eMap CEO, David Nale, on the firm's 10th birthday

12 January 2010, 7:35pm

Looking Back...Looking Forward, eMap Turns 10

In January 2010, eMap International enters its 10th year of business. A lot has changed in 10 years. In 2000, digital aerial cameras were expensive prototypes and besides aerial film with be around forever, right? LiDAR was an interesting emerging technology but it would really only have application to corridor mapping, right? Earth imaging satellites were having difficulty getting off the launch pad and would never have much impact on the geospatial mapping community, right?

Well, in 2010, all of that has changed. Digital aerial cameras and LiDAR coupled together have created an evolution in the photogrammetric mapping profession while earth imaging satellites can now capture 50-cm imagery with incredible positional accuracy anywhere in the world. Over the past 10 years, we at eMap have been fortunate enough to help implement the most unprecedented advancements in measuring our earth known to man.

I am proud to say that eMap has been immersed in this geospatial evolution, giving guidance and direction to our clients along the way. We have had the opportunity to participate in important technological decisions and to help our clients implement the technologies that have revolutionized the way they do business on a daily basis. Having been given this opportunity to help find direction thru the confusion is very rewarding to us. In addition, eMap itself has brought new ideas to the marketplace including the global distribution of satellite imagery and commercial mapping from that imagery; the implementation of First American Spatial Solutions' US-wide National Parcel Database; and the successful creation of geospatial products such as automated Impervious Surface Mapping (ISM).

What do the next 10 years hold for the mapping professions? I would venture to predict that geospatial products will become the norm. One-off professional service applications will always have their place in the professional mapping community, but the proliferation of global geospatial technologies will create new opportunities for those willing to venture from their comfort zone. In the decade ahead, we at eMap look forward to bringing challenges and opportunities together and to continuing to create successes for all our clients.

David K. Nale
President/CEO
Certified Photogrammetrist
Certified Mapping Scientist
Professional Land Surveyor

eMap International

Geo: International