Event focuses on the growing intersection between the built environment and geospatial technologies

Portland, ME, USA - January 21, 2021 - AEC Next Technology Expo & Conference, International Lidar Mapping Forum, and SPAR 3D Expo & Conference are coming together to form Geo Week 2022 and will take place February 6-8, 2022 in Denver, Colorado. The joining of these events reflects the increased integration between the built environment, advanced airborne/terrestrial technologies, and commercial 3D technologies. Geo Week is at the forefront of this integration, providing education, technology, and resources for professionals in industries including AEC, Asset & Facility Management, Disaster & Emergency Response, Earth Observation & Satellite Applications, Energy & Utilities, Infrastructure & Transportation, Land & Natural Resource Management, Mining & Aggregates, Surveying & Mapping, and Urban Planning/Smart Cities.

"We've witnessed the growing convergence between geospatial and the built world, and we received positive feedback from customers about holding the events together, which had been the plan for 2020 and 2021 before the pandemic forced us to cancel due to the unavoidable consequence of the worsening magnitude of the public health and safety issues caused by the COVID-19," said Lee Corkhill, Marketing Director at Diversified Communications. "We believe the market is ready and eager for this next step of leveraging the confluence of what are becoming ubiquitous technologies for improved collaboration, increased efficiency, and better outcomes. Much of the conference content and technology being showcased will reflect and support this increasing integration." An Advisory Board of industry leaders will guide conference programming and event development.

In addition to Diversified Communications' technology events coming together, powerful partnership events will also take place at Geo Week, including the ASPRS (American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) Annual Conference and USIBD's (U.S. Institute of Building Documentation) Annual Symposium. ASPRS, USIBD and other events have supported and taken place with ILMF, AEC Next and SPAR 3D when the latter events took place separately. Bringing all these brands together as a new powerhouse event under the Geo Week umbrella is a fitting evolution that recognizes the increasing convergence of the technologies.

Karen Schuckman, PLS, CP, CMS and Managing Director of ASPRS, said, "Bringing ASPRS and ILMF together beginning in 2018 reunited the photogrammetry, remote sensing, and lidar professionals and vendors who enthusiastically welcomed the opportunity to attend one consolidated event; an event where they could roam one large exhibit hall and attend educational workshops to broaden their expertise into related disciplines. Bringing the built world into this mix through AEC Next and SPAR 3D acknowledges not only the richness and complexity of the technologies we have available for spatial analysis and decision making, it also give us all the opportunity to explore and invent new analysis methods that leverage the fusion of imagery, elevation, and bathymetry with 3D models of the built world. The merging of these disciplines IS the future. Co-locating our annual conferences and expositions facilitates us traveling into the future on a multi-lane superhighway."

"The coming together of professionals from the geospatial and built environment communities is long overdue," said John Russo, AIA, President of USIBD. "Finally, one event, one place where we can all gather to network and gain insight into the convergence of our worlds. The USIBD is excited to participate in GeoWeek and share its expertise in reality capture, BIM, digital twin and more!"

Geo Week counts a broad range of industry organizations, publications, and portals as supporters during this unprecedented period of transformation and disruption driving the rapid expansion of the internet of things, the development of smart cities, and a data revolution altering how people live and work. At the center of this revolution are geospatial, 3D, and location-based technologies. Geo Week is the only platform-neutral event in North America that brings together industry leaders to harness these technologies and explore the myriad applications they empower.

According to Corkhill, there will also be content that addresses the built environment, advanced airborne/terrestrial technologies, and commercial 3D technologies independently of one another.
"The event represents a continuum, with individuals and organizations from all corners of industry at differing levels of adoption. Geo Week will support a future vision, in which professionals and organizations that understand the full spectrum of data needs, work processes, software integration, and standards in both geospatial and BIM will be tomorrow's technology leaders."

The event will feature multiple tracks with content clearly identified as relevant to one or more of the audience groups feeding into Geo Week. The International Lidar Mapping Forum (ILMF) audience has historically been comprised of precision measurement professionals in surveying and mapping who use airborne and terrestrial lidar and related remote sensing technologies. The AEC Next audience has historically been comprised of professionals in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) that use technologies such as reality capture, automation, AI and XR to bid and manage projects and improve workflows. The SPAR 3D audience has historically been comprised of professionals who use 3D capture, scanning, visualization and modeling technologies across a variety of verticals. "We will use these familiar brands to designate content and make it easy and accessible for all stakeholders to find the solutions, connections, and education they need, no matter which vertical or industry segment they originated from." says Corkhill. To this end, the organizers will also continue to publish Geo Week ENewsletter, SPAR 3D ENewsletter, and AEC ENewsletter. Interested parties may subscribe to one or more of these newsletters here.

Virtual Offerings in 2021

Setting the stage for the grand opening of Geo Week 2022 will be a series of virtual offerings this year, including webinars, panel discussions, technology showcases, and case studies. These offerings will serve to bring geospatial and built world stakeholders together via education and connections, detailing how these segments can and will work together in the future. From collaboration across the project team to alignment of industry measurements and standards, interested parties will gain valuable information and a roadmap to the future via this information hub.

About Geo Week

Geo Week is part of a network of events and media for the global geospatial and built markets organized by Diversified Communications, a leading organizer of conferences, trade shows, and online media with 15 years in the technology arena. Geo Week, taking place February 6-8, 2022, is the new brand name of previously stand-alone events AEC Next Technology Expo & Conference, International Lidar Mapping Forum, and SPAR 3D Expo & Conference, and reflects the increased integration between the built environment, advanced airborne/terrestrial technologies, and commercial 3D technologies. Powerful partnership events will also take place at Geo Week, including ASPRS (American Society for Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing) and USIBD (US Institute of Building Documentation). Diversified Communications also produces Geo Week ENewsletter, SPAR 3D ENewsletter, AEC ENewsletter, GeoBusiness Show (UK), Commercial UAV Expo Americas, Commercial UAV Europe and Commercial UAV News. For more information, visit www.geo-week.com.


About Diversified Communications

Diversified Communications is a leading international media company with a portfolio of face-to-face exhibitions and conferences, online communities, and digital and print publications. As producers of these market-leading products, Diversified Communications connects, educates, and strengthens business communities in over 14 industries including technology, food and beverage, healthcare, natural and organic, and business management. Established in 1949 and headquartered in Portland, Maine, USA with divisions and offices around the world, Diversified Communications remains a privately held, third generation, family-owned business. For more information, visit www.divcom.com.