Ever get frustrated looking for the right aerial image of your project site on Google Earth? Emily Badger has found the solution - a DIY balloon mapping kit developed by cartographer Stewart Long.
As Badger reports, the $95 DIY balloon mapping kit sold by the Public Laboratory for Open Technology and Science, has several advantages over the typical aerial image found on Google Maps or Google Earth. For one, you can capture images at higher resolution. "At this distance," says Badger, "you can get down to the centimeter, enough to capture the dotted lines on a road, or the tiles on a roof." You can also update images as necessary to document changing conditions.
"The whole idea is an ingenious mix of high and low tech, of rubber bands
and helium and open-source software (Public Labs also has a platform
called MapKnitter that will help
you stitch the images together into one big mosaic). But aside from its
basic techie appeal, this tool is trying to take map-making – for
centuries the province of people who are in charge – and give the rest
of us that power, too."
FULL STORY: The Future of Aerial Mapmaking: Cheap Helium Balloons
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New Research Methods Help Nebraska's Water Management Plan
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Florida Considers Legalizing ADUs
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HUD Announces Plan to Build Housing on Public Lands
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Has Anyone at USDOT Read Donald Shoup?
USDOT employees, who are required to go back to the office, will receive free parking at the agency’s D.C. offices — flying in the face of a growing research body that calls for pricing parking at its real value.
EPA Terminates $116 Million in Grants for Reducing Emissions from Construction Materials
C-MORE grants were earmarked for industry trade groups and universities.
BART Closes $35 Million Deficit
Cost control and revenue generation measures prevented service cuts.
Urban Design for Planners 1: Software Tools
This six-course series explores essential urban design concepts using open source software and equips planners with the tools they need to participate fully in the urban design process.
Planning for Universal Design
Learn the tools for implementing Universal Design in planning regulations.
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