Columns

SDIs and Regional Competitiveness

Jeff Thurston — Fri, 12 Feb 2010 19:23:49 +0000

SDIs are being developed to help address environmental concerns, disaster preparedness and emergency responsiveness there are other possibilities for benefiting from SDIs, namely regional competitiveness. This could mean public sector organisations who are currently experiencing budget cuts across the board could use activities relating to geospatial data to minimise budget cuts or maintain existing budget levels. This is because their activities provide a positive contribution to the regional economy, especially where the overriding objective is to build a knowledge economy.

Digital Cities, SDI and the GeoWeb

Matt Ball — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:14:21 +0000

When a domain is relatively new, the terminology is often imprecise, and many different words many be coined and used by different organizations and individuals with none of them realizing that they are talking about essentially the same thing. This is substantially true for the use of Digital City and SDI as applied to urban environments.

Planning for Sustainability

Matt Ball — Sat, 12 Sep 2009 23:00:00 +0000

Good planning is critical to achieving sustainability. The success of international, national, regional, and organizational plans for climate resiliency, energy management, supply chain optimization, facility management, and transportation efficiency depend on a defined purpose, need, and process to achieve sustainable performance.

Can the GIS-Community Build a Pyramid on the Moon?

Jeff Thurston — Sun, 06 Sep 2009 05:00:00 +0000

If all the world's best GIS-minds were brought together and put in a room (with plenty of CocaCola and pizza supply), what could happen? Could they construct 'a pyramid with a pumping heart on the moon'? Could they construct something that would stand for another 5000 years (as the pyramids)? Could they construct something that definitely would change the direction of man's life (in a positive sense like e.g. the alphabet)? Could they construct something mind-blowing like bringing man onto the moon?

Managing Energy Demand for a More Sustainable Future

Matt Ball — Mon, 18 May 2009 20:25:27 +0000

“Business-as-usual” will no longer work if America is to continue its leadership on the world stage. The sweeping effects of the recession we’ve experienced have made this very clear. We need green innovation, state-of-the-art clean energy technologies, and a commitment to change. By pushing these priorities to the forefront we will create a stronger economy, achieve greater energy independence, ensure a healthier environment, and attain a more sustainable future.

Micro-Location Overview: Beyond the Metre...to the Centimetre

Jeff Thurston — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:11:56 +0000

Advances in tracking and location technologies are enabling new application development. These applications can be found in environmental, utility, transport and other industrial applications. Many new approaches are being developed for more personal and local use and these applications include in-store location, hospitals, airports and inside buildings. In this column Steven Feldman takes a look at some of these applications and provides his unique views on some of the recent developments.

GIS, Sustainability and the Winds of Change

Matt Ball — Sun, 01 Mar 2009 11:00:00 +0000

America’s first-ever climate change president, Barack Obama is making substantial changes in the way we approach energy, the environment, and our economy. These changes will impact how we manage where our energy comes from (the supply side) and how we use it (the demand side). This will not only affect the future of our economy and our national security, it will also have tremendous influence on the sustainability of our country and planet.

GeoWeb - Shaping Geographic Awareness

Matt Ball — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 21:31:07 +0000

As many of you are well aware, Google finally launched the much anticipated Google Ocean, extending the coverage of their virtual globe to the 70 percent of the earth that is covered by water. Since the ocean has an enormous impact on our climate, our ability to feed ourselves, and ultimately on our survival as a species, it is critical that we understand, both individually and collectively, the impact that we are having upon it. The arrival of Google Ocean is an important tool in shaping that awareness.

GIS is a Means of Communication

Jeff Thurston — Sun, 18 Jan 2009 10:50:39 +0000

A GIS-user looks for information that makes it possible for him to solve an actual task. If the GIS-user feels that the information allows correct, safe and fast task-solving, then the producer has gained the user’s favour. Then the good question will be, what the GIS-producer needs to be capable of for the purpose of ‘being good in GIS’, so that the GIS actually delivers that information that allows the user to solve his task?

The Use of 3D Visualization in Planning and DesignIs 3D a luxury or a necessity?

Matt Ball — Sun, 04 Jan 2009 23:59:13 +0000

3D has gradually been making inroads into the planning and design mainstream. It's not unusual in a public presentation or submittal to see a 3D image rather than an artist’s rendering, and occasionally one actually sees 3D movie “fly arounds”. However, in today’s reality of reduced funding for both staff and software, one has to question whether 3D is a luxury or actually makes a meaningful contribution to the process of land planning and design.

INSPIRE - Where Is The End-User?

Jeff Thurston — Thu, 24 Jul 2008 08:39:26 +0000

As the INSPIRE (INfrastructure for SPatial InfoRmation in Europe) Directive proceeds, Lars Brodersen wonders where the end-user fits into the process. "And THEN! Then …, yes, what then? What is INSPIRE actually? Who is gaining what by INSPIRE's implementation?"

Breaking the Accuracy Mold

Matt Ball — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Imagine a scenario in which street centerlines are stored in a GIS database with an accuracy of ±5 feet. In the same database, parcel data are stored with an accuracy of ±0.10 feet. And what if environmental data are stored at ±50 feet? Is that doable? As a matter of fact, presently this scenario is more the rule than the exception.

GIS and Technology Adoption Cycles

Matt Ball — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Much has been written about the product adoption cycles of new technologies, such as the automobile, and more recently the cell phone, the Internet, and broadband. The book “The Next Great Bubble Boom” by Harry S. Dent, Jr. uses standard “S-Curve” diagrams to map the status of a certain technologies. This article extrapolates Mr. Dent's schema to map the status of GIS technologies while attempting to assess investment risks and benefits.

How Does Digital Technology Affect Communication of Geoinformation?

Vector1Media — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 11:54:37 +0000

Some manufacturers tell us that format does not matter as much as symbology in relation to create efficient systems based on geoinformation. If it is so, is digital data symbology then any different from non-digital symbology? Other manufacturers tell us that it is the other way round, that format matters more than symbology. Whatever, does this question actually make sense at all? Is the question rather something like: How can non-print media be used to communicate as compared to print media (ie. maps in hardcopy)?

Is This the Year Laser Scanners Take the Lead from GPS?

Matt Ball — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 00:00:00 +0000

In my first column, Survey/CAD/GIS Integration – It’s About Time!, posted back in November 2007, I peeked into the crystal ball and wishfully saw a future where we would have a three-way integration of GIS, CAD and survey data for seamless “field to finish” solutions. I’m still very keen on that topic, but these days, when people ask me to peer into the crystal ball, I’m seeing several key technology trends on my “must watch list”. Near the top is the emergence of laser scanners, which I think will ultimately push GPS out as the most popular way for surveyors to manage field data.