<shameless plug> We’ve got a small fundraiser for OpenDroneMap running through the end of the month that gets you a branded t-shirt or crewneck sweatshirt. Screenshot of OpenDroneMap T-Shirt and crewneck sweatshirt page Proceeds go to the project and you get a nice shirt. win/win. Now with obligatory link… OpenDroneMap – Here for Good 2024 </shameless plug> ..read more

I have a love of espresso. It is not the superior form of coffee, but suffer long enough in creating it, and it’s possible to regularly have great espresso at home. And great espresso on a regular basis is an uncommon pleasure. Also, I have a condition which requires some help with vasoconstriction. While straight coffee tends to make things worse, coffees with some bean and coffee oil in the cup seem to make things better. So I will always choose coffee that hasn’t gone through a paper filter over coffee that has. Besides: good texture in my coffee is appreciated. Image from above of espresso ..read more

I did a fun thing recently, taking the pile of data I have for my house, processed in OpenDroneMap, and used it to do solar potential mapping. It’s not strictly an approach I needed to use, but it was fun, and I wrote it up here: https://community.opendronemap.org/t/overkill-using-photogrammetry-for-solar-estimates/13145 TL;DR: first I used the 3D models to measure things that might be easier to measure with other tools (like an inclinometer and a compass: And then run that through a calculator to get a sense of the available power: The more interesting work was to simulate a future if/wh ..read more

Via: https://tonykay.artstation.com/projects/18nyw2 I have had the pleasure the last couple days of meeting and collaborating with Professor Murat Maga’s lab at Seattle Children’s Hospital and University of Washington. In addition to his research in epigenetics and related morphological topics, Professor Maga has led the SlicerMorph project, an NSF funded project to extend 3D Slicer to better handle biological 3D specimen data. In other words: recognizing the need for common free and open source tools for doing replicable research, Murat and his team have been driving and stewarding the resour ..read more

In my previous post, I mentioned I am now working at Oberlin College as a systems administrator. The position focuses on research support, but to do good research support, I have a fair amount of work that i need to do listening: listening to the needs of students and faculty, listening to the systems themselves and slowly and carefully navigating through upgrades and improvements. But you didn’t think I’d abandon spatial problems altogether, did you? I have finished up some analysis deriving proper digital terrain models from photogrammetric (drone) data. The elevation models needed to be as ..read more

Recently, I took on a role as Systems Administrator with focus on Research Support at Oberlin College and Conservatory. It is both a broader and deeper user base than in my days as a GIS manager, but also more focused on just the systems administration side of things. The kind of queries I used to get from IT people “but what does this system do?” I now find myself uttering to others. Usually I understand the answers, but occasionally I wonder how much I really know about quantum calculations for lattice structures in chemistry, or how much I truly understand stem cell differentiation in plant ..read more

Many who have spent time on YouTube have discovered a media/education phenomenon called Crash Course where a variety of complex topics are distilled down into 10-minute, quickly-narrated videos. My spouse, Dr. April Luginbuhl Mather and her colleague Dr. Zohra Calcuttawalla have been writing and content editing for the latest series, Crash Course Geography: It’s pretty cool, because it covers a lot of ground non-geographers don’t even know geographers are experts on. So far, it’s heavy on physical geography, but the second half of the course will be on human geography to round things out. If ..read more

Conservation and Research In a previous post, we discussed what does a Zoo Conservation and Research program, like what we are privileged to have at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo do. And what does a program like this do beyond in situ conservation that I’ve blogged about before. Much of the other work done in these programs focuses on research to improve animal care. No matter where you are in the Zoo, you are likely to see someone — a volunteer, and student, or zoo staff watching the animals, recording their activities, and doing the hard work toward understanding how to improve animal welfare. A ..read more

Conservation and Research A little while back, Charles Ritzler, a PhD student with Case Western Reserve University and employee of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo reached out to me. Charles works with Dr. Kristen Lukas, our Director of Conservation and Research, and as such, his work focuses on improving (quoting Dr. Lukas page) “scientific animal management” and “research on the behavior, health, and welfare” of vertebrate species in zoos. There is such great work happening in this space at Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, Zoo Atlanta, and elsewhere supporting inquisitive and applicable research on what ma ..read more

Much like the early days of GPS/GNSS, the longer we have drones in the air, the more capacity we build and layer upon previous work. To that end, a colleague of mine has a request to gather video and stills over an area slated for possible installation of a zip line. The request includes flying the path of future zipline. I had concerns whether we can safely fly that path: it is winter here in Ohio, hampering our drones detect and avoid sensors due to leaf-off condition on the trees. Enter old data This location we flew early in the Autumn of 2016, so we have a full digital surface model for t ..read more