Trends in Geo-informatics

Compared to 10-15 Years Ago

 Acquiring data for a new GIS is no longer a major problem.

 GPS has become a major sources of location based GIS data

and information, and comes increasingly from integrated
GPS/GIS systems.

 Digital map images such as scanned maps, satellite imageries

and air photos are often used as a background image for cross-
layer registration and update.
 But Uses of GIS: no change

The primary three:

 manage data
 analyze data
 communicate information*
BUT
 Relative importance shifting
 Implementation technology changing

*information=processed data which serves a purpose

 Changing Emphases:
…From Data to Analysis

Spatial Analysis
Spatial 5% Analysis

10-15% Attribute Tagging

Attribute Tagging

75% Data Conversion

Data Conversion:

Past Present/Future
 Major Influences on GIS
 Advanced GIS work has been influenced significantly by the high
computing and advanced visualization system.
 GIS has quickly incorporated distributed systems and databases
for interoperable solutions.
 Microcomputer has allowed GIS to be applied to new fields and
has improved GIS education.
 Mobility of portable GIS and GPS systems has revolutionized GIS
use.
 The World Wide Web and high speed network access has given
a new dimension to geo-spatial domain.
 larger data sets may be processed
 more complex models can be established
 more complex analysis for decision-making
 better methods of display and visualization
 Parallel Processing

 Perform tasks on several difference processors

simultaneously within same computer;
 impact:
 Analysis which require repeating same steps
 Raster data in which each pixel is independent are likely to
be easier
 Image processing such as classification can benefit
 Visualization can be greatly improved
 It leads to new trends in GIS Technology
 Far behind hardware development
 Trend towards “open system architecture”
 Integration of video and audio information into GIS
 Applications that may benefit:
 Real estate management and marketing
 Environmental quality assessment
 Computer aided education
 Simulation in geographical processes
 Inclusion of Artificial Intelligence (fuzzy logic, expert
systems, neural networks);
 Symantec Web and Pervasive computing.
 Trends in GIS Applications
 GIS technology becoming more affordable, more reliable, more
widely used and better known;

 3-D capabilities of GIS widely used in geology, hydrology,

geomorphology and mining, landscape ecology studies;

 May develop in areas of image processing (X-rays and medical

imaging);

 Studies of global issues (Climate change studies, tropical

deforestation, acid rain, endangered species)

 Real-time applications (urban management, emergency services and

transport control)
 Mobile and wireless technology is becoming Pervasive

Mobile GIS is evolving in a enterprise. The solutions may be very effective many
areas including Emergency/ Disaster management

Advantages:
• Smaller
• Faster
• Locationally aware
• Smarter
• Embedded

Integrated with Services

The beginning WAP-Based GIS Systems…
Sending and receiving Information about geography to remote servers…
 Changing Emphases
…From Description to Simulation & Modeling
Past Future
Picture worth a Visual simulation & virtual
thousand words: reality.

Maps & diagrams of Real time display of how is,

how is, or how was and how might be-Ex.
-forest fire
Web portals serve static -freeway traffic flow
data sets
Web portals serve continuous
sensor-derived data

Iconic models: scaled down Symbolic models: based on logical

representations of the real thing relationships in mathematical or statistical form
Managing Multi Dimensional Geographic Data Sets and Simulation
Modeling

With Particular Focus on Time

Future
• Data Modeling
• Tools for Manipulation
– Query
– Change Analysis
– Iterative Processing
– Visualization
–Animation
–Charting
T1
–Virtual GIS

Simulation / Time Looping

. . . Iterative/recursive modeling
 Enabling Technology
Data [Process] Information [Model] DSS/SDSS [Knowledge Discovery (AI) ]Expert System

• Faster Hardware

• Distributed Computing

• Mobile/Wireless

• Services Oriented Architecture Pervasive

Computing
• Large Data Repositories

• GIS Software
Capacity In 10 Years
• 100x Computing
• 1000x Storage
• 5000x Networks

Terabyte/Second Communications
 Sensor Web
 The interoperability framework for accessing and utilizing sensors and sensor
systems in a space-time context via Internet and Web protocols
 A set of web-based services may be used to maintain a registry of available
sensors.
 The same web technology standard for describing the sensors’ outputs,
platforms, locations, and control parameters should be used all across.
 This enables the necessary interoperability.
 This standard encompasses specifications for interfaces, protocols, and
encodings that enable the use of sensor data and services.
 Semantic Sensor Web

 Adding semantic annotations to existing standard Sensor

Web languages in order to provide semantic descriptions
and enhanced access to sensor data;

 This is accomplished with model-references to ontology

concepts that provide more expressive concept
descriptions;

14
 Changing Emphases
… from 2-D description to 4-D interaction
Past
 2-D flat map displays
 User as observer from 2-D description to 4-D interaction

Future
 Effective 3-D visualization

 4-D incorporation of time: “The time has come for time.”

 Via agent-based modeling / cellular automata? Or how?
• agents (e.g. vehicles, fires or people) interacting over time in a raster (cell)-
based environment according to established rules

 5, 6 and 7-D incorporation of touch (pressure, texture, temperature),

sound and smell into modeling/simulation environment)

 User as participant
 Users (researchers, professionals, the public) interact with the model;
 Participatory GIS: the public as the planner .
 Distributed Geoprocessing, spatial analysis and Modeling is important

… and is an emerging area

User Defined Products

Operational
Data-1
Geo-visualizations
Operational
Data-2
Information
Platform Display
Platform
Independent
Independent
Solution
Solutionfor
forGeo-
Geo- DSS/SDSS
spatial analysis
spatial analysis Outputs

Operational Outcomes from

Data-3
Expert System

Operational
Many more…
Data-n
 Distributed Geoprocessing, spatial analysis and Modeling is important

Application : Drought Assessment and Early Warning System

RS Satellite Systems

Soil Moisture
Receiving measurement &
NDVI Stations Changes

Space Base
Inputs

Real time data

Ground
Drought Monitor &
Observation Metrological Data
Network Real time data Early Warning System Real time
data
 Distributed Geoprocessing, spatial analysis and Modeling is important

Application: Crop Yield Forecasting

Remote Acreage,
Sensing NDVI…
Water
Real time Service Base Data inputs
Specialized Knowledge Institutions

Balance
Parameters
Weather
Climate Data
Stations
Productions

Crop
Yield
Growth
Soil Simulation
Prediction Yield
Module
Model
Crop Soil and
Crop Management Cultivated
Parameter Area

Agriculture Real time Service Base Data inputs

Statistics
 Technological Trends Underlying the Transition
Defense Conversion (and other) spin- Information Technology Evolution
offs  Interoperability: easier sharing of data between
 Location via GPS users, and among vendor products
 Metadata
 millimeter accuracy  Spatial Data Transfer Standards
 available in every cellphone for E-  OpenGIS
911  Mash-ups
 super high capacity mass storage  commercially enhanced data
 pettabyte and more systems  public data made dramatically more usable/useful
 Navtech maps replace TIGER
 high resolution (<1m) satellite  spatial data tools in commercial DBMS* and
remote sensing software dev. environments (e.g. VB**)
 High resolution: 60 cms now,  ESRI SDE (spatial database engine)
10cms soon?  ESRI Map Objects & ArcObjects
 Real time Google Earth?  3-tier computing, separating:
user interface (client workstation)
 the communication revolution 

 analysis (applications server)

 super high capacity networks  data (multiple distributed data servers)
(Internet X), even to the home
• NSF’s 100x100 project:
100 Megabits to 100 million
homes
 wireless (cellular) communication
with anything that moves
anywhere on earth
*DBMS: data base management systems
**Visual Basic
 Operating Environments: Interoperability

 Spatial Data Interchange Formats  Between GIS Systems and other

 VPF (Vector Product Format): US Military applications
for map products; directly useable by  COM/OLE (Common Object Model/Object Linking and
applications Embedding): originated by Microsoft
 CORBA (Common Object Request Broker Architecture)
 DXF (Data Exchange Format): originated Two competing standards for object-based technology.
by AutoCAD
 Between GIS Systems Themselves (for data)
 SDTS (Spatial Data Transfer Standard):  SQL3 --SQL extended to support spatial (and other
currently required for Federal Agencies multimedia) data queries
Except for VPF, involve translation (from  ISO TC211--International Standards Organization Tech.
Committee on spatial data
internal private to external public format),  ANSI X3L1 (American National Standards Institute, GIS
therefore inefficient. Committee)--US view for ISO
 Between Standard Data Base Systems  OGC (Open GIS Consortium)--Open Geodata
Interoperability Specification (OGIS)
 SQL (Structured Query Language)
• standardized (supposedly) user-oriented
 Metadata--data describing data
(supposedly) data request
 datum and projection, accuracy and lineage, etc.
 FGDC (Federal Geographic Data Committee) Metadata
 ODBC (Open Database Connectivity) standard
Possible Research Areas
 Knowledge Discovery from large database is a challenge

The Data Mining and Artificial Intelligence algorithms are allowing to extract and
analyze patterns from large database and develop a knowledge base for computer
base Expert system for better decision making and planning

Operational
Database
Knowledge Discovery in Database (KDD) Process

Training
Data Data Set
Cleaning Preparation
Data Mining

Data Warehouse

Operational
Database Extracted Pattern
Verification & Evaluation
 Research Priorities in Geoinformatics

GIS and Decision Making Dynamic Modeling

Uncertainty in GIS
Geo-info Security

Geospatial Data
Geo-data Mining and Research
Fusion
Knowledge Discovery Priorities

Spatial Ontologies
Spatial Cognition

Institutional Aspects of Space and Space/Time

SDIs. Geo-computation Analysis and Modeling

… and many more

Thank You