Carla Lauter

Portland

Content Manager at Geo Week News

Writer, data nerd and craft beer gadfly and mom to a tiny human.

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geoweeknews.com

Articles

Reality Capture’s Journey into the Civil Engineering Mainstream

1 week ago | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

Sponsored by AutodeskProjects undertaken by Civil Engineers - from bridges and tunnels to municipal infrastructure like wastewater treatment plants - are often massive and complex. Adding to this challenge, often the infrastructure they need to repair, rebuild or inspect predates any kind of digital documentation, making it challenging to get a whole view of the project.
Real-World Lessons Wanted: Speak at Geo Week 2026

2 weeks ago | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

Are you advancing the future of lidar, reality capture, or geospatial mapping? Do you have lessons to share from a complex project, insights on new tools, or a perspective that can help others in the industry navigate what’s next? Now’s your chance to share it—the Call for Speakers for Geo Week 2026 is officially open. Geo Week brings together professionals across the built environment, infrastructure, and geospatial ecosystems.
Big Tech Enters the Map: What Google and NVIDIA Mean for Geospatial AI

1 month ago | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

For years, “geospatial AI” was largely the domain of geospatial companies. Software and hardware providers, as well as imagery and data brokers built proprietary models to provide added value and insights from lidar scans, satellite imagery, and photogrammetry data (and lately, even other sensor data and data from UAVs).
Horizons Leaves the Geospatial Community Thinking Hard About Its Future

1 month ago | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

The World Geospatial Industry Council (WGIC) brings together companies from across the geospatial sector to promote innovation, share industry perspectives, and encourage the use of geospatial technologies to tackle global challenges like sustainability, climate resilience, and economic development.
Supporting the Next Generation of Geospatial Innovators

2 months ago | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

As the geospatial industry continues to grow, the need to develop and support the next generation of professionals has never been greater. Conversations - and concerns - about the “future geospatial workforce” often focus on hypotheticals: Who will drive the industry forward and what skills will they need? But the future workforce is not just an abstract idea; it is already taking shape in the field and at universities today.
Unlocking the Power of Reality Capture for AECO Projects

Mar 17, 2025 | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

The adoption of digital tools within the AECO industry is increasing in momentum, with digital transformation reshaping how projects are planned, executed, and managed. A core technology in this evolution is reality capture, enabling powerful workflows to create precise digital representations of physical spaces, as-built structures, construction sites, and more.
A Viral Video Just Gave 10 Million People a Crash Course in Lidar

Mar 17, 2025 | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

I’m always on the lookout for references to lidar in the world outside of Geo Week, especially in the popular press outside of industry publications. This weekend, however, I was extra surprised to see a lidar-related video get recommended to me across all of my social media feeds, even appearing on popular news sites. The clip showed a self-driving vehicle dramatically crashing through a fake painted wall, straight out of a Wile E. Coyote vs. Roadrunner gag. The source?
Talent, Tech, and Transformation in Geospatial

Mar 5, 2025 | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

The geospatial industry is undergoing a transformative period, characterized by rapid technological advancement, expanding applications, and critical workforce challenges. What are some of the issues on the horizon? And what can the geospatial industry to do prepare for those opportunities and challenges?
Beyond Incremental Change: How Startups Are Redefining Geospatial Workflows

Feb 25, 2025 | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

To be a successful startup, it helps to have a new idea, rather than a slight improvement. The same is true for the geospatial industry, where startups and new companies are not just aiming to refine existing processes, but hoping to fundamentally change how problems are solved. Rather than working within established constraints, these companies are finding new ways to approach efficiency, automation, and scalability.
A Love Letter to Lidar

Feb 13, 2025 | geoweeknews.com | Carla Lauter

Take a lap around the Geo Week exhibit hall floor, and one thing is obvious: lidar is everywhere. From powerful airborne sensors to compact mobile mappers, from high-powered bathymetric systems to lidar-equipped drones, the technology is no longer a niche tool—it’s a driving force shaping industries, infrastructure, and even our understanding of history. And what better way to celebrate its impact than World Lidar Day?