Prospects for GIS - Report Example

Prospects for GIS Introduction Essentially, GIS (geographic information systems) has been a specialised discipline specifically for computing geography related information. However, at the turn of the 21st century saw GIS having ubiquitous status, infiltrating business units, public organisations, and technology based companies assisting them in crucial decision-making processes. They have also become mainstream in user computing in desktop PCs to laptops, tablets, and mobile phones. Even if one is not aware of GIS as a discipline, chances are one has used it to navigate, direct or locate certain information. Recent developments in computing have further made GIS highly ubiquitous and inevitably spatial in functionality and integrated in almost any type of computing. Such optimisation could be said to be a positive change as it would widen the prospects of GIS even though some may consider this ubiquity a threat to the discipline of GIS. Discussion GIS Becomes Mainstream During the previous decade, GIS have been developed with the view to analyse specific geographic information through spatial databases with or without spatial functions. They required operators or users to have special technical knowledge and training in geotechnical data interpretations. However, with increasing demand and development in computing, these systems, according to Schneider (2001), have become increasingly user-friendly although technical training and expert knowledge were still required for their operations. Gradually, as with other computing disciplines like communication, GIS have also integrated multimedia functionality for decision-support systems for geographic as well as other information retrieval. These new GIS systems have been designed with infrastructures to store, organise, manipulate, and analyse spatial data. GIS, thus have become mainstream with user-friendly interfaces. Multi-discipline GIS Applications Becoming mainstream has opened the gateway for GIS developers to channel GIS computing and mapping on a larger scale with varied applications in terms of storage, access, presentation, analysis, communication, and analytical strategy. GIS developers have come to realise how GIS can become an integral part of varied applications. GIS computing could provide visually user-friendly maps, application-specific analysis with spatial functionality and analytical tools for spatial modelling, geo-referencing, and aggregate investigations etc. (OSullivan and Unwin 2003). They are used by large organisations in the health, government agencies, crime investigation, and meteorology sectors. Development Pitfalls However, despite these aspects, it cannot be said that GIS have become pervasive in its applications and functionality. In fact, OSullivan and Unwin (2003) are of the view that GIS tools and techniques still lack the finesse required for true GIS data usage. Detailed data in aggregate applications still require resolution of the issue of modifiable area unit problems usually used in investigative disciplines. Another problem associated with it is the ecological fallacy, which arises when statistical relationship at one level of aggregation is assumed to hold true for other similar relationships (OSullivan and Unwin 2003). But this may not be true in the case of data analysis of, say, lower-income groups against high crime rates. Hence, GIS today are still lacking geographical scale and non-uniformity of space and edge effects. These elements generally affect spatial analysis. When spatial databases are lacking in spatial functionality then it could create hurdles in GIS applications especially in office automation, training and education institutes, government organisations and especially in geo-technology. Similarly in facilities management, public health, agriculture and natural resource disciplines, spatial databases with spatial functionality for analysis have evolutionary importance. According to Berry (2007) as GIS become mainstream, its technical field has also turned user-based to be aligned with ubiquitous computing. What does this significant development has on the future of GIS? Ubiquitous Computing Ubiquitous computing is the basis for todays computing environment. This entails communication between person-to-person, person-to-machine, machine-to-machine, in real time. Ubiquitous mapping differs from GIS mapping in that it not only processes information through "data input, database building, data analysis, and data output of spatial information" (Gartner, Cartwright, and Peterson 2007) but also uses maps to communicate and interact with the real world. Ubiquitous computing is an IT infrastructure which facilitates the elements of mapping, spatial imagery and interaction with the real world to support human-based analysis and decision-making. Clearly, this has been a challenge and now its integration has taken GIS away from its true form of geographic scientific discipline. Instead, the ubiquitous domain of GIS involves spatial information systems concerned with human-oriented computing which incorporates spatial recognition, deduction and abduction, and spatial decision-making using ubiquitous mapping technologies (Gartner, Cartwright, and Peterson 2007). The challenge within this domain had been and still remains time and 3D or 4D representations of the real world, maps and users to serve the purpose of interpretation. Other elements like connection and transformation between different spatial languages and real time scaled maps are highly desired for integrating in car navigation systems, cell phones, handheld navigation devices and IC tags for navigation (Gartner, Cartwright, and Peterson 2007). Where Do Ubiquitous GIS Lead To? With ubiquitous application of GIS in Global Positioning Systems (GPS) and communication technologies, GIS have converged with other information systems with the potential to become ubiquitous mobile geographic information systems. Increased mobile users demand ubiquitous GIS integration in phones for emergency location detection (such as in case of thefts or navigation); value-added location based services; geo-tagging application in social networking applications; and interactive computing. These developments require that GIS be developed to serve the new age behavioural geography users (Longley and Batty 2003). This demand has significant effects on the back end technological development. - User Interfaces GIS previously comprise of software which have been restricted to geotechnical operations and expertise. Now with real-time positioning and configuration with GPS, wireless communication technology, and spatial users, user-interfaces have to be portable, socially interactive and more ubiquitous yet have spatial functionality to provide instant information to the user. Geographic information collection, compilation, organisation, and spatial analysis have to be integrated for ready conversion, projection and data selection (Longley and Batty 2003). - Location-based services With mobile communication networks offering extremely flexible communication solutions for users such as location-based services, GIS have a large part in forming this type of infrastructure for managing, processing and delivering spatial information meaningful to the users. LBS are sensitive to location for providing services in mobile devices through technologies like cell identification, time difference, angle of arrival, GPS and Wi-Fi (Longley and Batty 2003). These services largely depend on GIS infrastructure and database for spatial data collection, query, distribution and analysis. - Spatial knowledge Spatial queries, visualization and analysis are essential for users of spatial knowledge. The growing population of GPS users, requirement for organisational expansion, increased geographic social interactions all necessitate GIS capable technologies with implied accessibility to spatial knowledge. This implies that the GIS of the future need to have capability of translation, transformation and distribution of spatial knowledge. Epidemiologists would require data pertaining to occurrence of diseases in patterns and space while crime investigators would need data related to spatial concentration of theft. Geologists may desire estimation of mineral deposits and distribution in a particular region and agriculturalists may want to analyse zones for soil, vegetation or geomorphology (Camara et al 2004). Technological Development Current GIS technologies are based on proprietary systems developed by open source contributors such as maps developed by MapServer; desktop applications by uDig; or geospatial databases by GDAL/OGR. GIS are also accessed through service based organisations or the Web and computed on GIS stacks. However, as more and more GIS technologies become ubiquitous their architectures will combine with service vendors and technology platforms to ensure openness for easy access and spatial functionality. This is where the concepts of interoperability, crowdsourcing, neogeography, OGC (open geospatial consortium), and spatial databases become mainstream and give rise to volunteered geographic information (VGI) systems and standards. Among these crowdsourcing perhaps has the deepest impact on GIS ubiquity. Technologies like cloud computing introduced by Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple have also increased the demand for geospatial web which is based on modern GIS systems and databases. The emergence of Web 2.0 means that GIS shall allow anyone to update databases, data usage, maintenance and accessibility (Gawrysiak et al 2008). Conclusion Technological developments in any discipline progress stage by stage. Initial developments tend to have hiccups which eventually are refined and tuned to the users’ need. GIS have for centuries been developed and refined through many stages although at the turn of the 21st century has perhaps been the most rapid. Previously, GIS technologies have been restricted to its own discipline and used by technicians. However, current development and demand for GIS have increased manifolds, and hence it is only natural that its progress is aligned with users. The prospects for GIS development and progress lie in ubiquitous computing with spatial functionality and spatial analysis capability. But most importantly GIS has progressed with open source systems and cloud computing to the extent that its future now lies in the hands of the "crowd". While the idea may seem daunting, but there is no doubt that there is a resolution for this phenomenon just like it would be for any other computing discipline. References Berry, J.K. (2007) Map Analysis. GeoTec Media. Camara, G. et al (2004) "Spatial Analysis and GIS: A Primer", Online accessed from: http://edugi.uji.es/Camara/spatial_analysis_primer.pdf Gartner, G., Cartwright, W. and Peterson, M.P. (2007) Location based services and telecartography, Volume 1. Springer. Gawrysiak, et al (2008) Extending Traditional Wiki Systems with Geographical Content. Project E-Society: Building Bricks. Vol. 226 p.292-302. Longley, P. and Batty, M. (2003) Advanced spatial analysis: the CASA book of GIS. ESRI, Inc. OSullivan, D. and Unwin, D.J. (2003) Geographic information analysis. John Wiley and Sons. Schneider, B. (2001) "GIS Functionality in Multimedia Atlases: Spatial Analysis for Everyone", Online accessed from: http://www.ika.ethz.ch/schneider/Publications/SchneiderBeijing01.pdf Read More