Aerial Mapping
Aerial Mapping
In the past, let's say you wanted to look for an apartment. You would take your newspaper, circle the ads that looked promising, and write down the addresses, if they even appeared. Then you would look up the locations on a map and either plot the points, write down driving directions, or both. Now, if you're in a major U.S. city, all you have to do is go to Housingmaps.com, select a price range, and voila--you get a map showing the location of each rental with a link to more specific information, including contact details, and a link that opens up your e-mail program. Some of the map icons even include photos. Here's another comparison. You're visiting an unfamiliar city and yon want to find Wi-Fi spots. You don't know the streets or the businesses near your hotel. In the past, you might ask at the front desk and get directions to an Internet cafe that offered Wi-Fi. Now you enter the address of the hotel and the term "Wi-Fi" into Google Maps' Local search and get not only a list … [Read More...]
History of Aerial Maps
History of Aerial Maps
Before I get into the history of aerial maps (aka aerial survey), it would be informative to give a brief definition: Aerial mapping/surveying is a system of collecting information from the air by using aerial photography or remote sensing technology. This is normally doneby using kites, planes, balloons and satellites. These maps and surveys are used for many different reasons, from archeology to real estate to wildlife tracking. Recently, technology has brought about orthophotography. The orthophotograph is an aerial photograph that has been corrected for the curvature of the earth. In other words, putting a round surface on a flat surface. The History Of Aerial Maps 1840 - Photography is used for topographic surveying. 1858 - French photographer, Gasper Nadar rides in a hot air balloon and takes the first aerial photographs of Paris at 1,200 feet. 1860 - Boston is photographed from a hot air balloon by James Wallace. 1860's - Balloons used for reconnaissance … [Read More...]
