Visualize The Future

By Jim Flyzik, The Flyzik Group

We’ve all heard the phrase, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Geospatial Information Systems (GIS) are proving that old adage to be true plus much, much more.

It is remarkable how fast GIS systems have proliferated across all segments of industry. The uses are limitless and there is no end in sight. The use of visualization is rapidly becoming the way requirements are defined and specified and a key component of the applications that are being built. In the late 1980’s, early 1990’s, GIS was largely about digitized maps and integration of satellite imagery. Today, GIS is about mapping locations of objects, placing intelligence into the objects and the ability to derive knowledge from such objects.

It is not possible in this article to discuss all the ways GIS are being used to support business processes. To name but a few as listed in Wikipedia, GIS systems are used in cartography, remote sensing, land surveying, utility management, natural resource management, photogrammetry, geography, urban planning, emergency management, navigation, and localized search engines.

Why have such systems grown so quickly?

First, there are hundreds of examples of positive ROI’s and significant cost savings being derived from GIS applications. A simple example would be the ability to re-route vehicles to avoid traffic congestion for on-time deliveries.

Second, GIS allows for better understanding, better education, and more knowledge sharing. Think of the wealth of information about the geography of the world, weather patterns and navigation that can be gotten with a few clicks of a mouse.

Third, GIS enhances communication and decision-making; questions about where to live, work, and play can easily be discussed and answered by seeing visual imagery of locations.

Fourth, early on in GIS developments, certain common gateway interfaces were agreed to and many open standards were adopted. This allows object use and reuse by anyone that can access the object on the network. There is no need for every application to rewrite code to add intelligence to objects.

And in my humble opinion, the biggest reason visualization growth will remain on the fast track is the elimination of ambiguity associated with text. Images are easy to understand. Try to describe a complex Satellite Image of the Gulf oil spill and the multitudes of scenarios that weather patterns can create without use of imagery. Can you create that picture in text in less than a thousand words?

What constraints still need to be overcome to reach even higher levels with GIS? I would argue the remaining challenges are associated with wireless bandwidth, wire-line infrastructure, and skilled resources. Wireless broadband communications continue to get better and expand but we still lack the speed and coverage in many areas around the world to have efficient use of complex GIS on wireless devices.

And in many land-line networks around the world, the communications infrastructure equipment (routers, gateways, switches, etc.) are still old and outdated and need to be modernized to support these advanced technologies.

Finally, trained experts in designing GIS applications and understanding the best ways to apply visualization techniques to current business systems are still relatively scarce. It is rare to find organizations with a lot of depth and bench strength in these skills.

Visualization has been identified by great thinkers as an important concept for a long time.

“If I can’t picture it, I can’t understand it.” — Albert Einstein.

“It is impossible to even think without a mental picture.” — Aristotle.

“Man’s mind cannot understand thoughts without images of them.” — Thomas Aquinas.

Today and into the future, visualization will be used to share knowledge and better understand our universe. GIS are the enablers of better processes and systems to make that universe a better place. ■