White Papers

The casual use of satellite-based positioning has proliferated, with GPS now readily available in mobile phones and cars. Most GPS receiver chips in such devices can achieve an accuracy of just two to three meters, which is far less accurate than professional-grade devices. Consumer- grade devices lack the ability to provide quality assurance details or metadata about position so that you can’t be sure with confidence that the positions that you collected are correct. When lower-end accuracy is used for data collection, what also gets lost is the utility of high-accuracy position, and the kinds of insight that are revealed only at higher accuracies.

Businesses increasingly understand that spatial awareness of workers, assets and processes can lead to much greater efficiencies. But the best enterprise-wide information system can be sabotaged by data that is not accurate enough. The bottom line of ‘garbage in, garbage out’ is as relevant today as it was when the first database was invented. Poor positional accuracy, and in some cases wrong positions, degrade the utility of your systems, and can even result in costly errors.

Given the benefit of greater accuracy, the trend across the GIS and mapping arena is toward higher accuracy data collection. This began with aerial and satellite imagery as pixels the size of a meter squared rapidly improved to the 50 cm range. Similarly, we have high-speed LiDAR collection tools that capture large areas at 5 to 10 cm accuracy. We’re now entering a realm where highly portable handheld devices can achieve accuracy that was once only possible with survey-grade tools.

The improved portable high-accuracy capability is potentially a game changer. It puts high precision into the hands of a greater percentage of the workforce, which can improve the quality of spatial information in an organization to unlock new efficiencies and insight.

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With the increasing spatial, spectral and temporal resolution of satellite and aerial imagery, there is an accompanying increase in storage requirements and processing capacity to effectively manage that data. There are considerable challenges to managing and hosting your own spatial data, despite the reduced cost of computers and storage space. There are now cloud-based solutions for spatial data storage, manipulation, and retrieval that remove the capital expense of hardware purchases as well as the burden of maintenance. The flexible capacity of the cloud allows users to maximize customer satisfaction and employee productivity while minimizing cost.

Cloud-based content management solutions remove data storage, maintenance and integration drudge work from day to day activities. Relying on an entity that is solely focused on hosting and spatial data services increases spatial data management efficiency while freeing up staff to focus on the company’s mission.

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Geospatial technologies are increasingly incorporating more detailed, dynamic and real-time information. The move to 3D data and models removes a layer of abstraction, and creates immersive environments that more closely resemble and model the real world. As these systems continue to compile more realistic and holistic views of our world, three dimensional data will be of increasing importance.

Three-dimensional models of buildings and cities contain intelligence that connects details about their construction with the systems that operate and maintain them. Ultimately, intelligent 3D models will interface with sensors and communicate with other systems and numerous actors for a realistic and up-to-date picture of our world. In order for this vision to become a reality, we need compatibility and connectivity between different tools, data types and data models.

Interoperability between different systems can be overcome with a process known as spatial extract, transform and load (ETL). Spatial ETL solutions, such as Safe Software’s FME, effectively solve interoperability issues by seamlessly translating and transforming data in various formats between different toolsets and different data models.

As society becomes more urbanized, the need for detailed 3D city models for holistic city management becomes imperative. Different file formats and data models for 3D plans and digital cities will undoubtedly arise. While cross-industry interoperability efforts will solve some issues between these differences, there will always be a need for tools that address translation and transformation workflows.

As spatial ETL solutions evolve to better solve 3D interoperability challenges, it will open up the door to a whole new world of possibilities for those wanting to use and leverage their 3D data and 3D models. Instead of stove-piped interfaces to specific data types with specific tools, the true value of 3D information will be revealed with a means to seamlessly integrate data across different tools, systems and models.

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IT/GIS managers in both the public and private sector are facing everincreasing pressure to deliver IT services to employees and the public more efficiently. Correspondingly, optimizing the up-time and maintaining access to GIS data has become a primary interest of many GIS managers. With the deployment of Internet mapping applications in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s such as Environmental Systems Research Institute’s (ESRI®) ArcIMS® software, online spatial data applications have become a key component in the way organizations conduct their business and communicate with the public in many industries. Online GIS components have leveraged increased capabilities to add value and integrate with work processes and enterprise data management systems and software. Access to GIS data and decision-making support has become “mission-critical” for organizations around the world.

Download White Paper (March 2008) [10 pages; 222 KB]