The Harlow Report-GIS
2024 Edition
ISSN 0742-468XSince 1978
On-line Since 2000
GIS News Snippets
For the week of
July 15, 2024
Remember When?
A "Harlow Report" From July 07, 2023
How AI is Changing the Landscape of GIS Mapping
by Anna Singh
In the ever-evolving technological landscape, artificial intelligence (AI) is steadily reshaping the world of Geographic Information System (GIS) mapping.
The integration of AI with GIS mapping is transforming the way we understand and interact with the world around us, creating a paradigm shift in various sectors, from urban planning to environmental conservation.
Traditionally, GIS mapping was a labor-intensive process, requiring meticulous data collection and analysis. However, the advent of AI has revolutionized this process, automating data collection and interpretation, thereby significantly reducing human error and increasing efficiency. This has not only expedited the mapping process but also enhanced the accuracy and precision of the maps generated.
The incorporation of AI in GIS mapping has opened up a plethora of opportunities. Machine learning, a subset of AI, is particularly noteworthy in this regard. Machine learning algorithms can sift through vast amounts of data, identify patterns, and make predictions, thereby providing valuable insights. For instance, these algorithms can predict areas susceptible to natural disasters like floods or earthquakes, enabling authorities to take preventive measures.
Read full story at Fagen Wasanni…
Now back to 2024
Comment: Remote Sensing in Civil Engineering - Improving Efficiency and Accuracy
by Kateryna Sergieieva
Engineered objects surround us everywhere, yet we rarely think about how much work and preparation goes into not only creating them but to make sure they don't disrupt the already existing infrastructure or nature, says Kateryna Sergieieva.
Today's civil engineers and urban planners are under constant pressure of developing, maintaining, and enhancing our infrastructure, requiring a comprehensive understanding of both human-made structures and natural landscapes. The good thing is that they now have help in the form of geospatial data and geographic information systems. Armed with that, these professionals can create detailed maps, perform infrastructure analyses, and simulate various scenarios digitally. These modern techniques enhance traditional methods like surveying and drafting, leading to more efficient and effective project outcomes.
Ground and space data, including recent satellite images, finds its application across public and private sectors. For example, an engineer working for a transportation department might use GIS powers to map out community sidewalks, assess their accessibility, and plan for future expansions. Similarly, a transportation department might engage a civil engineering firm to undertake such projects. Regardless of the approach, geospatial data remains a vital tool, enabling engineers to understand the physical world better and devise innovative solutions to meet the evolving demands of society.
Read full story at The Engineer…
How to Fake the GPS Location on Your iPhone or Android Phone
by Jesse Hollington
Want to pretend you're somewhere you're not? Check out our handy guide on faking out your iPhone or Android phone's GPS location.
Modern smartphones have long been equipped with location-aware features that combine global positioning system (GPS) hardware with other features like Wi-Fi and cellular triangulation to help get an accurate fix on your location nearly anywhere in the world. These typically work very well, but what about those times you want your iPhone or Android smartphone to think it's somewhere else?
…Before we begin, it's important to keep in mind that this process isn't foolproof, and can have unintended side effects. For example, while you're running an app that fakes your GPS location, it will affect built-in services like Find My iPhone and Find My Androidbecause the location of any nearby AirTags will be misreported, and your phone will possibly even supply an incorrect location to emergency services like 911. That last part depends on how your local 911 call center handles things, but it's a risk that's worth mentioningas, for example, if you stumble and fall while you're out playing Pokemon GOwith a fake location, emergency responders might have a more difficult time finding you.
Read full story at Digital Trends…
Location Intelligence Use Cases: Solving 5 Top Business Challenges
by Rachel Galvez
Read these location intelligence use cases to see how these initiatives should be on the priority list for businesses across industries.
Data is booming, but one critical piece often remains overlooked: the power of location.
Understanding the “where” of your data helps you unlock its strategic potential. Location intelligence use cases are nearly endless and aren't just about mapping. By understanding spatial relationships, you gain previously out-of-reach insights, helping to drive informed decision-making across all levels of your organization.
Let's look at five examples of business challenges that can be tackled with the help of location intelligence.
Read full story at precisely…
OGC Announces Christy Monaco as New Chief Operating Officer
by OGC Press Release
As OGC's COO, Christy will use her experience with federal agencies, partnership-building, event management, and member success to help grow and shape the Consortium.
Christy brings to OGC a deep understanding of the geospatial industry, including historical and current trends, gained from her experience leading operations, technological transformation, organizational change, and resource management in the government and non-profit sectors of the geospatial and intelligence communities.
… As OGC's COO, Christy will use her experience with federal agencies, partnership-building, event management, and member success to help grow and shape the Consortium as it looks to its next chapter and works with new and established partners and stakeholders to bring accelerated, practical, and implementable solutions to the world of geospatial.
Read full story at The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC)…
The Still-Essential Skill of Cartography
by Jeff Thoreson is Editor-in-Chief of xyHt
When my kids were in high school, I made them learn to read a map. Their mother was incapable in this capacity, but still rode shotgun even though she had no ability to navigate us out of difficulty
When I got off course, I'd toss the map in the back seat and tell the kids to figure out how to get to our vacation destination or we would just spend the night in the car. With that kind of motivation, they became excellent navigators.
When they went off to college, the smart phone became a thing and no sooner had they mastered reading the impossible-to-fold paper map than it became obsolete, like the typewriter or landline--a useless relic of the past.
… I recently did a tour of several European cities, and streets that once would have required a stack of maps and atlases to navigate were all contained in our pockets. The deeper we get into the less maps become a necessity.
Read full story at xyHt…
Industry News
In Government
Judge Says FTC Lacks Authority to Issue Rule Banning Noncompete Agreements
by Jon Brodkin
Authority cited by FTC just a "housekeeping statute," US judge in Texas rules.
A US judge ruled against the Federal Trade Commission in a challenge to its rule banning noncompete agreements, saying the FTC lacks "substantive" rulemaking authority.
The preliminary ruling only blocks enforcement of the noncompete ban against the plaintiff and other groups that intervened in the case, but it signals that the judge believes the FTC cannot enforce the rule. The case is in US District Court for the Northern District of Texas, so appeals would be heard in the US Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit--which is generally regarded as one of the most conservative appeals courts in the country.
In April, the FTC issued a rule that would render the vast majority of current noncompete clauses unenforceable and ban future ones. The agency said that noncompete clauses are "an unfair method of competition and therefore a violation of Section 5 of the FTC Act," calling them "a widespread and often exploitative practice imposing contractual conditions that prevent workers from taking a new job or starting a new business."
Read full story at arsTechnica…
IT Modernization Is the Catalyst for Improved Government Digital Services
by Michael Tosh
State and local agencies now have the tools to embrace sweeping transformation.
Citizens and businesses throughout the United States don't necessarily think of interactions with their local government as being overly efficient or offering a world-class user experience. However, those expectations are changing post-pandemic with the rapid advancement of technology and the relentless focus on user experiences from some of the most innovative companies in the world.
Critically, constituents expect citizen and business services to be available when they need them. But it is becoming more and more challenging for state and locaI governments to provide these services in a cost-effective, secure and reliable manner with the resiliency to confidently meet their citizens' needs. States, cities and counties are saddled with aging infrastructure, legacy systems, siloed data, archaic procedures and years of funding deficits that have required them to focus on extending the life of assets and deferring cyclic replacement rather than modernizing mission-critical systems.
Read full story at StateTech…
The US Intelligence Community Is Embracing Generative AI
by Frank Konkel
Intelligence agencies are using generative AI for a variety of purposes, including content triage and assisting analysts
The normally secretive U.S. intelligence community is as enthralled with generative artificial intelligence as the rest of the world, and perhaps growing bolder in discussing publicly how they're using the nascent technology to improve intelligence operations.
“We were captured by the generative AI zeitgeist just like the entire world was a couple of years back,” Lakshmi Raman, the CIA's director of Artificial Intelligence Innovation said last week at Amazon Web Services Summit in Washington, D.C. Raman was among the keynote speakers for the event, which had a reported attendance of 24,000-plus.
Read full story at NextGov/FCW…
In Technology
There Isn't Much AI in Microsoft's First AI PC
by Ina Fried
Microsoft's new Copilot+ PCs offer decent hardware, but the AI offerings are niche niceties rather than a compelling overhaul.
The AI revolution is offering Microsoft its best chance in years to stand out from the competition and reinvigorate PC sales, but for now this remains more possibility than reality.
- For the last week, I have been using a loaner Qualcomm-powered Surface Laptop as my main computer, doing my day job while also testing out the AI features that are unique to the new crop of Copilot+ PCs that just went on sale.
- The new features all make use of the neural processor on the Qualcomm chip.
Zoom in: Microsoft's signature Copilot+ feature, called Recall , has been removed from Windows for further tweaking and testing.
Read full story at Axios…
WhatsApp Is Testing Personalised AI Avatar Generator for Users; How It Works
by Priya Singh
Meta has rolled out its AI chatbot called Meta AI in phases. The AI chatbot is available across WhatsApp, Instagram and Messenger
WhatsApp is rumoured to be working on a new generative AI feature that will allow users to create personalised avatars of themselves. As per a report by WABetaInfo, the feature is currently under development and was spotted on WhatsApp Beta for Android 2.24.14.7. It is expected that this feature will use user-supplied images, text prompts, and Meta's AI Llama model to generate the images.
… Users can try different prompts to customize the avatar. To create a personalised avatar, WhatsApp will ask you to "take photos of yourself once" which will then be used to train Meta AI to produce images. After clicking a picture, you just need to give a prompt that says "/Imagine me". You can also type, “@Meta AI imagine me...”
Read full story at Business Today…
Over 40 Years Later, Windows' Notepad Finally Has Spell Check
by Michael Crider
After more than four decades, the latest version of Notepad sent out to Windows 11 users includes spell check and auto-correct options.
Earlier this year, Microsoft killed WordPad--the free and surprisingly capable built-in word processor that debuted in Windows 95. For this, they must be punished. Yet while Microsoft taketh away, they also giveth.
After several months of testing, the Notepad text editor is finally getting spell check and auto-correct features. Maybe that'll even things out.
… Other recent upgrades to Notepad include character counts in the lower task bar (but oddly not word counts), tabbed viewing for multiple files, and support for Windows dark mode. If you enable the Explain with Copilot feature, you can even get some generative AI in your text editor.
Read full story at PCWorld…
In Utilities
Growth in Commercial Electricity Demand Linked to States With High Data Center Growth
by Sean Wolfe
Electricity demand tied to data centers has grown the most in Virginia, one of the largest markets in the world for this development.
While consumption of electricity has returned to pre-pandemic levels, the growth in commercial demand for electricity is concentrated in a handful of states experiencing rapid development of large-scale computing facilities such as data centers, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA).
Annual U.S. sales of electricity to commercial customers in 2023 totaled 14 billion kilowatt-hours (BkWh) more than in 2019, a 1% difference. According to a new study released by EPRI, data centers could consume up to 9% of U.S. electricity generation by 2030 -- more than double the amount currently used. This could create regional supply challenges, among other issues.
Electricity demand has grown the most in Virginia, which added 14 BkWh, and. Texas, which added 13 BkWh. Commercial electricity demand in the 10 states with the most electricity demand growth increased by a combined 42 BkWh between 2019 and 2023, representing growth of 10% in those states over that four-year period.
Read full story at Power Engineering…
How Propane Is Ready to Electrify the Future
by Kathy Hitchens
In this QuickChat video, Jim Bunsey of the Propane Energy Resource Council explains how propane is powering the decarbonization of ports, vehicle fleets and beyond.
Propane is ready to help electrify the future, according to Jim Bunsey, director of communications and business development for the Propane Energy Resource Council.
Bunsey recently sat down with Rod Walton, managing editor of Microgrid Knowledge, to discuss how propane is powering the decarbonization of ports, vehicle fleets and beyond.
Ports are under a lot of pressure to decarbonize operations, and propane is uniquely positioned to accelerate that process, Bunsey said. Powering everything from forklifts to port tractors, conventional and renewable propane is abundant and burns cleaner than diesel fuel, he added.
“It's a hydrogen-rich fuel, that's why it burns so clean,” Bunsey explained.
Read full story at Microgrid Knowledge…
South Dakota Clashes With Minnesota on Clean Energy, Coal Plant Closures
by Stu Whitney
As gas and electric companies transition away from fossil fuels, South Dakota officials stress reliability of resources in extreme weather.
A political border war between South Dakota and Minnesota on how to handle tax policies, abortion and the pandemic response could spill over into renewable energy and the future of coal plants.
At issue is the pace with which gas and electric companies can transition away from fossil fuels without compromising reliability and affordability for customers, and what role government plays in those calculations.
That reliability was tested several times over the past few years, including during a winter storm in January that nearly caused rolling blackouts, one South Dakota official said.
Read full story at South Dakota News Watch…