Students launch balloon to capture data

In honor of GIS Day, a celebration dedicated to geographic information sciences, students enrolled in SSCI 301: “Maps and Spatial Reasoning,” launched a 5-foot weather balloon in Alumni Park with an infrared camera to demonstrate aerial mapping technology.

This semester, the course is taught by Darren Ruddell, an assistant professor and the director of undergraduate studies for the Spatial Sciences Institute.

Once the helium-filled weather balloon was launched into the air, the mounted GoPro camera captured photos every couple of seconds. After enough photos were captured, the individual images were stitched together using MapKnitter, an open-source mapping tool, to form one large geospatial image.

“One of the key features of this technology is the application of layering features,” Ruddell said.

Students then analyzed the map that they have created in terms of geospatial decisions and land use.

“I wanted to create a good balance of assignments and hands-on activities,” Ruddell said. “This project is all about integrating hardware and software platforms and doing field work.”

Yvette Ximenez, a sophomore majoring in policy, planning and development, is in the course and helped launch the weather balloon.

“We have been learning how to make maps. We take geospatial data, make maps of it and interpret it,” Ximenez said. “This technology of aerial photography can be used for anything, such as finding a specific store in South Los Angeles.”

Some students were surprised by how popular the activity is.

“The most interesting part of the project is seeing how many people are interested in doing [do-it-yourself] mapping and seeing that there is a community for DIY mapping,” said Matthew Del Muro, a junior majoring in environmental studies and earth sciences.

Brigid Kelly, a sophomore majoring in policy, planning and development, was also enthusiastic about the launch.

“I am fascinated with why the built environment impacts social and spatial experiences,” Kelly said. “This is a great opportunity for me to learn about it in an academic setting.”

Kelly and other students in the course are learning computer programming that involves the ArcGIS software, a platform that allows users to design solutions by utilizing geographic knowledge.

“This course has been teaching me design planning, which requires geospatial information such as statics and thinking geospatially,” said Haijing Lin, a senior majoring in policy, planning and development. “What’s exciting is that everything makes sense and it ties everything you think about in regards to urban and rural natural environment.”

As a participant of GIS Day, Ruddell hoped to raise awareness about geospatial literacy and the programs that are offered at USC in regards to geodesign.

“This course is all about map design, cartography, map interpretation, GIS software and spatial literacy, which is all the skills required by students who want to pursue careers in water resource management or forest management,” Ruddell said.

 

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