Welcome to another (albeit very overdue) 5 things on Friday. In this edition I devote the column to 5 little bits of awesomeness spotted at the ESRIUC… enjoy!
Will.i.am on stage at ESRIUC with Jack Dangermond
Will.i.am + Jack… how could this not be anything but pure awesomeness? Combine Dangermond’s passion for geography, the environment, technology, and helping others with the celebrity and passion for helping today’s youth from Will.i.am and you have endless possibilities. The two discussed how they came to connect (Will’s father figure and role model was the connection here) and how they can team up to help young people through community outreach and projects that foster geographic learning and a commitment to making a better community for inner city youth. The end result is the I am Angel foundation (http://iamangelfoundation.org/). i.am.angel Scholars from Roosevelt High School in Boyle Heights (L.A) were part of the lineup at the 2013 Esri User Conference and left a lasting impression indeed! See more on the i.am.angel blog including a video of the presentation from the kids
Dangermond and Will.i.am on stage at 2013 ESRIUC
The Urban Observatory seen at 2013 esriuc
A ground-breaking experience, the Urban Observatory allows people to explore simultaneous views of major cities located around the world. It provides dynamic, flowing content organized around the themes of work, people, places, movement, and systems. The Urban Observatory is brought to you by Richard Saul Wurman, creator of Technology/Entertainment/ Design (TED). Wurman was on hand to meet and greet attendees and the Observatory was a focal point of the Map Gallery, setup in a special spot in order to wow attendees, particularly in the evening as the light faded and the Observatory glowed! See more
The Urban Observatory
The SIM Table Sand Table
This was one of those “WOW” displays that attracted a crowd and left you thinking to yourself, “I gotta get me one of those!” The company, Simtable, provides digital sandtables to the wildfire, emergency management, defense and urban security communities. Based in Santa Fe, NM Simtable is a world leader in agent-based modeling, data visualization and human computer interaction. combining existing GIS data with next generation agent-based modeling and ambient computing SimTable provides a straightforward easy to use approach in incident response and training. Customized models of communities and populations provide a truly interactive experience in all-hazards simulations. The demo showed us how the sand on the table (think kids sandbox) could be moved around and shaped to model a 3D environment, then a series of map layers were projected onto the sand resulting in a very realistic environment to better grasp the situation. What was really cool was the ability to then light the sand on fire with a lighter and then view a real model of the spread of the wildfire based on various environmental and geographic conditions (wind, slope, aspect, etc…) It truly was impressive! See more at http://www.simtable.com
The SIMtable Sand Table
The Driving Dutchman
ESRIUC is all about technology and meeting people. I had the pleasure of meeting up with Roger, The Driving Dutchman, a charismatic guy from Europe who’s driving the US for his company, capturing imagery (3D panoramic imagery) from major urban areas all over the country using Cyclomedia technology. According to the company, their cycloramas help organizations save time and make better decisions about assets along the street. An ideal solution for local government, those interested in their imagery can contact the team and request a drive-by. Roger has been on the road in the US for more than 2 months now and is currently on his way up to the Pacific NW for the next leg of the journey. Over time the company will likely be recruiting some US-based staff so stay tuned on that and be sure to follow their progress on the blog at http://www.thedrivingdutchman.com/
Roger, the Driving Dutchman
Sobi Social Bicycles
Myself, being a pretty avid cyclist these days, I was pleasantly surprised to meetup with the crew from Sobi – think social bicycles. Sobi is a bike sharing network with some pretty clever technology and down-right cool bikes! The premise is simple, locate a bike in one of the many cities around the country. Members (yes you need to signup online and create an account if you want to participate) can search for a bike nearby using the online tools. Using a special 4 digit PIN, members can unlock a bike and take it for a spin. Here’s where it gets really cool though… once you have a bike details of your ride (time, route, stats etc… can be saved to your profile and shared through your social networks – I’m luving this! Imagine returning from your trip to Austin and then view your bike trip online on a map as you sow your friends where you went.. way cool! See more at http://socialbicycles.com
A Sweet Sobi cruiser
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Did you spot some awesome technology at ESRIUC this year? Tell @gletham about it…