Geomob

Shoaib Burq, the founder of GeoBase, discusses his background in geospatial and the development of GeoBase, a geospatial backend as a service. GeoBase aims to provide developers with a powerful and easy-to-use platform for building geospatial applications. The product handles data storage, querying, and other backend services, allowing developers to focus on creating an amazing user experience. Shoaib highlights the growing demand for geospatial developers and the need for a tool that combines geospatial technology with software engineering. He also mentions various use cases for GeoBase, including real estate search, fleet tracking, and solar energy potential analysis. The project is currently in private beta and will be generally available soon. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Phil Cooper, an expert in remote sensing and geospatial data, joins the show to discuss Amazon's cloud services and their impact on the space and satellite sector. He explains the launch of Amazon Location Services, which offers mapping and geospatial capabilities tailored for B2B use cases. Phil also highlights the increasing importance of remote sensing and satellite data, driven by the reduced cost of launch and the exponential growth of data volumes. He discusses the process of capturing and processing satellite data, emphasizing the move towards near real-time data delivery. The conversation touches on topics such as data strategy, data formats, and the Overture Maps Initiative.Phil highlights the potential of geospatial data in addressing global challenges and the need for responsible and meaningful questions to be asked. He predicts the rise of companies working in space and the changing nature of the GIS profession. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Today's conversation is wide-ranging - taking us through the British electoral system, the distortion of electoral maps, the use of drones in agriculture, the importance of green spaces in cities, and statistical modeling in spatial contexts. The diversity of topics comes about due to our recap of the biggest week days in Geomob history with events in Edinburgh, Leuven (the first Geomob Belgium), and London. Ed had the good fortune to attend the Belgium and London events, he shares his impressions. Finally, the conversation touches on the energy consumption of AI and the need for sustainable solutions. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Lukas Hort, a game designer at Hamburg-based Pipapo Games, discusses their game Map Map, which is all about cartography and mapping. The game involves exploring islands, marking locations on a map, and finding clues to a legendary lost treasure. The target audience includes map fans and cozy gamers who enjoy relaxing gameplay. The game is still in development and will be available on Steam, where a preview video can be seen. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Steven and Ed discuss #geoweirdness, a series of content "threads" that OpenCage creates on mastodon to engage with their audience and promote their geocoding API. They talk about the challenges of marketing a geocoding API and the need to create content that is interesting and shareable. They discuss the different types of threads, including country-specific threads and threads about specific topics that span all countries. Steven cites the example of the recent thread about the European football championship and the changing borders of countries. From there the discussion moves to #fridaygeotrivia, a live geo trivia game Ed organized on the final Friday of the month on mastodon. He discusses the difficulty of coming up with new topics and questions. Finally, our hosts play a quick round of geo trivia, asking each other questions about football and geography. Ed and Steven encourage listeners to check out the geoWeirdness threads and participate in the geotrivia quizzes. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Ed chats with Steve McLeod, the founder of Feature Upvote, a service that allows customers to suggest and upvote ideas for products. At the recent Geomob Barcelona and Berlin events we used the service to vote for best speaker at Geomob events. They also explore the challenges of gathering feedback, distinguishing between different types of feedback, and overcoming language barriers. Steve shares advice for managing feedback and making customers feel listened to. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Our conversation covers two recent Geomob events, one in Barcelona and the other in Berlin, with discussions on the talks, speakers, and audience feedback. We then delve into the Amazon geospatial event in London, the new voting system, upcoming Geomob events, and the challenges of managing sponsors. Finally we salute Geomob sponsor Ed Parsons on recently winning the Royal Geographic Society's Professional Geography Award. Well done! Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Gala Camacho, organizer of Geomob Edinburgh, joins Ed on the podcast to discuss her experience organizing the event and provide advice for others interested in starting GeoMob in their cities. The first event in Edinburgh was a success, with a diverse range of talks covering technical, artistic, and business topics. Gala emphasizes the importance of creating a relaxed and inclusive atmosphere at Geomob events, where attendees can make connections and discuss geospatial topics. She also highlights the need for more speakers and encourages anyone interested to submit their ideas. Overall, the event received positive feedback and demonstrated the demand for a geospatial community in Edinburgh. The next Geomob Edinburgh will be on June 25th Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

Sanna Jokela, CEO of Gispo, joins us to discuss a project the company did with UNESCO's International Institute for Educational Planning, and which was presented at the most recent Geomob Finland in Turku. The project focused on using rainfall data to find optimal school hours in sub-Saharan Africa. Gispo specializes in open source geospatial tools and works with both local and global clients. We also briefly discuss the Finnish geospatial scene, which has a strong emphasis on open source, with many companies using tools like QGIS. The project for UNESCO is still being tested, but the QGIS plugin they developed has the potential for impact in the community. The conversation also touches on the importance of open data and the power of OpenStreetMap in school projects. Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.

James Morrison, head pilot and UAS ("Unmanned Aircraft System") lead at Ordnance Survey, discusses the use of drones in mapping and surveying. He shares examples of how drones were used to quickly assess landslips and update mapping in the Isle of Wight, as well as capture data for residential housing developments. James explains the different types of drones used by Ordnance Survey and their capabilities, including capturing imagery with centimeter-level accuracy. He also discusses the importance of safety and following regulations when flying drones. James envisions the continued use of drones in surveying, with potential advancements in sensors and flight times.  Show notes on the Geomob website, where you can also learn more about Geomob events and sign up for our monthly newsletter.