I know many of you are involved/interested in using Tablet PCs and GPS sensors for mapping. If so, you might be interested in hearing about the project that is being launched at the Nova Scotia Community College…

The Applied Geomatics Research Group at Nova Scotia Community College in Canada is one of 81 new 2007 HP Technology for Teaching projects being launched around the world. Dr. Robert Maher, Senior Research Scientist in the Geomatics Research Group, along with Roger Mosher, Software Engineer, are launching a new Mobile Geomatics Lab that will allow the campus (faculty and students), communities, and school groups to use HP tablets, GIS mapping software, and GPS units to do data acquisition, validation, analysis and visualization of geographic data from their community.

Their project description explains that, “This initiative is complementary to an ongoing Rural Secretariat, rural knowledge cluster project where we are developing a wider awareness of the application of Geomatics for community mapping. Community mapping is the empowering of local groups to capture the geographic features in their landscape e.g. historic sites, scenic viewpoints, walking trails, invasive plant locations. Community groups will include 4H, First Nations and Black Nova Scotians; all minorities within the rural setting. The availability of a mobile lab, in association with existing GPS units and GIS software gives us the capacity for educational outreach into the community. On campus, it will result in program redesign for Geomatics Programming and also courses within the GIS, Remote Sensing and GIS for Business programs…”

For more information, or to follow the progress of this project, feel free to visit their new blog at http://community.livejournal.com/geomatics_lab/.

If you are involved in GIS/GPS related work, please post a comment and describe your work so we can all meet each other!