When Bruce Storrs first accepted his job as San Francisco City and County Surveyor 14 years ago, he was well aware of the challenges.

John Houston is not a surveyor. He’s not a heavy traveler, either. So what was he doing on a speck of an island in the South Atlantic Ocean, knee deep in brush and muck operating a high-accuracy GNSS receiver?

To say that GNSS has had a major impact on the growth enjoyed by the geospatial industry would be an understatement. There are literally billions of electronic devices used today that rely on the signals, and with better location information, many new applications are feasible such as self-driving cars and drone deliveries.

The value of digital geospatial information is recognized in many applications, and today it touches nearly every part of our lives.

What are riparian boundary lines? As the name implies, they are boundary lines associated with riparian properties.

The growing reliance on precise topographic data requires a coordinated effort.

Surveyors and geospatial professionals can help measure and quantify the impact we are having on our environment and the positive potential of steps to intervene and, as Esri Founder Jack Dangermond would say, "design our future."

In the keynote speech kicking off HxGN Live 2019, Ola Rollén presented the challenge to use the technology we already have in smarter ways to improve productivity and efficiency, reduce waste, and pursue sustainability. He provided several interesting examples of how businesses are doing good things and making money at the same time.