Thought Leaders from Esri and TopoDOT at Geo Week 2023

By Luke Lightning

August 4, 2023

In this week's episode of our special Geo Week 2023 series, we have the pleasure of hosting Konrad Wenzel, Director of R&D in Stuttgart at Esri, and Ted Knaak, Founder and President at TopoDOT. Join Mark, Konrad, and Ted as they engage in insightful discussions on a range of topics, including Konrad's involvement in ArcGIS, how Esri is involved in the evolution of digital spaces in construction, Ted's background, and his takeaways from panel conversations.

Click to listen to our interview on Apple, Spotify, or Google, or watch on our Facebook or YouTube channels.

About Konrad Wenzel
Konrad Wenzel is the Director of the Esri R&D Center in Stuttgart, Germany, focusing on reality capture and Photogrammetry technology, such as the SURE engine. The technology turns imagery and lidar into 3D and 2D products and is well known for its market-leading precision. It is used worldwide for drone and aerial imagery for sites, cities, and entire countries. Konrad studied Geodesy and Geoinformatics and received a Ph.D. in Photogrammetry from the University of Stuttgart in 2016. In 2013 he co-founded nFrames, which joined Esri through an acquisition in 2020. Konrad is passionate about applying Reality Capture and GIS for Digital Twins to support informed decision-making on complex problems.

About Ted Knaak
Ted Knaak is currently president and owner of TopoDOT LLC, a Florida software company founded in 2011. TopoDOT software is employed worldwide as a comprehensive solution to geospatial point cloud data processing. Ted has over 25 years of experience in the industry, having founded Riegl USA in 1993 to market and apply Riegl lidar technology across North America. Earlier in his career, Ted was a control systems analyst for GE Space Systems. Ted holds Master of Science Degrees in electrical and mechanical engineering from Brown and Drexel universities.

Throughout the interviews, Konrad and Ted discussed numerous topics with our host Mark Oden, including:

- Konrad's role in working on ArcGIS reality
- Konrad's key takeaways were from the Empowering Digital Twins panel that he presented on
- Ted's background and what brought him to founding TopoDOT
- Ted's key takeaways from his panel and the other speakers who presented

Esri is the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping. Since 1969, they have supported customers with geographic science and geospatial analytics, what they call The Science of Where. They take a geographic approach to problem-solving, brought to life by modern GIS technology. They are committed to using science and technology to build a sustainable world. At Esri, they envision empowering all organizations to embrace this approach. By collectively creating and sharing multidisciplinary knowledge, they can make smarter decisions about managing our world—building a collaborative digital geospatial system for our entire planet. Together, they have the power to transform society and design a better, more sustainable future.

At TopoDOT, they pride themselves on their connections with those they work with in both their own company and in the LiDAR industry. They are a tight-knit company that works hard on building relationships and supporting their community. They are passionate about LiDAR technology and want to share that passion and excitement through their software solutions. They are always passionate about bringing the best in CAD software solutions to help companies build a better workflow and ease the stress of high-maintenance, high-budget projects. At TopoDOT, they strive to help companies become leaders at the forefront of the CAD and LiDAR industries. The potential for change and better technology in this industry is unrivaled, and they hope to have you join them in catching that wave.

Click to listen to our interview on Apple, Spotify, or Google, or watch on our Facebook or YouTube channels.

SHOW NOTES

0:12  - Mark Oden introduces Konrad Wenzel, Director of R&D in Stuttgart at Esri.

4:28  - Mark: "If we look at Esri's acquisition of nFrames, what was your role in working on ArcGIS reality?"

9:24  - Mark: "I would love to understand what your key takeaways were from the Empowering Digital Twins panel that we were presenting on."

12:57  - Mark Oden introduces Ted Knaak, Founder and President at TopoDOT.

13:11  - Mark: "I would love to hear about your background Ted, and what brought you into founding TopoDOT?"

23:48  - Mark: "I would love to understand what some your key takeaways were from our panel and the other speakers who presented." 

About BIM Designs, Inc.

BIM Designs, Inc. is an agile BIM design, modeling, consulting, and coordination service provider for architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) contractors and developers that desire experienced journeymen detailers and engineers for Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing and Fire Protection (MEPF) modeling, Laser Scanning, and Virtual Design Construction (VDC) projects.

If you need 3D BIM modeling, design, and MEP detailing services, BIM Designs, Inc. (BDI) has the expert tradesmen who know how to precisely design and model your systems. Contact us today for a free estimate or to discuss your project needs.