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Tag: geo-referencing

The Role of Geographic Information System in Business

The location intelligence often derived from GIS plays a crucial role in the success of various businesses and organizations around the globe. About 65 percent of businesses consider location intelligence critical or very important to revenue growth.

This technology can shift the perspectives of corporate leaders and the direction of their businesses. Increasingly, businesses are turning to geographic information systems to develop new markets, solve supply chain problems, foresee growth. Also, improve efficiency of routes and services, gain competitive edge etc.

Those with GIS skills within their data and business analysis capabilities are finding themselves at the center of vital discussions, regarding the direction and operation of their companies.

Geographic Information System (GIS) in University

Few universities also have initiated Geographic Information System courses in their curricula, understanding the power of a modern technology to reveal real-time insight or global trends on easy-to-understand maps and visualizations.

The significance of this technology rising, especially as the Internet of Things continues to expand, sending out streams of data that can be used for business decisions.

Penn State World Campus now provides two master’s degrees related to Geographic Information System. One focuses on developing and applying it in the corporate workplace. The other concentrates on geospatial intelligence. It is used in such situations as disaster response and recovery of all types. It also offers certificates in several areas of it’s usage and applications.

The Esri Academy also provides several ways to learn about GIS from introductory courses to high-end training on system software. Various courses in the Esri training catalog offered are online and free.

Though the skills regarding this technology may not be a prerequisite for occupying the C-suite today, but they are increasingly acknowledged as critical to success and growth.

The utility of Geographic Information System is not only growing in business, but also in natural sciences, environmental sciences etc.
With several things happening in the fast-changing digital world, the GIS role in Business gaining momentum can soon become an accepted core practice.

Role of Lidar in Preventing and Mitigating Landslides

LiDAR is a commonly used application in high precision sensors in autonomous cars, photogrammetry and bathymetry but it is certainly not limited to it. Do you know that it can also be used in detecting and analyzing the natural disasters like landslides? Landslides lead to huge loss of life as well as property but what if it could be detected and prevented on time.

Lidar- A Tool for Geologists

Geologists now use LiDAR as an effective medium to predict and thoroughly study landslides. Government and scientists have integrated the airborne LiDAR as a major component in disaster mitigation initiatives. Data which is gathered using LiDAR efficiently provides useful insights into geographical risk zones which contributes in the identification of vulnerable areas. One of the main advantage of using this technology is that it provides the images even under thickly vegetated areas along with other hidden details like extent of deformation, slope angle etc. All the above information validates that LiDAR is a valuable tool in landslide assessment.

Cutting Edge Analysis and Preemptive Data

LiDAR helps in getting even minute details and offers an inclusive view, the data is either collected by analyzing the terrain surface or by detecting change between the surfaces on a regular period of time. In prior, the surface features and associated properties are thoroughly analyzed to identify parameter values whereas the later focusses on detecting changes in surface movement and deformation. In both the methods, surface representation is assessed.

Disaster Mitigation

Combining LiDAR with GIS services improves the accuracy and quality of geological data. It enables geologists and disaster management experts to identify landslide prone areas. After marking a site, they start studying the underlying causes of landslide. LiDAR Data Processing reveals subtle surface details that can’t be captured by aerial photographs. The Geo Spatial Data has increased the efficiency of landslide observation a multiple time, which has raised the chances to mitigate landslide.

A Brief Description About GIS Services

The objective of GIS is to identify new trends from the analyzed research. It is a system used to gather data and incorporate it in order to store, scrutinize, distribute and show geographic information.

Studying data using the Geographic Information System will help one learn and understand information much quicker and easier.

GIS data displays actual world features such as elevations, terrain and transportation networks in a digital format. It is often used to study global problems in an effort to find solutions much more quickly.

Different GIS Applications –

• An important use of GIS is for studying the climate change. It can be used in the tracking and analyzing of data regarding the impact of climate change.One can map tectonic shifts in high risk earthquake areas, using GIS mapping for public safety.
• In regards to business marketing techniques, a business can use GIS to analyze demographic data to find regions where they will likely sell their products or services.
• Governments can utilize GIS to analyze census information such as health and education statistics. This is helpful for creating or modifying public policies and government spending.
• GIS technology also provides assistance for mapping and charting in Aeronautic and Maritime fields.
• It can be used for security and law enforcement logistics, urban planning and development and evaluating a potential business market.
• Also, in the management of natural resources by National Geo Resource Management, tracking and analyzing natural disasters with the intent of improving emergency response time.There is use of GIS in agriculture as well.

What Are The Uses of GIS Maps?

GIS technology is widely used by government authorities, large organizations, business companies etc. as it gives detailed information about any location.

It basically captures, analyzes the information and stores the data based on the geographical locations. The resultant presentation is a digital map.

With the advent of computer, GIS mapping technology was invented in 1960. GIS mapping can combine all available data about a given area and deliver it in new and dynamic ways.

There has been a significant growth in the use of GIS maps due to the development of open source applications and it has also become economical for anyone to run GIS.

Geographic Information System

Benefits of GIS Maps :-

• Due to the rapid evolution of consumer electronics enabled with GPS systems, GIS mapping helps tourists to locate their exact location on the geographical map. It can also help them find the nearest gas station.

• Geographic Information System is an essential tool for anyone who wants to create geographical maps with the help of internet. A popular example of such application is Google Maps which is available worldwide.

• The power offered by these tools is perhaps most useful in the world of science. The fields of science gather data about our world in very different ways, but GIS offers unique opportunities to combine all this in one.

• GIS has great importance in the field of education as well.A teacher can use GIS to display digital maps on a projector during their teaching session, so that students can easily understand the syllabus and study in detail about the geographical locations.

Applications of GeoReferencing

GeoReferencing is the method of assigning the real-world coordinates to each pixel of the raster. Usually, these coordinates are obtained by doing proper field surveys and collecting coordinates with a GPS device for few easily identifiable features in the image or the map.

It is basically a means to associate something with locations in the physical space or the process of associating a physical map or raster image of a map with spatial locations.

The importance of Georeferencing lies in its ability to turn non-spatial imagery into spatial raster data for use in a variety of circumstances. Spatialized air photos can be used for GIS land cover analysis.

Following Are Some of the Uses of Georeferencing:-

• It makes the different imagery required for mapping. It explains how other data, such as the above GPS points, relate to the imagery.

• Necessary information may be contained in data or images produced at a different point in time. It can be used to compare this data with that currently available.

• Different maps may use different projection systems. The tools of Georeferencing contain methods to combine and overlay these maps with minimum distortion.

• Data obtained from surveying may be given a point of reference from topographic maps by the application of GeoReferencing.

• It may be required to establish the significant relationship between social survey results which have been coded with postal codes or street addresses.

Also, for other geographic areas such as census zones or areas such as public administration or service planning.

Advantages of GIS Services across Different Sectors

GIS Services is a technology specifically designed to capture, analyze, manage and present all types of spatial and geographical data.These services have aided national security and law enforcement as well. Several companies are reaping big benefits due to these GIS services. They rely on the data rooted in computer mapping and satellite imageries to leverage work efficiency, take strategic decisions and select a better consumer group and increase the efficiency of the business.

These services basically aids essential business functions such as marketing, logistics and strategic decision making. The company offering such services provides valuable support in defining business requirements.Also, industry policies and standards, database design and implementation, application development.

Services Providing Area

For Business

The GIS services uses technology to trace location.This is very useful in marketing and sales, logistics and transportation, human resource and other fields. It is well integrated with targeted marketing and market analysis, routing and logistics.

For Education

GIS is now a very important tool that helps the education department to send across the answers from local to global implications.

Natural Resources

This technology helps biologists, ecologists, environmental regulators, astronomers, and miners etc to make difficult decisions regarding the handling of the earth’s natural resources.

Government

Due to the improved decision making processes, as a result of GIS, service delivery and citizen management have become easier. As most of the data in the government is location-based.Thus, smoother operations can be expected.

Maritime

GIS technology also provides good assistance in mapping and charting in Aeronautic and Maritime fields. It immediately starts producing geospatial data and provides high quality products with tools in making and maintaining the results.It also tracks the status and progress of jobs through the complete cycle.

Importance of Geo referencing for the Mapping Data

Geo referencing can be understood as the process of conveying real coordinates to the spatial data. It assigns coordinates to the pixels of raster images. Common frames and coordinate systems are developed to define the positions within the information. It helps in determining how the areas in an image correspond to the surface. When you know about the coordinates of points given in the images, you can match these points to those on the charts.

Techniques for Referencing the Data:

The geo referencing of spatial data can be done through two main methods. Firstly, you can use 3D coordinates in which the center of earth serves as the point of origin of all 3 axes. It is a popular method for scientific applications but it is not considered feasible for applying to the points on earth’s surface.

The second method is the projection of the points. In this method, 3D coordinates are expressed as a plane with some height above them. This technique helps in flattening the curved area of a small region into a flat surface for referencing purposes. The plane coordinates point towards a particular point within the projection. It is measured in terms of distances, north and east from the origin.

GEO referencing of spatial data

The Height Measurement:

To understand the uses of geo referencing for mapping data via projection method, it is important to understand the measurement of heights. Typically, the heights are measured from the sea level. However, this method lacks accuracy because sea levels are consistently changing. It increases the complexities and costs of referencing.

There is another metric called Ellipsoid that has approximate values conforming to the sea levels. The local referencing systems differ for every local mapping agency. However, calculating the multinational data can be difficult due to cross-border convergences.

Also, it depends on the quality of devices, type of terrain, incline, shooting altitudes, and many other factors.

Top 3 Benefits That GIS Offers In This Day And Age

Today, there are many industries that can reap the benefits offered by Geographic Information System (GIS). From agricultural and irrigation, to telecom, mining and oil and gas, utilizing geospatial information has become easier for all these industries and many more – thanks to the newest advancements in the world of GIS.
Let’s take a look at some of the benefits that GIS has to offer in this day and age.

Greater Efficiency

With the objectives to improve workflow or re-engineer processes, GIS ultimately helps the users to achieve greater efficiency. Whether through mapping, scanning or geo-referencing, automating processes and improving workflow has become a reality at present. As a matter of fact, with increased efficiency, wastage gets reduced to a significant level, which ultimately leads to cost-effectiveness in businesses.

Improved Decision Making

Accurate decision making, though important in all the industries, is a critical success factor in industries like real estate, urban development and planning, transportation, etc. Thus, it becomes important to rely on technologies like GIS to make the correct decisions, without any errors, while exploiting the very many opportunities that they bring for the businesses in these industries.

Real-Time Tracking

Visual communication is one of the most important forms of communication at present. Besides giving access to hard to get information and analysing the same easily, GIS enables real time tracking leading to better results in quick time.

So, take the best possible advantage of geographic information system (GIS) and visualize, analyze, and interpret data like never before!

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