AGENDA HIGHLIGHTS
Ethical Use of AI in the
Geospatial World
Behind the Map: Design for Geospatial Understanding and Impact
Mapping the Future: Building a Professional Public Safety GIS Pathway Together
A Matter of Semantics
Accelerating Disaster Mapping: The Next-Generation Toolkit for #PhotoMappers
Beyond the Rubble: A Spatial Perspective on Human Remains Recovery
You've got a drone, now what?
GIS Solutions Pageant
The Missing LINK
SPROUTing Insight: Soft Robotics for Collapsed Structure Mapping
Modern Tools for Today's Public Safety GIS Analysts
Coordinates of Chaos: Using GIS Across the Emergency Management Lifecycle
This plenary brings together GIS and IT leaders to examine responsible AI adoption in geospatial contexts. Experts will share insights on algorithmic accountability, bias mitigation in spatial data, and integrating ethical review into enterprise workflows.
Unlock the potential of your maps through the principles of accessibility and design. This session bridges the gap between raw data and clear communication, exploring essential design concepts and effective wayfinding techniques. Learn how to 'superpower' your geospatial products to ensure they aren't just seen, but instantly understood by your intended audience.
Help inform the future of GIS professionals in public safety. This session will share findings and solicit input to identify what is needed to support the training and professionalization of the critical role GIS serves in public safety.
Semantic search doesn’t just look for the words you type; it understands the ideas behind them. Using knowledge graphs, this session shows how AI interprets natural-language questions, how semantic search uncovers meaning that keyword searches miss, and how you can apply the same techniques to make your own data smarter and more intuitive to explore.
This session will showcase the current technology ecosystem behind #PhotoMappers and explore emerging innovations that can elevate rapid volunteer mapping during disasters. Participants will engage in shaping the future technical roadmap for faster, smarter, and more scalable crowdsourced disaster data.
The discovery, documentation, and tracking of deceased missing persons and human remains (HR) during disasters that employ an Urban Search & Rescue (US&R) component surfaces many challenges to public safety stakeholders across all levels of government. Learn the operational and geospatial best practices driving compassionate outcomes for multi-discipline, multi-agency responses to mass fatality disasters.
This hands-on session will simulate the hours after a disaster when drone imagery is requested and delivered. Attendees will walk through the process of developing a flight plan and consuming drone imagery into their local GIS systems.
Contestants will show off what they have created to solve a real-world public safety problem during the "GIS Solutions Pageant," which will provide 5-minute highlights of local GIS solutions, including dashboards, maps, apps, and other geospatial tools. Prizes will be given out to the most innovative!
Discover how the Local Infrastructure Network Knowledge (LINK) tool uses graph databases, data science techniques, and advanced AI to model infrastructure systems. Learn how this tool empowers local agencies with the control needed to visualize complex infrastructure interdependencies and improve community resilience.
Explore the SPROUT (Soft Pathfinding Robotic Observation Unit) platform and its unique ability to "grow" through complex debris to locate trapped victims. This session covers the transition from robotic navigation to actionable data, showing how responders can use SPROUT’s mapping output to visualize void spaces and plan safer, more precise rescue entries.
Public safety GIS analysts are expected to deliver accurate, timely insights while supporting a wide range of operational and strategic needs. This session explores how the modern GIS analyst toolkit is evolving to meet those demands, blending established GIS practices with newer tools that improve efficiency, communication, and consistency.