Trimble Geospatial products provide solutions to capture, manage and analyze geospatial data in the surveying and mapping industry.
Our Banning Survey department almost exclusively uses Trimble Geospatial equipment on a day-to-day basis. Our Trimble inventory here includes GPS units, laser scanner, total stations and digital levels.
I attended the 2024 Trimble Dimensions conference in Las Vegas, Nevada this year. This conference is about bringing professionals from various industries to one spot to learn about the latest in technology and software. This year there were over 7,000 attendees, from construction, agriculture, geospatial, civil engineering and surveying. There were hundreds of sessions to attend, and a large exposition hall filled with the latest equipment, software and hardware on display. The sessions I chose covered a wide range of topics including emerging technology in construction, the new normal for construction technology, mastering field equipment care, streamlining job billing, recruiting and retention best practices. One of the main purposes of the conference is to help productivity, efficiency and safety. The expo hall was filled with new technology and plenty of people to talk to. It was great to mingle with different types of people in different industries.
The photo is of a mobile LiDAR unit (Light Detection and Ranging – a remote sensing method that uses light in the form of pulsed laser to measure ranges) mounted on a Tesla truck. Pretty cool to see. The biggest innovations in our field right now include A.I., robots, virtual reality. A.I. is being used to improve data collection, analysis and reporting processes and improving accuracy, especially in drone imagery. This ultimately allows surveyors to gather more detailed maps with greater efficiency and complete projects faster.
The keynote speaker said, “we’re in the fourth industrial revolution”, and after seeing all that was provided at this conference, I can believe it. He also said, “If you don’t like change, you’re going to like irrelevance even less”. It’s hard to wrap my head around where we are now in the survey world and where we were when I started in this industry. I can’t wait to see what’s next!
Thank you to our partner, Seiler Instrument, for providing entrance to the conference. We appreciate it!
~ Jeff Yeary