As long-time GIS practitioners, we got curious about the types of national days related to GIS and mapping. We wanted to create a list of geo-related national days that even Waldo Tobler would be proud of.

These national days have wide applicability beyond the GIS community. Each of the following holidays shares a connection to Geography and GIS. We invite you to recognize and celebrate them with us.

“Everything is related to everything else, but near things are more related than distant things…This is the first law of geography” – American-Swiss Geographer Waldo Tobler

List of 2024 Geographic and GIS Holidays:

National Geographic Day (January 27, 2024) – Not to be confused with National Geographic Awareness Week, National Geographic Day is a day that pays homage to National Geographic Magazine. National Geographic Day is held every year on January 27th.

National Surveyors’ Day (March 21, 2024) – National Surveyors’ Day is held on the Sunday of National Surveyors week, which starts every year on the third Sunday of March.

National 3D Day (March 19, 2024) – Many geospatial technologies (such as lidar) owe their success to 3D technology. 3D Day is observed (through a pair of 3D spectacles) every year on the third day of the third week of March.

National Read a Road Map Day (April 5, 2024) – Before the days you could whip out your phone and navigate with Google Maps, hard copy road maps and atlases littered passenger seats and filled glove compartments. National Read a Road Map Day is held annually on April 5th, and encourages people to go on more adventures.

Earth Day (April 22, 2024) – The original Geo Day – Earth Day, is held every year on April 22nd. Earth Day was originally created in 1970 to spur on the passing of the Clean Air and Clean Water Act (which passed in December 1970 and October 1972, respectively).

National Cartography Day (Brazil – May 6, 2024) – Although not (yet!) an officially recognized day in the United States, National Cartography Day is celebrated in Brazil annually on May 6th.

World Environment Day (June 5, 2024) – Inspired by the United Nations Environment Program, World Environment day is celebrating its 60th anniversary in 2023, and is held annually on June 5th.

World Sea Turtle Day (June 16, 2024) – Known as the great navigators of the animal kingdom, we believe Sea Turtle’s have earned their geographic importance. World Sea Turtle Day is held each year on June 16th.

National Aviation Day (August 19, 2024) – Held annually on August 19th since 1939, National Aviation Day celebrates the anniversary of Orville Wright’s Birthday. For the record, Wilbur’s birthday is April 16th; which some may know as national semicolon day.

National Public Lands Day (September 28, 2024) – Much more than just about National Parks themselves, National Public Lands Day is historically the most popular day to volunteer in general (every 4th Saturday in September).

Earth Science Week (October 13-19, 2024) – Held on the second week of October, Earth Science Week was founded by the American Geosciences Institute (AGI) and has been sponsored for quite some time by USGS. Earth Science Week raises awareness and appreciation of earth sciences.

National Marooned Without a Compass Day (November 6, 2024) – Perhaps nothing could be scarier to any good navigator than losing their compass. Celebrated every year on November 6th, National Marooned Without a Compass Day highlights and asks us to embrace the lack of direction in our lives.

Geographic Awareness Week (Third week of November, 2024) – Originally proclaimed as an official week by Ronald Regan in 1987, Geographic Awareness week is highlighted by GIS Day.

GIS Day (November 20, 2024) – Originally inspired by Ralph Nader (according to Esri’s Jack Dangermond) the ubiquitous GIS Day is held on the Wednesday of the third week in November each year. GIS Day is now celebrated worldwide with thousands of official and unofficial events and is championed by GIS companies like ESRI.

Are any geographic national days missing from this list? Email us at information@sanborn.com with your suggestions.

Srini Dharmapuri, Ph.D., Vice President and Chief Scientist, and Tom Harrington, Ph.D., Chief Marketing Officer, Sanborn

How ChatGPT differs from Google Search

People have been using search engines (mainly Google) to explore the Web for over two decades.

In response to queries, search engines produce lists of links and snippets of responses, as well as images and other types of content. Search engine algorithms are designed to reward or highlight certain types of content based on its authority, relevance, and other factors.

Everyone who has used a search engine has had the experience of scrolling and sifting through the identified links. The experience can be enlightening, surprising, and tedious all at the same time.

What if there were a shortcut? What if the search returned a single compiled “best” answer from the Web? Welcome, ChatGPT!

Since the launch of version 3.5 in late 2022, the chatbot, ChatGPT, has become a sensation on the internet and, among its many uses, appears to be a disruptor of web searching norms. Developed by OpenAI, ChatGPT stands for Chat Generative Pre-Trained Transformer.

By design, ChatGPT provides a specific response to a particular question, an “ask and answer” approach. ChatGPT’s language model is an AI (artificial intelligence) that can interpret questions and generate natural language text responses, even solving complex problems like identifying errors in computer code.

ChatGPT has been trained on a vast amount of text data from the internet and can compile information from many sources into a response to any initial question. It can perform multiple natural language processing tasks such as language translation, text summarization, and text completion. Essentially, it’s a computer program that can scan vast amounts of data and communicate with people in a natural, human-like way. While there is a wealth of information in the responses, sometimes they can be in error, and should be validated before use.

Comparing Results: Google Search versus ChatGPT

Let’s look at examples of responses to questions common in our geospatial industry. The responses to two questions are presented below for Google search and ChatGPT, respectively.

Challenge Question One: “What are the advantages of leaf-off versus leaf-on imagery”

Google Search Results (first five responses out of 4.15 million):

ChatGPT Response:

Advantages of leaf-off imagery:
Better visibility of ground features: With leaves absent, the ground is more visible, making it easier to identify features such as buildings, roads, and other infrastructure. Improved accuracy in change detection: Leaf-off imagery can be compared to previous imagery to detect changes, such as new construction or land use changes, more accurately. Better accuracy in classification: With fewer obstructions, leaf-off imagery can be used to classify land cover more accurately.

Advantages of leaf-on imagery:
A more complete representation of vegetation: Leaf-on imagery provides a more complete representation of the vegetation in an area, including the height, structure, and species of plants.

Improved assessment of vegetation health:
Leaf-on imagery can be used to assess the health of vegetation, such as identifying areas with stress, disease, or pests. Better representation of seasonal variation: Leaf-on imagery can be used to track changes in vegetation over time, such as changes in color and growth patterns, to understand seasonal variation.

In conclusion, both leaf-off and leaf-on imagery have their advantages, and the choice between the two will depend on the specific needs and requirements of the user, and the trade-off between visibility, accuracy, and representation of vegetation.

The Google Search response is voluminous (4.15 million links), but the first five (highest ranked) responses appear to be answering different questions than the one asked. Rather than describing the “advantages,” the articles discuss the “differences,” the “effect,” and the “impact,” of leaf-on versus leaf-off imagery; close but not quite on point.

ChatGPT provides a responsive answer that addresses the question asked in 196 words (reading time of less than one minute).

In the above example, from the searchers or questioners point of view, ChatGPT gives a clearly superior experience. Let’s look at another comparison using a question that arises in our geospatial industry from time to time:

Challenge Question Two: Which is better, satellite imagery with 30cm GSD or aerial imagery with 30cm GSD?

Google Search Results (first six responses out of 65,500):

ChatGPT response:

It depends on the specific use case and requirements. Both satellite imagery with 30cm GSD and aerial imagery with 30cm GSD have their advantages and disadvantages. Satellite imagery is typically acquired from a higher altitude and has a wider coverage area, making it well suited for large scale mapping and monitoring applications. However, it may not be as detailed as aerial imagery due to the effects of atmospheric distortion and the limited viewing angle.

Aerial imagery, on the other hand, is typically acquired from a lower altitude and has a more limited coverage area, but it provides higher resolution and accuracy due to its closer proximity to the ground. It is often used for applications where more detailed information is required, such as land use planning and property management.

Ultimately, the choice between satellite and aerial imagery with 30cm GSD will depend on the specific needs and requirements of the user, and the trade-offs between resolution, accuracy, cost, and coverage area.

The Google search returns 65,500 links and covers a lot of ground. Similar to the responses to Challenge Question One above, the top six responses to this second Challenge question are a mix of information related to the topic. The blog from Hexagon titled: “Which imagery is better: Satellite or Aerial?”, addresses the topic in depth, providing details about a variety of considerations such as uses, price, frequency of collection, and other factors.

ChatGPT provides a terse (161 words) response that is focused.

From a searcher or questioners’ point of view, in this case, we find the ChatGPT useful as a starting point for further investigation of the topic. But the Google search provides more detailed information on the topic and a lot more information useful for contextualizing the topic. We felt this comparison was more of a toss-up between the two search experiences.

Some of the key differences between Google Search versus ChatGPT

We have identified five (5) specific issues to compare Google search and ChatGPT.

Plausible but nonsensical answers – Whether using Google search or ChatGPT, useless information or nonsensical answers are possible. In both cases, it is the responsibility of the searcher to review and interpret the results to determine what is true or useful.

Efficiency – Because Google search returns lots of material and multiple alternatives, it increases the burden on the searcher to find what is useful to them from among the many responses. ChatGPT’s single answer compiled from a vast amount of data from various sources can be a shortcut to the “answer” sought. As in the above two comparisons, ChatGPT seems to “get to the point” of the question most directly.

Serendipity and discovery – ChatGPT presents a single “best” answer or response to a search. In this, ChatGPT emphasizes efficiency over discovery; it reduces the searcher’s active participation in formulating the answer they need or reviewing the necessary information. Google search returns references, answers, and source material, which can introduce the searcher to a diversity of information and opinions and encourage exploration and discovery.

Traceability and verifiability – In both cases, the response to the search can only be as good as the information available from the source material, the World Wide Web, and it is important to know the source. The searchers’ interpretation of information – its veracity and utility to us – is in part determined by their assessment of who prepared that material. ChatGPT responses do not indicate the sources. Google search neither hides the source nor vouches for the veracity of the information it returns.

Source data effects – In the case of ChatGPT, the portions of the Web content that the chatbot is trained on to find answers constitute its learning environment. Whether obvious or not to the user, the limitations or biases of the training data are embedded in the ChatGPT system’s responses. In the case of Google search, the ordering of content in the search results is not random. It is set based on Google’s ranking of the authority or intensity of interest in a piece of content as a proxy for the quality/utility of the information.

Initial Conclusions about Preferencing Google Search versus ChatGPT

ChatGPT will usher in a new way of searching online because ChatGPT changes our expectations about finding answers on the web, and provides a new and highly efficient experience. ChatGPT is not about generating lists of plausibly useful information but directly answering a question from a compilation of material. It will be up to users to determine which tool – search engine or chatbot – best meets their needs for any given type of question.

Will traditional search engines fall into disuse? We expect that there is room for both the traditional “search and sift” and the emergent “ask and answer” approaches to finding information on the web. We anticipate that the most effective web search experiences of the future will support both approaches and give the searcher a choice or type of hybrid version.

In the rapidly evolving world of powerful AI coupled with staggering amounts of digital, searchable data, the future will be full of automated solutions for answering questions and tackling complex problems. But, human ingenuity, creativity, and values will play a significant role, too, in identifying which problems need solving, setting priorities, and evaluating outcomes.

The ultimate value of all these tools is the quality and utility of the answer. But the evolution of the tools is driven by other factors as well, such as how users respond to the quality of the experience they deliver, and the business interests of the firms controlling and commodifying the AI driven search tools.

At Sanborn, as a geospatial solutions firm, we pay close attention to how emergent technologies create new opportunities. We are already working on ways to process and analyze spatial data using AI and ML (machine learning). ChatGPT and natural language methods represent another advance in the interface between humans and data that we look forward to putting to work to advance location intelligence.

Colorado Springs, CO (February 14, 2023) – Recognizing the importance to public safety and to many other government operations of high-quality aerial imagery, the Missouri 911 Service Board has partnered with the Department of Conservation, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Missouri GIS Advisory Council to launch a statewide imagery collection program. The imagery will be available at no charge through the Missouri Spatial Data Information Service (MSDIS).

The Sanborn Map Company (Sanborn or Sanborn Geospatial) will collect state-wide leaf-off 6-inch resolution 4-band orthoimagery that meets the State’s Photogrammetric Services standard. The northern portion of the state will be collected in 2023, and the southern portion in 2024.

Sanborn’s extensive imagery collection and processing capabilities enable the State to offer a “buy-up” program for PSAPs and local governments to purchase higher resolution 3-inch imagery, true orthophotography, and airborne lidar. Derivative products – elevation contour lines, and planimetric maps of buildings, streets, and other features – can be obtained through the buy-up program.

“This imagery program reflects the collaborative efforts of several State departments and the Missouri 911 Service Board, and will serve a diversity of needs across the state,” said Brian Maydwell, ENP, Missouri 911 Coordinator, Executive Director, Missouri 911 Service Board, who leads the program. “We are excited to work with Sanborn on this imagery program, as the beginning of the Board’s larger Statewide NG911 GIS efforts.”

“Working with the Missouri 911 Service Board and its partners has been a pleasure,” said Brad Arshat, Sanborn Director of Strategic Accounts Northeast Region. “Our goal throughout this process has been to provide Missouri with the highest quality imagery products, while providing flexibility and cost-efficiency.”

The statewide imagery project was underwritten by Missouri American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) 2021 courtesy of Governor Mike Parson and the Missouri General Assembly.

About The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) has delivered state-of-the-art mapping since 1866. Today, Sanborn operates a fleet of aircraft located strategically across the United States, and specializes in oblique aerial imagery, aerial and mobile LiDAR, aerial orthophotography, 3D modeling and visualization software, indoor mapping, unmanned aircraft system (UAS) services, and image processing. With the acquisition of geospatial IT consulting firm, Applied Geographics (www.AppGeo.com), in 2022, Sanborn is now one of the nation’s premier providers of complete geospatial data, analysis, and solutions.

COLORADO SPRINGS, CO (Sept. 14, 2022) – The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) a geospatial solution provider of analytics, imagery, lidar, photogrammetry, software applications, and related services to government and commercial clients, announced today that it has acquired Applied Geographics, Inc. (AppGeo). AppGeo has helped hundreds of governments and businesses develop the best GIS, location intelligence, and geospatial solutions for their needs. Sanborn was represented by The Environmental Financial Consulting Group, LLC (EFCG) and AppGeo was represented by Mirus Capital Advisors, Inc. Terms of the acquisition were not disclosed.

“The combination of Sanborn and AppGeo provides our expanding customer base with even more solutions and capabilities to support their mission. The strategic value to customers is having all of their needs for geospatial data, solutions, and strategy met by a single dependable partner,” commented John Copple, Chief Executive Officer of Sanborn. “Our vision is to provide continuous value improvement and additional services to support the geospatial market requirements. The scope of AppGeo’s capabilities and talent will take Sanborn to the next level.”

“Rich Grady is putting me at the helm after his 28-year career leading AppGeo, and I will continue our commitment to creating shared value in the geospatial industry,” said Kate Hickey, AppGeo’s COO. “Combining our knowledge and expertise with that of Sanborn creates a new kind of firm in the GIS marketplace: one that offers unmatched depth and breadth of industry knowledge.”

AppGeo will continue to operate under the AppGeo brand name as a wholly owned subsidiary of Sanborn, aligning its full range of products and services with the extensive capabilities of Sanborn.

Background on The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. and Applied Geographics, Inc.
Sanborn and AppGeo provide innovative, best-value, spatial solutions that help guide and support the decisions confronting governments, businesses, and organizations in the United States and around the world. Sanborn is a preeminent innovator in the modern geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art geospatial solutions to customers worldwide. The firm, which celebrated its 156th anniversary in 2022, embraces cutting-edge technology. AppGeo has a 31-year history dedicated to helping the public and private sectors realize the benefits of geospatial technologies, whether through data services, data products, application development, or organizational strategy. Together the firms provide an unprecedented selection of data and technical resources from one company, including strategic partnerships with the leading cloud services, geospatial platforms, and data providers such as Esri, Google, AWS, HERE, Hexagon, and Vexcel.

Colorado Springs, Colo. (August 29, 2022)—The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) announces today it has successfully completed the collection of geospatial data for 4,250 line miles of highway throughout the western United States, allowing the firm to appreciably expand the reach of its Sanborn M-Map® product line.

“Sanborn continues its commitment to our customers by investing in the development of our products,” said John R. Copple, President and CEO. “Our products enable our customers to better accomplish their goals.”

Sanborn M-Map®, an HD Map product line developed for the autonomous vehicle market, provides precision datasets with absolute accuracy – thus enhancing safety and operational capability for our clients. Our Sanborn M-Map® highway product specifications meet the requirements presented to us by multiple vehicle manufacturers.

Based on research and development that started in 2015, Sanborn launched its proprietary HD Map product line called Sanborn M-Map® for the US market in 2018 and has continued delivering this first-of-its-kind solution to a range of clients. Sanborn recently automated Sanborn M-Map® production with the addition of a machine learning team, led by Dr. Becky Soltanian, Ph.D., Sanborn’s Vice President, Research and Development.

ABOUT THE SANBORN MAP COMPANY, INC.

Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) is an innovator in the geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping, visualization, and 3D solutions for customers worldwide. Embracing cutting-edge technology, Sanborn specializes in oblique aerial image mapping, aerial and mobile lidar mapping, aerial orthophotography, 3D modeling and visualization software and services, HD Maps, and a host of geospatial software products.

Please contact:

Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com

Sanborn signs contract and collects over 20,000 square miles of USGS QL1 lidar data within a four-week period

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Sanborn Map Company, Inc. (Sanborn) announces it has completed collection of more than 20,000 square miles of Quality Level 1 lidar for the Red River Watershed Management Board (RRWMB). Sanborn completed the lidar acquisition over a 29-day period in the fall of 2021. The data will be processed using technology that includes AI algorithms to extract ground, vegetation, hydrography, and structure information.

As part of this contract, Sanborn will provide RRWMB with a Sanborn SaaS product, Sanborn Geo-Data Explorer™ which provides users with a cloud-based viewer and analytical tools that allow for discovering, accessing, and analyzing the datasets. This tool enables the RRWMB to support their end users and stakeholders with self-fulfillment for data access. “Sanborn’s investment in new technology has enabled the company to provide additional value to customers while maintaining competitive cost and aggressive delivery schedule,” stated Mr. Jason Caldwell, Sanborn’s Vice President, Business Development.

The RRWMB is collecting new data of the ground elevation in the region to better predict and mitigate flooding. The lidar data is useful when looking at flood mitigation and habitat restoration projects. “The existing data is about 12 or 13 years old and with changes on the landscape, and then also changes in the technology, the Board just thought it was the right time to update this data,” added RRWMB Executive Director Mr. Robert Sip.

ABOUT THE RED RIVER WATER MANAGEMENT DISTRICT

The RRWMB’s jurisdiction and authority encompasses the area managed by the individual watershed districts that have membership on the Board. Seven watershed districts within the Red River Valley form the RRWMB including the Joe River, Two Rivers, Roseau River, Middle-Snake-Tamarac Rivers, Red Lake, Wild Rice, and Bois de Sioux.

ABOUT THE SANBORN MAP COMPANY, INC.

Sanborn (www.sanborn.com) is a preeminent innovator in the geospatial industry, delivering state-of-the-art mapping, visualization, and 3D solutions to customers worldwide. Sanborn specializes in geospatial software and services such as, oblique imagery, lidar, orthophotography, indoor mapping, and more.

Contacts

Jason Caldwell
(719) 593-0093
jcaldwell@sanborn.com