use the same techniques at Machu Picchu, a royal retreat built by an Incan ruler in the late 1400s and abandoned only decades later.
To read more, please go to http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/5640.htm
Incas' secret world untangled
By Dan Vergano, USA TODAY
Hidden atop the Andes, the mysteries of the lost Inca Empire are yielding to today's technology.
"We're adding a symphony of instruments to our efforts, which lets us just see more than we ever imagined," says archaeologist Fred Limp of the University of Arkansas in Fayetteville. Archaeological advances and ongoing work in the Andes demonstrate the growing role of high-tech tools, he says.
To read more, please go to http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2005-10-12-incan-tech_x.htm
Leica Geosystems Endows Chair in Geospatial Imaging
Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging has established the Leica Geosystems Chair in Geospatial Imaging in Fulbright College at the University of Arkansas. Fulbright Dean Donald Bobbitt has appointed University Professor W. Fredrick Limp, director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies (CAST), as the inaugural holder of the Leica Chair. Limp will direct efforts to build an expanded curriculum in geospatial modeling, data storage and analysis, as well as advance scholarly research in these fields.
UA Chancellor John A. White said: "Professor Limp is one of the most respected members of the UA faculty. He is a national 'thought leader' in the use of advanced spatial technologies. It is most appropriate for him to be honored with an endowed chair. We are indebted to Leica Geosystems Geospatial Imaging for their investment in the University of Arkansas and in Dr. Limp."
To read more, please go to http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu/5088.htm
CAST and Leica GeoSystems Form Inaugural Center of Excellence
Leica Geosystems GIS & Mapping LLC and the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies have formed the inaugural Leica Center of Excellence in Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing at the University of Arkansas .
“Leica Geosystems created the Centers of Excellence program to foster collaboration with a small group of outstanding academic institutions, bound together by a commitment to advance the technology and expertise that will foster the development of image-based spatial data,” said Bob Morris, president of Leica Geosystems GIS & Mapping. “As the charter Leica Geosystems Center of Excellence in Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, CAST will work with us in several important capacities.”
To read more, please go to http://www.cast.uark.edu/cast/highlights/leica_5_02_05.htm
$40,000 New Horizons Scholarship Winner Announced
Little Rock – The New Horizons Scholarship Council , a public-private partnership, today awarded a $40,000 scholarship to an Arkansas EAST Lab senior. The scholarship, up to $10,000 per year for four years, will help the student obtain an information technology bachelor’s degree at a public Arkansas college or university. The scholarship winner is Joshua Dunn of Fayetteville High School . Dunn plans to attend the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville and major in computer science.
To read more, please go to http://www.cast.uark.edu/cast/highlights/scholorship_4_25_05.htm
Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies Recognized for Spatial Education and Research
The Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies in Fulbright College received the North American Oracle Spatial Education and Research Award during the 2005 North American Oracle Spatial Users Conference held in Denver in March. CAST was singled out for its research and education in large databases as well as in interdisciplinary, interoperable datasets and their practical uses by state, local and federal governments.
To read more, please go to http://dailyheadlines.uark.edu
University Professor Fred Limp Joins Board of International Institute
University Professor Fred Limp has been appointed to the board of the Open Geospatial Consortium's Interoperability Institute. The Open Geospatial Consortium, an international standards development organization, comprises more than 270 members from private, public and university communities,
including Lockheed Martin, Mitsubishi, Northrop, Oracle, the Ordnance Survey, the United Nations, the European Space Agency and NASA.
The consortium was founded in 1994 to improve the use of spatial information.
"Approximately 80 percent of business and government information has some reference to location, but this information and location has been underutilized as a key resource for improving economic productivity, decision-making, and delivery of services," said Limp, director of the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies. Limp has written or edited eight books and more than 95 journal articles and chapters. Before standards were developed, such information was difficult to retrieve because valuable data used in one software application could not be accessed by others. Through consensus, the consortium develops open interface specifications that enable users to exchange and apply spatial information, applications and services freely across networks, different platforms and products. The Interoperability Institute was created to take advantage of the interoperability standards and expand their use across multiple disciplines in the physical and social sciences. In addition to the U of A, the board also has representatives from institutions such as Harvard's Kennedy School of Government, Columbia University's Earth Institute, The University of Muenster in Germany, the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands and Carleton University in Canada.
For more information on the Open Geospatial Consortium, visit www.opengeospatial.org
A different Arkansas Team featured on ESPN
If you hear the words “ESPN” and “ University of Arkansas” together, you probably immediately have a mental image of our Razorback football, basketball or track teams. But this time the ESPN report (http://espn.go.com/outdoors/conservation/s/c_fea_ducks_high-tech_study_wire.html ) involves a team of geospatial researchers from the Center for Advanced Spatial Technologies. They’ve assisted in the creation of a high tech system to visualize receiver-tagged mallard ducks as they migrate seasonally between Arkansas and Canada. CAST has been working with the Arkansas Game and Fish Commission (AGFC) to create an on-line mapping system that automatically depicts the travels of some 50 mallard ducks on the AGFC website (www.agfc.com). Biologists from the Game and Fish Commission have placed small (less than 30grams) telemetry-based transmitters on the backs of the ducks. At intervals between three to four days the transmitters send positional information for four hours to orbiting NOAA satellites which then rebroadcast the data back to earth. The system provides much needed biological data for AGFC researchers but the question was how they could make this information available to everyone interested in waterfowl migration.
To read more, please go to http://www.cast.uark.edu/cast/highlights/ducks_4_20_05.htm
