Hello!

Even though I've been involved with land surveying electronics since the late 1970s, and have absolutely no fear of computers, I'll have to admit that I'm starting a blog with a bit of trepidation. I think the sense in our country is that most blogs are used for political purposes, but I can assure you that this is not what my blog will be used for. Instead, I will use it to report up-to-the-minute news and events that occur in the surveying industry. Because magazines are printed ahead of time, and because they only appear once a month, my blog will allow much more timely reporting, and best of all, items that will never make it into the magazine. I hope that you will find it useful and, most of all, interesting.

Yesterday, I received a press release about a new GNSS receiver made by Altus Positioning Systems. You can read about this new entry into the precise positioning arena HERE. Of special note is the involvement of Neil Vancans as one of the the Altus principals. Originally from the UK, Neil has a long involvement with our industry, first at Leica and then at Thales. He's a surveyor and has a clue about what's important for surveyors. At the recent CGSIC meeting in Fort Worth, it was announced that if all of the planned or envisioned satellite systems are built, we will have as many as 124 positioning satellites floating overhead. We welcome the Altus APS-3 into our sandbox.

Marc Cheves, LS
Editor
The American Surveyor