Category: Mapping

Location Privacy Is Heating Up
Last month, the Management Association for Private Photogrammetric Surveyors (MAPPS) issued a position letter to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) urging the FCC to “use extreme caution and not implement any enforcement or broad regulation that would have a harmful affect on the broad private geospatial community.”

The concern MAPPS has is valid and I support their position stated in their letter.

MAPPS references an Associated Press article published November 10 that states that the FCC is investigating Google’s activities, including photographing neighborhoods for its Street View mapping feature.

Google Street View

The MAPPS announcement also references H.R. 5777, introduced in Congress earlier this year, according to MAPPS. If it is passed, MAPPS is concerned it would create “havoc in the geospatial marketplace and community.”

The issue of location privacy is not a simple one. In fact, it’s a complex subject that has far-reaching implications. To compound the issue, it’s a highly technical subject that easily exceeds the capacity of the average state/federal legislator and administrator to understand. Therefore, they will rely on legislative assistants, industry folks, and lobbyists to guide them. That being the said, it’s important that the professional geospatial folks have a chair at the table.

Notice I wrote “professional” geospatial folks. I did that intentionally. The reason is because surveying, GIS, engineering folks, and other people who create, manage and/or use geospatial data in the course of their daily professions will be affected by the fallout of legislative action taken in this area. In short, we will become collateral damage in a much larger battle.

Whether you’re an engineer, surveyor, GIS professional, county planner, or CAD technician, the geolocation privacy battle being fought has nothing to do with what you do for a living. The privacy issue would be easy to address if it was only just one or two companies that need an attitude adjustment. However, that’s not the case. The big kahuna is LBS (location-based services).

I’m super-excited about LBS applications. At least for me, I think it has a tremendous potential to make my life a lot more efficient and productive. Just think of what GPS and digital maps has done for you in the last five years. Getting lost is a thing of the past with your trusty Magellan/Garmin/TomTom on the dashboard. I don’t know how to calculate the number of hours it has saved me (and my wife) since I started using GPS navigation on a daily basis in 2004, but I know the number is big and I know hundreds of dollars I’ve spent on GPS navigation devices has paid for itself easily a hundred times over.

Given that, I start salivating when I think of how a new breed of LBS apps will provide me new tools to help manage my life more efficiently. For me, the value is connecting my friends/family and my stuff. I’ve got a wife and four kids, with three of them playing school sports and one in college. Being able to text message them helps, but that requires an action on their part. If they’re in class, at practice, at home, out with friends, etc. and don’t see the text message (or there’s a delay in the wireless network), I don’t hear back. Being able to know where they are, without action on their part, is worth a lot to me. Ok, I realize you may think I’m a control-freak of sorts, but actually I’m far from it. I’m more of an efficiency-freak. I’m consistently over-committed and always looking for ways to save time, and I see LBS apps as huge time-savers.

I wrote an article about the value of LBS to me (and privacy) earlier this year, and then a couple of months later I wrote an article after some idiot stole my car. If I’d had my car wire up with an LBS app, it would have saved me a lot of time and grief and would have provided a lot of satisfaction in seeing the thief in handcuffs. LBS goes way farther than connecting people and tracking my stuff. In fact, we don’t understand how far it’s going to go yet.

One example is a technology called augmented reality. I’ve written about this in the past. From the safety aspect alone, it’s a tremendous technology. Look at this video from General Motors. Location is only part of the solution, but it’s a critical part and goes way beyond what the GM video discusses. Think about if a spatial database was accessible and you would be warned of accident-prone intersections or dangerous curves ahead of time via the Head-Up-Display (HUD). In a more efficiency-oriented application of augmented reality, check out this video from BMW.

For those of you who enjoy shopping on Black Friday (the day after Thanksgiving), this year you could have used an app from Dealmap.com on your iPhone or Android phone to access a map of deals at more than 52,000 retail store locations.

Dealmap.com Android app

Ok, enough said about the up side of LBS apps.

Of course, the core technology behind LBS apps is the L word: location. The apps generally make decisions based on where you are. If you’re driving down the street, a coupon may pop-up on the screen of your phone for a fast-food restaurant you are approaching, or a map might be displayed on your phone of all the bargain prices of LCD TV’s within three miles of your current location.

This type of technology frightens people a lot. They assume that if their phone knows where they are, someone is watching. It really depends on what kind of app is running on your phone.

Stealing from the article I wrote last February:

Of course, a major concern by regulators and potential users is how personal location information will be used by the LBS application software. Will this be just another way that your personal information will be collected and sold to spammers? In addition to spammers, do you really want your family/friends knowing where you are 24/7? These are not unreasonable concerns.

I don’t worry about privacy with LBS applications and I’ll tell you why.

There is a lot of hyper-sensitivity about privacy with LBS applications (House congressional hearing
this week on the subject) so I think LBS software vendors are well aware that a line has been drawn in the sand and a sort of zero-tolerance policy has been established. Secondly, leading LBS companies were involved with CTIA (The Wireless Association) in developing a document titled “Best Practices and Guidelines for Location-Based Services,” so they are intimately aware of the privacy issue.

There are two guiding principles in the Best Practices guidelines mentioned above:
1. LBS providers must inform users about how their location information will be used, disclosed, and protected so that a user can make an informed decision whether or not to use the LBS or authorize disclosure.
2. Once a user has chosen to use an LBS, or authorized the disclosure of location information, he or she should have choices as to when or whether location information will be disclosed to third parties and should have the ability to revoke any such authorization. Read the entire CTIA Best Practices guideline here.
The Final Analysis on LBS Apps

One consideration I will give when subscribing to a LBS app in the future is to make sure I subscribe either through my wireless service provider (Sprint, AT&T, Verizon, etc.) or through an established, reputable LBS app provider. This kind of due diligence is no different from when you consider purchasing an application for your personal computer. Common sense tells you not to download an app from Nigeria. You’ll need to practice the same diligence when selecting an LBS application.

I also wouldn’t consider an LBS application where I don’t have the opportunity to control my personal network of people who are granted access to my current whereabouts. In fact, I’d want the ability to shut off broadcasting my location altogether. Again, I think that any mainstream LBS application will have these features due to the high-profile sensitivity to privacy.

I know the LBS applications are already available to accomplish the people-connecting that I want. But, like I wrote earlier, I don’t live on the bleeding edge of technology. I live a step back from the edge. I wasn’t the first to join Facebook (although I’m glad I eventually did) and I won’t be the first to run a people-connecting LBS application, but there’s no doubt in my find that it will eventually be an important tool for me and, most likely, you, too. The upside is just too big to ignore.

What about the Geospatial Professional?

I think it’s very important that the geospatial professional, whether a surveyor, an engineer, a GIS’r, or a CAD technician, not be loaded up with unreasonable liability by the FCC or other governing body as a result of the fall-out from LBS apps. It will be very easy for legislators (and voters), who are uneducated on this matter, for geospatial professionals to be tossed into the LBS barrel.

This subject had me thinking about a measure that voters just passed in the State of Oregon. The title of the measure was “Requires Increased Minimum Sentences for Certain Repeat Sex Crimes, Incarceration for Repeated Driving Under Influence.” Of course, like privacy, this is a very emotional issue. Given the title of the measure, without further study, most people would vote in favor of such a measure. Who wouldn’t? With further study, you might find it wasn’t such a good measure to pass into law (it passed). This opinion piece ran in the Portland newspaper, The Oregonian, and spells out why it’s not such a good idea. Among other things, there’s collateral damage.

Likewise, the public and the industry can’t afford for geospatial professionals to be swept into the privacy dustpan with LBS apps.
Thanks, and see you next week.

Follow me on Twitter at http://twitter.com/GPSGIS_Eric
December 2, 2010
GEOINT 2010

By Art Kalinski, GISP

It’s not what you look at, it’s what you see. (Thoreau)

GEOINT is “the” conference of the year for geospatial intelligence professionals. This year’s attendance was even stronger than last year, with more than 3,3000 attendees and 225 exhibitors.

Originally scheduled for Nashville, the significant flooding of May third caused severe damage to the Gaylord Opryland Conference Center. The damage was so extensive that the facility will not reopen until late November, too late for the originally scheduled GEOINT 2010. The nimble USGIF staff did a rapid about-face and rebooked GEOINT at the Earnest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans. The conference and all related activities went off without a hitch, a testament to the hard work of the folks at USGIF.

GEOINT Awards Ceremony.

There is no way to cover the entire conference in this column, but there is extensive coverage available online from USGIF. One of the useful features of GEOINT was the publication of a timely and professional-looking show daily that was authored by KMI and USGIF during the day/evening, printed overnight, and slipped under hotel room doors of attendees each morning. The daily laid out the schedule and highlights for the day as well as summaries of key speakers the day before. Reading the show daily publication online is a good way to review the conference for those of you that weren’t able to attend. Following are links to the show daily.

GEOINT – Show Daily Day One

GEOINT – Show Daily Day Two

GEOINT – Show Daily Day Three

GEOINT – Show Daily Day Four

GEOINT – Show Daily Wrap Up

USGIF also produced a daily video show that played on hotel room TVs. This was yet another way to view topics that may have been missed due to conflicting schedules. I always found it frustrating to attend large conferences with competing exhibits and multiple-track break-out sessions. The combination of video shows, daily news, and online information helped mitigate this frustration. You can view the GEOINT TV presentations by clicking here.

USGIF videographer.

Describing the conference title, GEOINT 3.0 in the opening session, K. Stuart Shea, CEO of USGIF paraphrased a definition of geography that I first heard from Dr. Jerry Ingalls of UNCC. He stated that old geography merely focused on locating features, but with analytic tools such as statistics and GIS, new geography had evolved into a broad definition simply stated as “why what is where.” And knowing that, one could then perhaps predict “where the next what would be.”

That summed up my general take on the conference. GEOINT is rapidly evolving to meet the needs of warfighters. Without going into detail, you could “smell” the difference in just one year. There was a greater emphasis on integrating GIS, imagery, multispectral, FMV (full motion video), SIGINT (signals intelligence), HUMINT (human intelligence), human terrain, and crowd-sourced and open-source information into a cohesive temporal picture that could be quickly and easily visualized and understood by troops in the field.

There was a sense of urgency, as explained by General Koziol who heads up the ISR Task Force. He spoke of the rapid evolution of enemy tactics driving the need for faster response to ISR requirements. He detailed needs for software with deliveries in less than 30 days and hardware deliveries in less than one year. Any longer means that the solutions will be obsolete by the time they get implemented.

One example that demonstrated the rapid intel environment was explained in a FMV breakout session. One of the indicators of a potential suicide bomber was the observation that frequently two vehicles were involved, a lead vehicle carrying the explosives with a suicide bomber and a trailing vehicle with a remote detonator. Seems like many of the suicide bombers are not volunteers that will self detonate, so the trail vehicle makes sure the act is carried out. If the driver “chickens out,” the vehicle is detonated anyway, and the driver’s family receives no reward money, just shame. You can easily see how time-critical identifying a similar event and acting on it can be.

There was a general consensus among the speakers that sharing data rapidly with our coalition partners was critical to success. Our tendency to over-classify and restrict our data makes the perishable data less useful. However, that opinion was tempered at this conference with the yellow flags sent up by WikiLeaks.

General Clapper, the director of National Intelligence, was the opening keynote speaker. Having held every key position in the intelligence community including NIMA director during 9/11, he showed a keen understanding of geospatial technology. He indicated that GEOINT was the most integrative environment to visualize and understand the complex data sources we have. He also felt that GEOINT would be equally valuable in the emerging cyber threat arena by mapping the virtual environment coincident with real physical locations and acting as a visualization tool to understand and combat the threat.

General Clapper seems to have a wry sense of humor with little patience for games. During his interview with the president, he stated that with “one foot in assisted living” he didn’t have the time nor desire for a lot of “Oval Office carpet time.” This must have been quite off-putting for most politicos within earshot. General Clapper also indicated that the SECDEF efficiency review was going to affect all defense communities with the possibility of seeing similar cuts that we saw in the early 90’s, in the range of 20%. He further elaborated that “What I’d look to do is profit from what happened to us in the 1990s, and lay out a strategy for this and absorb the pain smartly.”

The new National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director, Letitia A. Long, shared her vision for NGA. She stated that “I want to put the power of GEOINT directly in the hands of our users.” She wants to change the user experience by providing online, on-demand access to GEOINT data. She also wants to expand the analytic capabilities by providing contextual analysis of geographic features and imagery enhanced with temporal and human terrain geography.

The expo was quite extensive, with elaborate booths by all the major players. The show daily did a good job highlighting new products and capabilities of the majors firms. One thing I like to do at conferences is look at the small booths on the fringes of the exhibit hall. There is always a gem or two to be found with these small emerging companies. One example at GEOINT 2010 was GCS research with TerraEchos. This company was demonstrating a simple underground sensor that was covert, sensitive, and could accurately detect sounds, foot, or vehicle traffic while mapping the location on a GIS. The device, based on early U.S. Navy passive sonar work, consists of a ¼-inch rubber cable housing a thin fiber-optic line fed with a laser. The cable is buried 6 to 18 inches below ground, could be thousands of feet long, and displays the vibrations though micro distortion of the laser-illuminated fiber optic line.

GCS Research Display.

GCS Research Display.

USGIF also announced and presented a well-deserved Lifetime Achievement Award to Esri’s Jack Dangermond. The only surprise was that it didn’t happen sooner.

In several years of attending GEOINT, the environment is clearly getting more complex and “squishy” with the integration of many different intel sources in a rapidly changing world and a greater need for speed. Intelligence and the need to understand and act rapidly is paramount. A quote by Henry David Thoreau used by one speaker was spot on describing what the GEOINT community is tasked with accomplishing: “It’s not what you look at that matters, it’s what you see.”

November 8, 2010
Geospatial Data Accuracy – Better and Better

Circa. 1995. I walked into the GIS office of a major forest products company in northern Arkansas (or was it northern Louisiana…not sure). At the time, I was a product manager for a GPS company and field testing one of our newer GPS mapping hand-held products.

We decided to go out and map the perimeter of a timber tract they owned to compare the area (acres) that the GPS calculated vs. what was in their GIS. This was nothing new as I’d done it many times for other companies. We went to the tract (adjacent to a road) and walked the boundary (~40 acres). Afterwards, we returned to their office and I post-processed the GPS data.

I forget what the final area calculation was, but it was believable and the company didn’t challenge the result. Also, the shape of the polygon seemed reasonable. However, when the GIS manager inserted the GPS data into his GIS, it was offset a significant amount. I forget exactly, but something on the order of 50-100 feet. I immediately began considering if my data was the problem, but concluded the chance was low. For GPS post-processing, I’d tied into a local US Forest Service GPS base station so my GPS data was referenced to NAD83/86 (if I recall correctly). In the end, we agreed that my data was most likely positioned correctly.

“So what?”, he said, “Do you think I’m going to adjust my entire GIS because it doesn’t agree with your GPS?” (I’m paraphrasing based on my recollection). I understood that I had won the battle, but lost the war. It didn’t matter that I was right, at least at that moment in time. However, he did agree with me that eventually he was going to have to reconcile the difference because GPS was destined to be the technology that defined the national spatial framework.

I had many more experiences similar to the above during the mid-90’s. People would swear by the accuracy of USGS 1:24,000 quad sheets because that’s what they were used to. If the GPS data didn’t agree with the quad sheet, they’d dismiss the accuracy of GPS because it didn’t fit. This was particular true with utility companies too, that were some of the early adopters of CAD for mapping.

Fifteen years later, this problem is not going away. The accuracy of Geospatial data continues to get better and better. Think back fifteen years and ask yourself about the quality/availability/price of orthophotography back then. I remember we were ecstatic to have access to free 1-meter, black/white DOQQs. Today, I can easily find 1’ pixel resolution orthophotography, commonly find 6” and occasionally run into 3” pixel resolution orthophotos free of charge. This allows one to digitize manholes and other infrastructure without leaving the seat at your GIS workstation.

During the same period, the cost of accurate GPS measurements has reduced considerably. Whereas fifteen years ago, achieving sub-meter accuracy with a $12,000 mapping receiver was on the bleeding edge of technology. Today, a $2,000 mapping receiver can give you sub-meter results and a $6,000 receiver can achieve sub-foot accuracy. Looking way forward, the cost and availability of GPS accuracy is going to change significantly in the next 10 years. Obtaining one foot accuracy will be achievable with a very inexpensive GPS receiver.

We all know that data drives a GIS. The better quality data we have, the more accurately and precisely and completely the GIS can answer our queries. Along these lines, I think it’s worth mentioning again the outcome of the litigation in California involving Santa Clara County and the ownership of GIS data.

Santa Clara County GIS lawsuit

Santa Clara County (California) was charging significant fees (potentially several hundred thousand dollars) to organizations who wanted to utilitize its full suite of GIS data including orthophotography, parcel, planning, streets, boundary, etc. A lawsuit was filed in 2006 by the First Amendment Coalition arguing that the GIS data should be released under the California Public Records Act. Santa Clara County argued that the GIS data was sensitive enough to be excluded due to homeland security issues (eg. making known the locations of critical infrastructure such as utilities). Santa Clara County lost the argument and was ordered by the court to hand over the GIS data. The 6th District Court of Appeal gave the final word last February.

The outcome of the court case establishes a significant precedent in the geospatial industry. For as long as I can remember, this issue has been solidly ambiguous among state and local governments. One entity would email (or make available via FTP) GIS data at a moment’s notice. Another entity would have you sign away your first-born child. Even another would not entertain the thought of releasing “our data” to anyone. I think the attorney for Santa Clara County was accurate in stating “It was one of those cases that needed to be tried and for which we needed guidance from the court”. Normally, I have an anti-litigious attitude, but I’m happy to see a precedent has been established and publicized.

Go on…be a TIGER

After last week’s column about Google’s step forward in using their own base map for Google Maps/Earth in the US, I was admonished by a reader, and rightfully so, in not mentioning the value of Census data as an important part of the history of base map evolution in the US.

Jon Sperling, Ph.D., GISP wrote:

“It is quite disconcerting, from an historical and current perspective, that your article made no mention of the “pre-internet” Census TIGER database, the first topologically integrated national digital street centerline for the US or even the newly updated and positionally accurate TIGER files (with an associated but confidential file of GPS address points collected for every housing unit in the Nation). These files, newly updated for the 2010 Census, are still a major source for accurate and easily accessible public domain street level data for every community in the US, including Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and other territories. More importantly, it was the innovation that spurred the GIS revolution across government, private industry, and academia by enabling every local agency, entity and person in the United States to build their own geographic information system by combining census data with TIGER. Prior to this development, the Census was also a leader in the development of the GBF/DIME Files which enabled address geocoding, a capability that led to the later success of Mapquest, Google, and others. Like the development of the internet by DARPA and the Global Positioning System also by the federal government, the widespread development of intelligent national street level mapping was also led by the government. GDT/TeleAtlas began as a company that offered “enhanced” TIGER files and Navteq often used TIGER for the more rural areas. Not only has the Census pioneered but it remains a key catalyst and building block for delivering a cost-effective and truly integrated national spatial data infrastructure.”

Attached is an article I wrote back in 1992 on the history/development of TIGER as well as a 2002 proposal for creating a shared national road network (geometry and basic attributes such as address range to enable consistent and shareable geocoding across
domains). OpenStreetMap is a nice expression of a way to move forward.”

A copy of Jon Sperling’s 2002 proposal can be read here (scroll down to Page 16).

Thanks and see you next week.

October 20, 2009
The Struggles of a City GIS Manager

This is real. The names have been omitted, but this is happening as I write at one city and I’m willing to bet many, many more cities around the world. The city is typical in the US. Its population is ~23,000. Geographic area is ~8 square miles. There are 430 acres of parkland, over 150 acres of designated openspace and 110 miles of sewer pipe pumping 2.3 million gallons per day.

The issue at hand? These economic times are tight and the city is considering cutting back the GIS department.

To me, an interesting fact is that this is not a city that’s behind the technology curve. In fact, I think they’re ahead of it. Has the GIS Manager (current and previous) done such a good job that they’ve worked their way out of a job? They’re using state-of-the-art GIS software products such as ArcGIS Server, ArcGIS desktop, ArcPad and even developed their own custom app using MapObjects that’s in use on 100+ computers throughout the city departments. They’re also using high performance GPS/GIS receivers to keep their GIS up-to-date.

To give you an idea, following is a graphic illustrating the layout of their GIS:

They serve up and make available data to the public much more than other municipalities that I’ve dealt with. In addition to their internal users, they serve this data up to the public 24/7 via an online, interactive web interface. Their data layers include:

Utilities – Sewer, storm, water, streets, street signs.
Land use – city-owned land, parks, open space.
Environmental – Contours, slope, wetlands, streams.
Planning – Zoning, comprehensive plan, buildable land.
Parcel mapping – Taxlots, easements, property info, plat info.
Boundaries – City limits, neighborhood assoc, special districts.
Site Addresses – Master address file, geocoding.
Digital imagery – Orthophotography, LiDAR, DEMs.

They also develop and support applications for other city departments. Users of the custom mapping application developed in MapObjects include the police (in patrol cars on rugged laptop computers), EOC (Emergency Operations Center), public works, parks, planning, engineering in addition to managers and office staff who are able to print their own maps instead of relying on other city personnel.

Earlier this year, the city conducted a survey to measure GIS usage. Following are the results:

How does this compare to your GIS user base?

Do you know how many people are utilizing your GIS and understand what they are using it for?
Does the city management/city council understand the benefits the GIS provides?

In a conversation I had with the GIS Manager, I think it was summarized best in the following statement:

“How do you put a price on instantaneous information?”

An example was used regarding utility infrastructure. How would one, without a GIS, communicate the status of the utility infrastructure system for a maintenance or development project? It would involve finding, organizing and collating paper maps (probably from different departments and maybe from different agencies, including utility companies) in a manner that would effectively and efficiently serve the requestor. That process would take several “man-days” and painfully slow interdepartmental/interagency coordination. And, at the end of the day, the product would most likely be substandard to a GIS-derived product.

I equate it to, if I may be so bold and over-simplistic, to maintaining ones vehicle. You can choose to spend the time and money to change the oil, maintain the brakes, change the transmission fluid, change the windshield wipers, wax the exterior, vacuum the interior, etc. and the vehicle will run smoothly and reliably and serve you well. On the other hand, if one does none of the above maintenance, there is a high probability that you’ll have several catastrophic vehicle failures that will consume time, money and add undue stress in dealing with ongoing problems. Dealing with emergency situations is always orders of magnitude more expensive than regular maintenance.

To me, that’s the issue.

So, while you’re focused on building your GIS, it’s easy to get caught up in the technology and forget about the economics behind it. Someone is paying the bills and those folks need to understand the benefits of maintaining an up-to-date GIS if you expect them to continue to provide funding.

Thanks and see you next week.

October 1, 2009
Duty, Honor, Country — and GIS

The U.S. Military Academy at West Point was born of unique geography; more than 200 years later, it’s teaching modern mapping methods.

By Art Kalinksi, GISP

Last week, I had the privilege of meeting with members of the GIS Program of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The security guards at the gate greet visitors with the academy motto, “Duty, Honor, Country,” which permeates all endeavors at West Point. The Academy has produced distinguished graduates for more than 200 years, and is known for its extremely rigorous academic and military training program. The cadets may get a free education, but it requires dedication and a full-time commitment, as well as eight years of service as a commissioned Army officer upon graduation.

The oldest engineering school and military academy in the United States got its start during the Revolutionary War, thanks to the unique geography of West Point. General George Washington was concerned that the Hudson River could provide dangerously easy access to areas north of New York and New Jersey, where the British could group to split the colonies. However, a narrowing and S-curve in the Hudson at West Point made British ships vulnerable, forcing them to drop their sails as they slowly maneuvered the tight passage. Thus were born the fortifications at West Point, and ultimately, the U.S. Military Academy.

Today, West Point relies on GIS, which is focused in two Academy organizations: the Geospatial Information Science Program within the Department of Geography and Environmental Engineering, and the Geospatial and Environmental Services Division within the Department of Housing and Public Works. The operational GIS division is headed up by Kris Brown working through Essex, a Northrop Grumman business unit. Kris and his staff support significant public works projects, security, and emergency services. They also provide support for the military training ranges, as well as environmental and archeological efforts.

Tools and Training

The primary software environments used at the Academy include Autodesk CAD software and the ESRI suite of GIS applications. Pictometry oblique imagery and software seem to be the dominant choice for public works estimators, base police, and firefighters. The police frequently use of the oblique imagery for incident reporting, but only as simple annotated images. They don’t yet use the heads-up digitizing and shapefile creation ability, but are content to provide that information to the GIS staff for inclusion in the database.

The Geospatial Information Science Program uses many of the same GIS resources, but for a different goal — the education and training of Army officers and future leaders. The program is led by Dr. John Brockhaus, and includes Colonels Michael Hendricks and Steven Fleming, both of whom have earned their PhDs and have extensive field experience. In addition, the program includes three rotating military faculty members with master’s degrees, and this year includes Michael Tischler, who is on loan from the Army’s Topographic Engineering Center (TEC, recently renamed the Army Geospatial Center [AGC]). Michael also has an extensive education and strong hands-on experience.

All Academy attendees are exposed to GIS, but based on their major, some cadets expand their GIS education. Students learn GIS theory, but also have to complete hands-on projects that demonstrate their ability to accomplish tasks with the data and software. The program includes the traditional vector-based GIS of points, lines, and polygons, as well as grid/raster-based GIS with work in projections, topology, geodatabases, DEMs, LIDAR, and other topics. Since almost all graduates will be producers or consumers of intelligence products, there is a heavy emphasis on integration of remote sensing, CIR, radar, and imagery, both ortho and oblique. Although computer-based GIS forms the core of the program, cadets must also demonstrate the ability to use traditional paper maps, and even a compass.

The West Point GIS Lab.

The program includes training in GIS software and applications from vendors such as ESRI, ERDAS, TerraGo, Pictometry, LizardTech, Trimble, Google, Microsoft, Oracle, Adobe, and many others. In addition, training in cartography and the use of experimental equipment is offered, including 360-degree video capture systems, LIDAR point cloud analysis systems, and integrative survey collection tools and techniques (such as ike-504 and NOMAD).

Efficiency in Education

To be selected for West Point, a cadet must be among the top one percent in terms of academics, drive, and motivation. But the clock and calendar are the real limiting factors of the program. Not only do cadets carry a very heavy academic load, they also have extensive military, sports, and leadership duties. The program is so tight that almost every hour is planned, with each minute important and accounted for. The bottom line is that no one can afford to waste time. Even the dining hall is an example of efficiency; 4,400 cadets are fed during one 30-minute seating.

This highly disciplined use of time is apparent in the classroom as well. I sat in on a class Colonel Hendricks was teaching — what an eye-opener! In just one class, he covered three topics normally covered in three or more sessions at other schools: Boolean logic related to intersections, joins, and unions; SQL database selections; and grid cell input/output layer selections (map algebra). Covering this much material in one class is a challenge, but the handouts and the clear progression of the classroom session showed a thoroughness and forethought that I have rarely seen.

Led by Colonel Hendricks, cadets learn about the details of GIS operations.

Most of us have suffered through classes taught by inexperienced graduate assistants, and many PhD college professors, although knowledgeable, are not very good instructors. That’s not good enough for the tight timelines at West Point — delivery of clear and concise classes that maximize learning is mandatory. It was evident that a lot of planning and thought went into each aspect of this robust GIS program.

Colonel Fleming explained unique training elements that are part of the West Point curriculum, but not found in typical GIS programs. They include exposure to services and resources available to the military from sources like NGA, USGS, ACE, TEC (AGC), including tools such as GeoPDFs, BAE Systems’ SOCET SET, and others.

GIS Enables Future Combat Systems

The Army has always relied heavily on maps, and that has not changed. What has changed is the form those maps are taking, and the speed of communication needed to coordinate modern operations. So where is all this heading? Future Combat Systems (FCS). (For those of you unfamiliar with FCS, there are several compelling YouTube videos that show the concept; search for the phrase “FCS Vanguards.”)

The impact of FCS is apparent in the curriculum. Just as the Navy moved to Aegis systems that link every ship, aircraft, sensor, and weapons system into an integrated fighting machine, the Army is making each piece of battlefield equipment — and every soldier — a data collector and data user. FCS ties everything together, and GIS is the spatial data integration environment. For you old Star Trek fans, think of the Borg. The big difference is that although cadets are taught to work as well-coordinated teams, they are also taught to think for themselves and show leadership.

For more than two centuries, West Point has trained our military leaders. During that time, mapping and other technologies have changed significantly, and they continue to evolve rapidly. What hasn’t changed is the West Point commitment to excellence, and to “Duty, Honor, Country.”

April 9, 2009
Right Oblique . . . March!

A complex base-mapping project spawns new techniques — and brings the power of oblique imagery to the military.

By Art Kalinski, GISP

When I started basic training and learned the marching command “right oblique march,” little did I know that the term “oblique” would become a capstone of my GIS career. As most readers know, I was a career naval officer who set up the Navy’s first GIS in the mid-eighties. After military retirement and graduate work at the University of North Carolina, I served as the Atlanta Regional Commission (ARC) GIS Manager until I retired early to join Pictometry last year.

I did so because, much to my surprise, oblique imagery was not being used by the military. In Atlanta, we saw such a dramatic improvement in the effectiveness of first responders using oblique imagery that I felt compelled to help bring this technology to our troops in the field. The first major oblique imagery project that I managed was imaging all Marine Corps Bases in the continental United States.

The United States Marine Corps contracted Pictometry International and the engineering firm PBS&J to image every USMC base in the continental U.S. with high-resolution ortho and oblique imagery. The imagery was captured from late 2007 through early 2008 and delivered to Marine Corps headquarters for installation in the East and West Coast GeoFidelis GIS systems. Capturing the imagery was uneventful, except for scheduling flights around base exercises and a solving a technical issue that was keeping us from shooting the high-altitude Marine Corps Mountain Warfare Training Center in Bridgeport, California.

We assisted with the installation of the imagery and software at the East and West GeoFidelis computer centers in a CITRIX environment. After the installation, eighteen user-training classes were held at ten Marine Corps bases.

Students in the USMC user-training classes learned about oblique imagery, the viewing software, and ESRI ArcGIS integration.

The contract also called for a Public Works Implementation Plan and a Fire Protection Implementation Plan. Several other projects — including a 3D interactive model for security use, an oblique mosaic of a base to replace a large wall photograph lost in a major fire, and a proof of concept demonstrating the integration of oblique imagery with TerraGo GeoPDFs — were also completed.

Quality Control

I personally reviewed all the imagery for completeness of coverage, and individual images were spot-checked for image quality. The initial Quantico imagery had too much snow cover to be useful; it was reshot later in the season when the snow had melted. Snow obscures ground details, and the white reflections create excessive contrast that diminishes the visibility of adjoining features.

All imagery from five directions — north, south, east, west, and ortho — had complete coverage, with the exception of the west view imagery of Miramar. Heavy winds had caused the aircraft to drift off course, resulting in a gap in the oblique imagery from the west view. The other views fully cover the two-square-mile area, and although this falls within quality standards, it will be reshot later this year. This is an error rate of only .02 percent.

Technical Difficulties

Oblique imagery had never been collected at the high altitudes needed to photograph the Mountain Warfare Training Center, located about 30 miles east of Yosemite Park. The problem was that the hard drives used to record the imagery couldn’t operate above 10,000 feet. Hard-disk magnetic recorders require a minimal air density in order to separate the record heads from the magnetic media with a microscopic air layer. Low air pressures at 14,000 feet cause the record heads to “crash,” or come in contact with the magnetic surface of the record media. Significant engineering time and experimentation ultimately solved the problem.

The initial solution was to use pressurized rotating media with high-altitude specifications. This solution functions at up to approximately 16,000 feet above mean sea level, but is not fully reliable. The drives also have slower transfer rates, so more drives were needed in the aircraft for efficient capture. There are other limitations of the rotating technology that are not desirable for a long-term solution, but the capture was accomplished. Engineers are currently testing a more promising technology for high-altitude capture using high-speed, solid-state drive technology. Early examples of this technology proved to be too slow for efficient capture, but new versions of the equipment are showing more promise.

There were concerns that a CITRIX deployment of the imagery and viewing software could have speed problems. Additionally, the Marine Corps is moving to ArcServer technology, so engineering time was devoted to alternative solutions. Engineers developed thin-client viewing software that could be used if needed.

Something New: An Oblique Mosaic

During the course of the contract, a feasibility question was raised: Was it possible to merge individual oblique images to create a base-wide oblique image? This idea was prompted by the loss, during a building fire, of a large traditional aerial photograph. Engineers developed a technique to tile and seamlessly merge multiple oblique photographs to form what looks like a single high-altitude — yet high-resolution — oblique image. This was especially challenging since oblique images don’t edge-match easily; each image has a different perspective, with each pixel being a different size and not rectangular in shape. Those challenges were overcome, and a single base-wide oblique image was created to replace the destroyed aerial photograph. Since the large mosaic was created from many low-altitude, high-resolution obliques, the final large oblique image had very fine resolution throughout.

3D Models

One of the deliverables requested under this contract was an interactive 3D model of a high-visibility location in the Washington D.C. area. The location presents security and logistics challenges, so an interactive 3D model will be very useful. The “wire frame” model was created from multiple oblique images by Precision Light Works (PLW) with a semi-automated process similar to stereo pair analysis.

Once the wire frame is created, the same imagery is automatically draped on the 3D model to create not only a photo-realistic model, but a photo-accurate model — meaning that features are accurately located on the models. The 3D model created by PLW can be used in various software viewers, including Google Earth. Some 3D viewers can also do measurements within the 3D model.

Public Works Report

PBS&J worked with Pictometry engineers to develop an implementation plan using oblique imagery for public works applications. One public works application surfaced because there was a need to conduct a survey of runway approaches to determine whether trees had grown into the glide paths or if unauthorized construction had occurred within the glide paths.

The traditional method to accomplish this task was with survey crews sighting and measuring objects on site — a time-consuming task. The ability to measure heights of vertical features made oblique imagery a natural choice for this application. PBS&J tested the concept and demonstrated the feasibility of doing surveys with the imagery, but more work will be needed to test the accuracy of this method and ultimately receive certification.

Fire Protection and Emergency Response Report

Another use of oblique imagery, which received significant publicity, is its use as a planning tool for firefighters en route to a fire. The imagery permits the firefighters to get the lay of the land, measure distances to fire hydrants, and view accessibility.
Many counties using the oblique imagery have statistically measured a reduction in fire attack time of 60 to 90 seconds.

This is a significant improvement, and the Marine Corps wanted to provide this advantage to their firefighters. The contract called for a firefighting implementation plan, and we had veteran Battalion Fire Chief Wayne Harper on our team to develop one. Paper reports have always left me cold, so I asked Harper, Why not deliver a functioning laptop, similar to those used by other firefighters, as a deliverable with the plan? We did exactly that, and delivered a fully functional Toughbook laptop configured with oblique imagery, GIS data, and software that could be used in fire trucks for tactical planning. This hands-on working example went further than just a paper report, and should facilitate the installation of similar capabilities on all USMC fire trucks.

Taking the Lead

Usually the Marine Corps is at the “tip of the spear” in world conflicts and combat situations, but rarely are they in the lead when it comes to technology. With this oblique imagery project, the USMC has certainly moved to the forefront with oblique imagery technology.

Although not part of the Marine Corps contract, the development work done to complete the contract underpinned potential war fighter applications. The research and testing clearly points the way to make this technology available to deployed combat units in-theater in an operational mode that could provide near-real-time imagery to ground troops. To this end, Pictometry recently signed an alliance partnership with a leading defense contractor to work on a number of related military projects.

Photos: Art Kalinski

November 11, 2008
Grid Cell Modeling: The Other GIS

Most real-world datasets are continuous, and therefore more accurately displayed in a grid cell-based GIS than as points, lines, or polygons.

By Art Kalinski, GISP

Back in the mid-1980s, when I established the U.S. Navy’s first GIS, we used mapping software from a company called National Planning Data Corporation (NPDC). In the process, I had several interesting GIS-related discussions with NPDC’s founder, Peter Francese. His observation was that as we’ve grown in knowledge and sophistication, we’re actually substituting information for resources. He used the telephone as an example. If you’ve ever handled a ’20s-era telephone, you may remember that it weighed a very heavy 10 to 12 pounds because it was made from copper, brass, steel, and lots of Bakelite (one of the first synthetic thermosetting resins).

There were only three things you could do with that phone: dial, talk, and listen. By comparison, in the ’80s phones had evolved into one-pound devices made of lightweight copolymers and integrated circuit chips that featured memory, autodial, and speakerphone. What Peter observed is that we substituted our growing knowledge of plastics and integrated circuits for traditional materials. Today’s four-ounce cell phones continue that evolutionary model.

GIS has evolved in a similar way. With GIS, we are substituting spatial knowledge and analysis to use resources more efficiently, whether it is military effectiveness, forest management, mining, oil exploration, or transportation. Despite the growth of GIS and spatially enabled applications, surprisingly few people have augmented their traditional point, line, and polygon GIS with more sophisticated spatial tools and applications, such as grid cell modeling or raster-based GIS.

Most are familiar with raster image processing software such as IDRISI or ERDAS but few realize that they also contain strong modeling and analysis tools. The majority of GIS users operate in an ESRI environment but only a few take advantage of grid cell modeling found in ArcInfo GRID or Spatial Analyst.

Polygon GIS vs. Grid Cell GIS.

I agree that the original ESRI software GRID was not easy to use. I continue to be thankful to Chris Cappelli of ESRI who helped me learn ArcInfo 6.0 GRID when I was working on my master’s degree at UNC Charlotte back in ‘92. Likewise, if you ever had to read Dana Tomlin’s book Cartographic Modeling, which was a key publication developing the rules of grid cell modeling and Map Algebra you may remember how deceptively simple it seemed and how the learning curve shot into the stratosphere half way through the book.

Why bother? you say. The big reason is that most information you work with doesn’t have discrete borders. We constantly display demographic data, noise footprints, trade areas, soils, elevation, medical, environmental, biological and atmospheric and data sets as Points, Lines or Polygons. Yet in the real world the only certainty is death, taxes and the political boundary that defines the taxable footprint. Most datasets are continuous and don’t have clear discrete boundaries. I can show you the edge of my property but I can’t show you a clear boundary of moisture content in my lawn.

Want to see the value of displaying continuous data as continuous data rather than a generalized polygon? Look at these polygons, now roll over the polygons to see the data as a continuous dataset. You can see how limited your understanding of the data is with simple polygons. Continuous data fills in the gray areas between and paints a more understandable picture.

Roll over the blue/green polygon to reveal the continuous gray tone eye.

Roll over the blue/green polygon to reveal the continuous gray tone eye.

Why can’t I use Points, Lines and Polygons to do my analysis? You can, and using tools such as joins, unions and intersects will do simple spatial data analysis. If you need to work with an area of continuous data the best you’ll be able to do is a series of buffer polygons that approximate the data. But even more important, if the interaction of the datasets is a complex mathematical model, then a traditional GIS will reach its limit quickly.

Remember that in a traditional GIS not only is a polygon defined as a series of vertices and arcs but the software also has to keep track of the topological relationship of the features. That’s a lot of overhead to maintain. By comparison, a grid cell based GIS is made up of a large matrix of cells that are consistent in size and location. Just like the computer screen you are viewing the only thing that changes are assigned values of each cell. This makes processing extremely fast, especially on large datasets

This is the critical difference between a polygon based GIS and grid cell based GIS. Several years ago I remember seeing a community planning software called Index that appeared to use grid cells. The hope was that it could be used for MPO regional transportation planning. The problem was that it was a traditional polygon GIS that only looked like a grid based GIS because it used square polygons. Since each cell had to carry all the topological baggage of a polygon, it was extremely slow and crashed on all except the smallest size city.

A true grid cell GIS is very fast and capable of digesting some very large datasets. I’ve seen some very effective site selection programs that take multiple layers of grid data to determine the optimal characteristics of successful sites and search a new region for locations that meet the same criteria. John Calkins, ESRI’s expert in GRID and Spatial Analyst cited numerous examples ranging from site suitability work for oil and gas exploration to an ingenious effort to combat terrorism using “Human Terrain” modeling that identifies locations of populations by religious, political and ethnic background. A similar effort was very successful in identifying drug traffic sites in US cities almost as soon as established.

Drilling through multiple layers: ESRI.

2D or 3D “surface” from a mathematical function.

But where grid cell modeling really shines is the ability to get the cells to react to adjoining or nearby cells based on simple or very complex mathematical functions. The bottom line is that if you can describe what you want to happen as a mathematical formula, grid cell modeling can do it. Simple formulas like gravity models used in location analysis or very complex relationships such as the behavior of forest fires are examples of grid cell modeling work currently being done.

So don’t be stuck in the Point, Line and Polygon GIS. Dust off your old GIS text books and I’m sure you will find a chapter on grid cell or raster based GIS. The good news is that with programs like ESRI’s Model Builder the process is now much easier. As GIS users become more numerous and sophisticated we need to stay ahead of the curve. Grid cell based GIS may be one way to do that add new visibility to your GIS operation.

June 1, 2008
The 2008 ESRI Federal User Conference

By Art Kalinski, GISP

Several weeks ago, I attended the ESRI Federal User Conference, held February 20-22 in Washington, D.C. I wish I could report on some earthshaking new technology that is going to change everything, but as with most mature technologies, what I saw were mostly refinements of existing technologies such as ArcGIS 9.3.

In 9.3, scheduled to ship in June, Web connectivity and integration have been improved, as have 3D tools and applications. An automatic Send Crash Report to ESRI notification has been added, along with very easy integration and connectivity with Google and Microsoft. Other improvements include working under the Vista operating system and enhancements to Model Builder.

I’ve been a strong advocate of Spatial Analyst and its use with Model Builder, which has greatly simplified this aspect of GIS. Too many GIS users have been stuck in a “point, line, and polygon” GIS, but not all GIS data have discrete borders. Most environmental and social data have fuzzy boundaries and can only be modeled accurately as continuous functions. The beauty of Spatial Analyst (GRID) is that if you can mathematically describe what is happening, Spatial Analyst can model and display the phenomenon.

I know that grid cell modeling can get difficult, but the grid cell environment is a powerful tool that can take some GIS projects to the next level of accuracy and completeness. Grid cell modeling is also significantly faster than trying to force polygons into a large dynamic model.

I did see one new dataset that could be very valuable to certain users: Robert Renner of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development demonstrated a free dataset from the U.S. Postal Service on address vacancies. It can be used to identify neighborhood changes showing emigration (vacated homes) or new neighborhoods (not-yet-occupied homes). This dataset is an early indicator that could be very useful for economic development, crime prevention, and public safety applications.

Although most attendees didn’t observe any major developments in GIS, it was a good opportunity to network and see what peers in other agencies are doing. Over years of attending conferences, I’ve found that unless you’re new to the business, 95 percent of the information presented is old news. What makes the events worthwhile is discovering that little gem, that new piece of information or technology that you would have missed otherwise.

It’s tough putting on a conference for such a diverse group of attendees, whose interests and experience levels run the gamut. With that in mind, and remembering the story of the blind men describing an elephant, I asked several of my fellow attendees what gems they uncovered at the 2008 FedUC.

William Gray and Tony Ferguson of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency are long-term users of GIS, and neither saw much that was new other than the refinements shown in ArcGIS 9.3. On the flip side, Beth Dorch and B. Schumacher of the FBI got great benefit from some entry-level sessions, such as GIS basics and GIS definitions. They also touted the value of a simple, yet real-world demonstration of how ArcGIS was used for law enforcement analysis.

Jim Mars of the Army Corps of Engineers liked the workshop demonstrating Model Builder, which showed how he could use the information for state shelters. Annette Miller, Montana Department of Labor, was new to GIS, so everything in the expo and all the sessions was new information and a major revelation.

Brian Sterling, U.S. Department of Agriculture, Maryland, learned more about ArcExplorer and was happy to find out about TerraGo’s GeoPDF format — especially the publishing and collaboration tools. Craig Oaks of ProLogic appreciated being able to form a big picture of how customers are using GIS and how ProLogic fits in.

An unscheduled — but valuable — session was presented by Anne Miglarese, who is leading the effort to establish the National Geospatial Advisory Committee. This is a newly formed group composed of key public and private geospatial professionals that will use the public-private partnership to advance GIS and promote data sharing. This could provide a much-needed shot in the arm for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure.

Miglarese explained the genesis of the committee, and highlighted the fact that all meetings will be open to the public, and the material discussed will be available through a Web site that all can access. I know several members of this committee, and I believe it will have a significant and positive impact on GIS and geospatial efforts.

The closing session was a very interesting presentation by David Kinley of SPAWAR. David explained how NORTHCOM and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had learned lessons from Katrina response and created interoperable systems to respond quickly to natural and manmade disasters, civil disturbances, and special events such as pending political conventions. NORTHCOM and NORAD use a system called SAGE, while DHS uses a system called iCAV. He also discussed TRITON, a Web-based critical infrastructure protection system used by the Army Corps of Engineers.

Through a combined effort, data stovepipes were eliminated, and data sharing is now the norm. David addressed the difficulty in finding trained and qualified people to support these systems and noted that the agency is turning to the service academies to train new personnel.

I found the last 30 minutes to be the most interesting part of the conference. Jack Dangermond announced that by popular request, ESRI was going to establish an Intel User Community that will be facilitated by Mark Schultz, ESRI’s director of intelligence. Jack then had an open-mic question-and-answer session with the audience. Unlike the current array of politicians, he didn’t have pre-screened and pre-approved questions. Some of the questions were very penetrating, and I almost cringed for him when I heard some of them. But he answered all the questions with great candor.

Jack has built a worldwide organization that almost has a cult following. One only needs to experience the annual User Conference, attended by 13,000, to get a sense of that culture. From a federal perspective ESRI, ArcGIS, and all the related software programs have become a critical national resource. GIS is now fully integrated in all aspects of federal operations, as shown by this year’s speaker and attendee list. So people are understandably curious to see how developments at Google and Microsoft are affecting GIS.

One member of the audience asked Jack why Google and Microsoft seem to be building such strength in GIS-related efforts such as Google Earth and Microsoft Virtual Earth, whether this poses a threat to ESRI, and why ESRI didn’t dominate this area. The ESRI president answered in a way that only someone who is really confident in his work and organization can.

He replied that the goals and funding of ESRI, Google, and Microsoft are directed toward different purposes. ESRI is a company whose resources of roughly 600 million dollars per year are reinvested to expand the body of GIS knowledge, further the use of GIS, and support GIS customers. Google and Microsoft have billions to devote to the key goal of driving customers to advertisers. They are interested in search engines, base maps, and mapping to capture 8 to 10 billion dollars in ad revenue, not the smaller technical niche of GIS. On the other hand they could decide to take over GIS and then we’d be out of business, Jack said with a wink.

One last question dealt with concerns about the openness of our society and the accessibility of information by terrorists, especially GIS data. Jack indicated that this also concerned him, but he was comforted by the thought shown by history that open societies ultimately are more successful than closed ones. On that note, the conference concluded.

After the conference I was able to talk with Jack, and I shared with him common feelings and conclusions I’ve heard from many first responders, planners, and DHS personnel regarding access to data. Most believe that it would be impossible to get the information genie back in the bottle. Additionally, determined terrorists can get information they need even without high-tech tools because they have the advantage of choosing and researching a specific target, even with simple ground-level photos and personal observations.

First responders, however, must be in a position to respond quickly and effectively to all possible targets, since they don’t have the advantage of knowing a target ahead of time. That tips the scale in favor of having accurate and complete datasets and imagery readily available for our first responders. Jack was comforted by that information, and indicated that he would use it in other discussions. I would appreciate hearing from anyone with a different point of view who would like to share the reasoning behind it; please contact me.

Overall, it was a good conference that met the needs of a very diverse group of attendees. I believe that everyone who attended came away with at least one new piece of information or insight that made the conference worthwhile.

March 17, 2008
The Holy Grail of GIS in Alabama?

Virtual Alabama, a system for sharing homeland security data, serves as a model of success for other states to follow.

By Art Kalinski, GISP

One weekend a few years ago, like most good GIS professionals, I was randomly reviewing USGS topo maps for fun. No, I’m not that far gone; I was actually searching for a retirement location. I noticed a region of northeast Alabama that featured a large lake surrounded by good-sized foothills. My wife, Connie, and I drove out to Lake Guntersville and fell in love with the place.

The peninsular town of Guntersville, which was still fairly undiscovered at that time, reminded me a little of Newport, Rhode Island. Lake Guntersville was twice the size of the landlocked Lake Lanier near our home in Atlanta, not to mention uncrowded and always at full pool. It offered superb sailing, fishing, and navigable water to Knoxville, the Gulf of Mexico, and even up to Lake Michigan. We bought a place and finally moved there permanently in December.

Now Alabama is certainly not the first state that comes to mind when one mentions technology, but little did I know that 30 miles north of Guntersville, in Huntsville, that stereotype was being shattered. Alabama was working on a system to communicate and share data for homeland security, creating a model that other states are now emulating.

The effort was initiated by Governor Bob Riley, who was frustrated by the lack of information he experienced while trying to respond to Hurricanes Dennis and Katrina in 2005, as well as tornadoes in 2003 and 2007. He instructed Jim Walker, his Department of Homeland Security (DHS) director, to fix the problem. As a retired Army lieutenant colonel, Walker tackled the issue with the same determination that had served him so well on active duty. He formulated the concept for Virtual Alabama; then, for implementation, he turned to the technical talent that was prevalent in Huntsville at the research park, the Redstone Arsenal, and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center.

For decades, at GIS conferences and in classrooms across the country, we’ve heard the ultimate dream repeated: GIS would become a universal data integrator; it would provide all users with a common operating picture while mining data from many different sources. Finding this holy grail of GIS has been an uphill struggle, with seekers achieving varying degrees of success.

Virtual Alabama is unique among the myriad of efforts to reach this goal — unique in both its approach and its results. The system was developed by Norven Goddard, the assistant director for science and technology of Alabama DHS, and Chris Johnson, the vice president of geospatial technologies for the U.S. Space and Rocket Center. Goddard is on loan to DHS from the Army Space and Missile Command’s Future Warfare Center, where he serves as assistant director for science and technology. His technical staff includes Amy Robison and Justin Novak.

Goddard researched and tested every possible GIS viewing system, some common and some less well known. His search of systems included ESRI, Intergraph, Google Earth, NASA’s World Wind, Falconview, Skyline, Battlescape, and others. Goddard had several criteria that he wanted to meet. The system had to be cheap, easy to use, robust, able to ingest all data formats (vector, raster, and tabular), scalable, capable of supporting many simultaneous users, and sustainable. The one system that floated to the top was Google Earth — Google Earth Enterprise, in particular. With Google Earth the system could ingest the primary GIS data sets built in ESRI or Intergraph environments, it could serve the data to many users, and it was simple to use. In addition, the system is secure using Google Earth Enterprise, since it doesn’t touch Google Earth.

It’s interesting to note that the Google Earth technology was originally created by a company called Keyhole, under contract to the CIA. Google bought the rights, but the “K” in KML still points back to the file format’s origins. Even more interesting is that the wheel has come full circle, with more than 21 states — and several federal agencies involved in homeland security — carefully reviewing the success of Virtual Alabama as an example of “best practices” and rediscovering the old Keyhole effort, enhanced by the people at Google and in Alabama.

The statewide data sets include all available county GIS data, such as political boundaries, roads, rivers, streams, lakes, highways, parcels, floodplains, etc.

The system has evolved into a very sophisticated spatial data integration and viewing system that is accessible by every state agency. In addition to the standard vector data (points, lines, and polygons), the system has been expanded to include ortho-imagery, scanned USGS topo maps, and now photo-realistic 3D models built from high-resolution oblique imagery.

An example of 3D models built from high-resolution oblique imagery. Image courtesy of PLW ModelWorks/Pictometry.

The system can be used to drill down through multiple data layers or view 3D fly-through models, and it can even show detailed CAD floor plans and building interiors created in SketchUp. The system can also show the effects of floods and display plume footprints from Cameo/Aloha.

Floodplain data displayed in Google Earth shows the scope of buildings affected by a potential flood.

Those of you who have tried to establish such a system may have already guessed that some of the toughest hurdles were institutional, not technical. Virtual Alabama couldn’t be a system that relied on creating all the data; the cost of doing that would have been a showstopper. Instead, if there was to be any chance of success, the data had to come from local sources. But with the prevailing attitudes toward data ownership, cost recovery, and people jealously guarding their data, any statewide system was going to be a challenge.

The Virtual Alabama team enlisted the aid of county sheriffs who, in Alabama, are the second-highest-ranking public officials in their counties. Since this was a homeland security issue, the sheriffs were very willing participants, and they had the clout to make it happen. Additionally, as the system was growing, no one wanted to be the only holdout county that wasn’t part of this “mutual aid” resource.

Being Google-based helped with quick learning and adoption, as many users had already learned the basics of Google Earth on their home computers. At first the GIS community felt threatened, because this was not a “true GIS,” and it was much too easy to use. After all, most GIS people felt that they were the gatekeepers of mapping.

Soon, however, the reality changed perceptions. The number of users viewing data and creating maps exploded, as did the demand for better and more up-to-date GIS data. The GIS shops found themselves doing the higher-level work of building, updating, analyzing, and serving GIS data, rather than just cranking out maps. Virtual Alabama started as a DHS effort, but its use has spread to 34 state agencies with about 2,200 users — most without GIS backgrounds.

Each county continues to create and maintain its own data. The updates or expanded data sets are uploaded to Virtual Alabama continuously. New capabilities are being added weekly, including the ability to inset and register photos of disaster locations taken from news or police helicopters. Another advantage of the system is that counties that may not have the resources to create their own sophisticated GIS can still benefit by using the ready-built system and available data as a starting point for their own operation.

Everyone wishes that Virtual Alabama was a fully fleshed-out system with the same level of detail for all data layers, but it’s not. It’s still a work in progress that now has momentum and a broad array of motivated individuals building data elements to expand and increase the level of detail. As non-GIS-trained users learn more, they want more, and are willing to help. For instance, firefighters who in the past created paper ledgers of data relating to buildings and their contents are now creating floorplan CAD files or SketchUp models.

These SketchUp models were built by local firefighters using Alabama orthoimagery.

Now here is the real shocker. Are you ready? The total cost of setting up Virtual Alabama was just $150,000.

As I’m writing this article, several southern states are recovering from a huge weather event that spawned many tornadoes and killed, at last count, 55 people. I know that Alabama DHS is making good use of Virtual Alabama to respond to the storm and aid recovery efforts.

Tornado-damaged buildings are visible in this image, which was taken from a police helicopter.

This does highlight the fact that these disasters know no political boundaries, and that “mutual aid” and “interoperability” are not just buzzwords. If your agency needs to have access to GIS data and to create a common operating picture, take a serious look at the success of Virtual Alabama. This is a critical — and practical — high-tech system from the home of real rocket scientists.

February 1, 2008
Orion Partners with Sky-Shine

Orion Technology Inc. has formed a partnership with Sky-Shine Corporation Sdn. Bhd., a firm specializing in GIS development and mapping services, surveying and mapping systems, and environmental and laboratory instrumentation in Malaysia.

Sky-Shine offers a full range of geospatial information technology services, from data conversion to application development and implementation. It serves both public- and private-sector agencies, and provides services in GIS system development and implementation, digital mapping and data acquisition, data conversion, and remote sensing.

Sky-Shine is the distributor of Digital Globe’s QuickBird high-resolution satellite imagery product and provides value-added services to the remote sensing industry in the region. In addition, Sky-Shine is also a distributor for GeoExpress from LizardTech, a geospatial software package for managing, distributing, and accessing complex geospatial imagery. As an ESRI business partner in Malaysia, Sky-Shine serves clients in various sectors including government, private, and educational institutions.

“We are committed to exceeding customer expectations for quality and prompt delivery. Being a partner of Orion, our vision becomes more global, and more focused on system and data integration. Our ‘GeoWeb’ initiative, powered by OnPoint, will be the platform of geo services within Malaysia,” noted Zalizan Mohd Salleh, technical manager of Sky-Shine.

By using Orion’s OnPoint Web-GIS solution, Sky-Shine will enhance its services pertaining to spatial data access and solution integration, for both their existing clients and new clients in the region. OnPoint comes with an administration tool, providing a simple user interface to create Configuration Files that define views. The user can easily change the appearance, functionality, data content, and security of OnPoint. OnPoint allows users to publish their GIS data quickly and securely over the Web and connect to any spatial and nonspatial data throughout their organization, turning their Web-GIS into a true enterprise solution.

“OnPoint continues to gain further acceptance throughout the world as the standard for Web-GIS. Sky-Shine is a well-established firm that shares our commitment to delivering quality, leading edge solutions to clients. Sky-Shine has significant opportunities to leverage OnPoint in the Malaysian market, and we look forward to working with them in this regard,” commented Faizal Hasham, director of Sales and Marketing at Orion.

April 17, 2007
Brian Soliday Joins TerraGo Technologies

TerraGo Technologies, provider of GeoPDF and the MAP2PDF family of products, announced that Brian Soliday has joined the company as vice-president of sales. Soliday will be responsible for expanding use of the company’s geospatial data distribution format known as GeoPDF.

Prior to signing on with TerraGo, Soliday spent almost 20 years in various sales, consulting, and business development management roles with Space Imaging, Autodesk, LizardTech, and Trimble, as well as start-up geospatial technology vendors.

“Brian has successfully grown and managed all kinds of sales organizations in other GIS solutions companies. We expect that his broad base of experience as well as his in-depth knowledge of the geospatial market will help us execute effectively while we’re experiencing rapid expansion of our customer base across multiple vertical markets,” said James Davis, TerraGo president and CEO.

Adoption of TerraGo’s MAP2PDF products and GeoPDF technology has steadily increased in the last year. Unit sales of products are up almost 500 percent, while the TerraGo customer base has grown more than 300 percent. The company’s employee base has more than doubled.

The MAP2PDF family of products allows customers to publish and collaborate on GeoPDF files that contain robust cartographic data and mapping capabilities, including layers and embedded feature attributes. GeoPDF files can be easily distributed and used in connected or disconnected modes. Because the product leverages Adobe Reader, most non-GIS pros already have viewing software installed and are familiar with how to use it.

WithGeoPDF, users are able to view finished digital maps, turn layers on and off, query attributes, display coordinates, measure distances, and track locations via GPS without the need for specialized geospatial knowledge or training.

“TerraGo has gained momentum quickly because the product set addresses problems that organizations have long struggled with,” said Soliday. “Being able to open up their GIS data to anyone in the enterprise anywhere in the world gives GIS professionals vast new capabilities and opportunities to create greater value while serving constituents more effectively. It’s a unique value proposition and the user community is already embracing the possibilities GeoPDF brings to this market space.”

In addition to his professional experience in the GIS industry, Soliday is an active member of the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing, serving as the Rocky Mountain Region President in 2004. Soliday also serves on the editorial advisory board of Geospatial Solutions magazine. A practicing conservationist, habitat partner and life member of the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation (RMEF), Soliday currently serves the RMEF as Colorado State Volunteer Chair. He graduated from the University of Nebraska at Omaha with Bachelors and Masters Degrees in Geography with specialties in GIS and Remote Sensing.

November 9, 2006