An in-person conference on Right-of-Way Asset Mapping, scheduled to be held in Colorado, had been in the works for many months, but in light of the current crisis, it was reformatted as a free virtual event. The Right-of-Way Asset Mapping VCX sessions are geared towards: city/urban planners, geospatial information officers, and asset managers in utilities, publics works, parks and recreation, transportation at the state and city level.

While this might look like a C-suite executive level event, practitioners could well benefit from understanding markets for their services—asset inventory and management is a large and growing market. After all, there are no smart cities or reality capture without the folks who capture the data—and capture it precisely and accurately. The virtual format of the event (and complimentary attendance rate) make it accessible to the entire team

Brant Howard, founder of CompassData, is a keynote presenter at the May event. CompassData and its CompassDrone division are leaders in survey, mobile mapping, drone imagery and LiDAR services to provide accurate mapping data for asset management programs.

“One of the reasons I’m excited about this conference is that it gives us an opportunity to present to the clients for asset management when to use appropriate tools,” said Howard. “Like when to use a UAS, or a Waldo Pod on a small aircraft, mobile mapping, backpack system, terrestrial survey, or a mix of more than one.”

Would a virtual event make it harder to get that message across than an in-person event? Howard did not think so: “For me it mostly become a matter of time commitment. It is tough to commit to a whole conference and sit through a four-hour session. I’m sure it is that way for others.” The idea of being able to pick and choose sessions from a virtual event, participating in key sessions live, and watching others later as needed can fit well in busy schedule. “Our OneCompass companies have been expanding our virtual capabilities for project and client collaboration and data acquisition solutions as travel for business meetings is a challenge these days,” said Howard. 

Presenters at the May event include such industry leaders as:

• Brant Howard, founder of CompassData
• Ron Chapple, CEO & Founder of GEO1
• Page Tucker, CEO of ProStar Geocorp
• Peter Attala, CEO and founder of Voxelmaps
• Muthu Sampath, GIS Technical Sales Manager with Mapillary
• John Copple, CEO of Sanborn Map Company

But also, service providers, practitioners, and clients:

• Wade Troxell, Mayor of Fort Collins, Colorado
• Rob Martindale, Utilities Program Manager with Colorado DOT
• Dan Colbert, senior technical sales manager with Trimble
• Joshua Ooms, project engineer with Ditesco
• David Siddle, geospatial sales with Frontier Precision