Many state, local and municipality professionals surveying and AEC professionals are familiar with the tools of their trade, and perhaps less eager to embrace quickly evolving technologies – even though they can help them achieve more with less.

Some of us - including myself – may read a Dummies book and experience “sensory overload”. For those of you who are learning about LiDAR and how it works, here is some basic knowledge (drawn from this free “LiDAR for Dummies” ebook ) that can help you understand this system better and how it can help optimize your surveying activities.

Engineers should be thrilled with the new LiDAR 3D technology that is being integrated to improve mapping applications. By fusing LiDAR 3D data with existing geospatial image analysis workflows, users can now create a more complete visual reference of geographical areas. With traditional geospatial data collection, users weren’t able to manipulate the images in a timely manner resulting in longer wait times to figure out how and why the data could be applied to present and future mapping projects.

The CAD world is buzzing about the introduction of AutoCAD WS app for the Kindle Fire – now Kindle Fire users can view, edit and share drawings on the go! Released this past December, the app has been the topic of discussion ever since (You can download the app from Amazon). In fact, since its launch in 2011, there have been over four million downloads of the AutoCAD WS app which is also available for the iPhone, iPad and Android. Wow! I’m guessing this would be considered a hot commodity.

In 2003, GSA created the National 3D-4D-BIM Program to “promote value-added digital visualization, simulation and optimization technologies to increase quality and efficiency through GSA project lifecycles and beyond.” GSA is responsible for meeting the space requirements of federal agencies along with providing buildings and construction guidelines for these resources. While adopting specific CAD standards and project requirements, GSA has also committed to strategic and incremental adoption of 3D, 4D, and BIM technologies.