CAD News for Govies is a weekly feature on Acronym that scans thousands of industry articles to present you with a regular source of CAD and GIS news, information and ideas that impact the public sector. Here’s the latest round-up:

5 Reasons Bridges Fail

As the U.S. government continues the debate about potential strikes against the Assad regime in Syria, GIS professionals are busy mapping out potential missile targets in Google Maps and Google Earth.

ForeignPolicy.com, for example, has mapped 36 locations in Syria that represent the most likely targets for U.S. missiles.

While the goal of the attacks is still unclear, it seems plausible that the strikes will target chemical plants, arms depots, airfields and other military assets.

CAD News for Govies is a weekly feature on Acronym that scans thousands of industry articles to present you with a regular source of CAD and GIS news, information and ideas that impact the public sector.

Here’s the latest round-up:

Crisis Cleanup Mapping Tool Coordinates Rebuilding Efforts

Hearing a lot of buzz about LiDAR lately? We’ve been blogging about the benefits of LiDAR for a wide variety of public sector projects for some time, but it seems that only now is LiDAR getting the attention it deserves. In fact, according to a recent article by Government Computer News (GCN), LiDAR (which stands for Light Detection and Ranging) is revolutionizing how federal, state and local government agencies for mapping and geospatial projects. LiDAR, a remote sensing system used for mapping the surface of the earth, has been around for decades, but it’s only in the past few years that it’s undergone a boom and is now at the heart of many government data gathering projects – from mapping desert terrain in Afghanistan to creating forest height maps.

Last year’s east coast earthquake was a first for many – including myself. Many are questioning whether or not the eastern seaboard will continue to experience earthquakes in the near future.

Engineers should be thrilled with the new LiDAR 3D technology that is being integrated to improve mapping applications. By fusing LiDAR 3D data with existing geospatial image analysis workflows, users can now create a more complete visual reference of geographical areas. With traditional geospatial data collection, users weren’t able to manipulate the images in a timely manner resulting in longer wait times to figure out how and why the data could be applied to present and future mapping projects.