Weekly GEOINT Community News

Predictive Analytics & GIS Help Communities Prepare for Inclement Weather

As the East Coast braced for this past weekend’s Winter Storm Jonas, weather prediction helped communities prepare and keep residents safe. According to a PC World article, weather prediction technology has evolved to apply predictive analytics and other advances in geographic information systems to help local governments and businesses respond to severe weather events in real-time. One example of this is Esri’s Severe Weather Public Information Map, which taps publicly generated location information from Flickr, Twitter, YouTube, and other social channels to offer near real time insight on what’s happening outside.  

Esri Launches ArcGIS Earth

Esri launched ArcGIS Earth to better explore the world and work with a variety of 3D and 2D map data formats. The desktop application is free and interactive, allowing users to quickly display data on the globe, sketch place marks, measure distances and areas, and add annotations to easily understand spatial information. According to the Esri press release, the demand for 3D mapping continues to grow among the company’s customers. Download ArcGIS Earth for free here.

FAA Registers More Than 300,000 UAVs

TechCrunch reports approximately 300,000 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) owners have registered their vehicles with the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) new online registration system. Registration opened Dec. 21 and saw 45,000 registrants in just the first two days. Because UAV owners can register more than one vehicle with their registration number, this means there are likely more than 300,000 UAVs registered. UAV registration applies to vehicles weighing between 0.55 pounds and 55 pounds. The article reminds UAV owners to register their vehicles before Feb. 19 to avoid facing civil and/or criminal penalties.

Army to Build UAV Airfield

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Los Angeles District recently awarded a contract to Cox Construction to build a 52,000-foot hangar at the National Training Center in Fort Irwin, Calif., to accommodate training on the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV), reports Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System. The hangar will include repair shops, company administration offices, aircraft container storage, and a vehicle parking area. Construction of the new airfield is expected to be complete in fall 2017.

Photo Credit: Esri