PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING
December 2015
891
PROFESSIONAL
INSIGHT
ena of a new ’sharing economy‘ in the context of millenni-
als sharing bikes or cars. Ursula discussed this sharing
concept in the context of the geospatial industry where
customers, competitors, data providers and software de-
velopers can share resources to solve problems. This type
of thinking breaks down silos and opens up the industry
to new ideas and new levels of collaboration. This is espe-
cially the case in the consumer market where geospatial
Big Data intersects with the emerging Internet of Things
market. The biggest challenge from my perspective is that
there is not enough time in the day to pursue all of my
interests and ideas in this wonderful industry.”
Tell us about the new Geospatial Big Data lexicon and
why this effort is important.
“The Geospatial Big Data Lexicon is an idea about a com-
munity lexicon, a wiki, which defines terms, approaches
and methods used to create a geospatial analytic. It is im-
portant to me because the community exercise of defining
the lexicon brings out new understanding and a common
language to define the science of geospatial analytics. In
the panel discussion at this year’s GEOINT Conference,
there was an excellent discussion about the lexicon from
the perspective of science, business and legal issues.”
You are a successful entrepreneur. What were some of
those companies you helped build, and what are some
of the lessons learned?
“Visual Learning Systems (VLS) was a great example of
a successful start-up company that was later acquired by
Overwatch Systems LLC in 2006. A couple of key lessons
learned from that experience were: (1) Timing: Aligning
a technology innovation (machine learning based feature
extraction) with a burgeoning market need (lowering the
cost of building and maintaining vector data in a GIS; (2)
Focus: VLS built itself up on the basis of the US Gov-
ernment Small-Business Innovative Research Program
whereby we had to compete, win and deliver solutions for
specific customer needs; and (3) Teamwork: We had a fan-
tastic team at VLS including great developers, salespeople
and business leaders that worked together around a com-
mon goal. “
What was it like to keynote at the ASPRS annual meeting
in Tampa?
“It was an honor to even be considered for that role and
I enjoyed the experience immensely. My colleague, Kev-
in Lausten from DigitalGlobe, an incredibly bright and
hard-working professional, shared the agenda with me
and we focused on a theme called “Building on the Shoul-
ders of Giants.” It was a tribute to the great contribu-
tors in remote sensing and GIS, people like Alex Goetz
and Jack Dangermond, who established a technology and
business platform for the next wave of market growth in
geospatial analytics.”
As Director of the ASPRS Remote Sensing Division, what
goals do you have for the RSAD specifically, and ASPRS
generally?
“First, we need to transform our approach to marketing
our vision if we are going to remain relevant and attract
the interests of the current generation of geospatial scien-
tists. The consumer-driven demand for geolocation ser-
vices is driving a tidal wave of new business opportunity in
almost every conceivable market; yet the consumerism of
geospatial technology has also seemed to overshadow the
foundations of imaging science, photogrammetry, geode-
sy and geographic information systems. This dichotomy
needs to be addressed with a strong public relations cam-
paign of who we are, what we do and how we are pioneer-
ing the next wave of growth in our field – small Unmanned
Aerial Systems (UAS). It is a challenge for sure, but it is
something we need to do.”
What challenges face ASPRS, and how is our organization
responding?
“Our biggest challenge is that our membership is shrink-
ing despite the growing importance of geospatial infor-
mation and the growth of imaging platforms. We need
to reinvent ourselves through a mix of strong media mes-
sages about who we are, selected partnerships with other
professional societies and a laser focus on the next new
thing – small UAS. The ASPRS needs to seize the oppor-
tunity to become the undisputed source of technical and
professional expertise in the small UAS industry because
it plays so well to our core strengths in image processing,
georegistration, sensor calibration etc. I am really pleased
with the new leadership of Michael Hauck who I believe
can lead us into the next wave of growth and stability.”
What advice would you give a student or young profes-
sional just beginning their geospatial career?
“The science of remote sensing provides a window to see
the earth and the profound beauty of her ecosystem. The
next 25 years will offer unique opportunities to explore,
examine and contribute to so many different needs in ag-
riculture, hydrology, energy exploration, global warming
and national security, to name a few. We are entering into
a new era of data abundance and persistent earth observa-
tions – take full advantage of it and make a contribution
you can be proud of. You will never regret it.”
