Tag Archive for 'virtual earth'

Vexcel Imaging

Published
by
admin
on March 17, 2008
in GIS and Software
. 2 Comments

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The ORF (Austrian Broadcasting) has recently shown an documentation about Vexcel Imaging Graz, and their technology to make areal photographs and calculate altitude for designing 3D city models. Vexcel was aquired by Microsoft and their technology is used by Microsoft’s Virtual Earth Service. You can see the clip here, but unfortunately the language is German.

Written and submitted from Home, using my 802.11g WiFi network.

Microsoft’s Birds Eye view in Austria

Published
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on February 29, 2008
in GIS and Internet
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 Recently a 35.13 terabyte data update in Virtual Earth happend. Some Austrian Cities like:

  • Innsbruck
  • Klagenfurt
  • Linz
  • Salzburg
  • St. Pölten
  • Villach
  • Wels

were also affected. They can be seen now in high resolution. With the “Bird’s Eye View” these Austrian cities can be seen whith an angle of about 45 degrees, where streets, house claddings, trees and parks can be identified. The user can change the viewpoint and the selected area can be seen from all cardinal points.

Written and submitted from Home, using my 802.11g WiFi network.

Is Google Maps a GIS?

Published
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admin
on February 20, 2008
in GIS
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There are some interesting discussions about the topic if Google Maps or related Products like Yahoo! Maps, Live Maps, virtual Earth or Google Earth can be defined as Geographic Information Systems (GIS).

http://jrhicks.net/82/img_Apr_12_2005_40_32?display=medium

By definition Geographic Information Systems are:

  • Burrough, P.A., 1986: Principles of Geographic Information Systems for Land Resoures Assessment, Oxford
    A powerful set of tools for collecting, storing, retrieving at will, transforming, and displaying spatial data from the real world for a particular set of purposes.
  • Hemenway, 1989:
    A GIS is a computer system designed to allow users to collect, manage, and analyze large volumes of spatially referenced and associated attribute data.
  • Clarke, 1986:
    A computer based system for the capture, storage,retrieval, analysis and display of spatial data.
  • Dept. of Environment (1987):
    A GIS is a system for capturing, storing, checking, integrating, manipulating, analysing and displayiong data which are spatially referenced to the Earth.
  • Rhind, 1989:
    A GIS is a computer system that can hold and use data descirbing places on the earth’s surface.
  • Goodchild, 1985:
    … a system which uses a spatial database to provide answers to queries of a geographical nature. … Since putting spatial data into a computer at great expense for the sole purpose of getting it out again would be pointless, a GIS must allow a variety of manipulations to be carried out, such as sorting, selective retrieval, calculation and spatial analysis and modelling. We also expect a full range of functions to allow input of data in map form, and cartographic output …
  • Strobl, 1988:
    Systeme zur Erfassung, Speicherung, Prüfung, Manipulation, Integration, Analyse und Darstellung von Daten, die sich auf räumliche Objekte beziehen …
  • Bill/Fritsch, 1994: Grundlagen der Geo-Informationssysteme. Band 1: Hardware, Software und Daten, 2. Aufl., Karlsruhe:
    Ein Geo-Informationssystem ist ein rechnergestütztes System, das aus Hardware, Software, Daten und den Anwendungen besteht. Mit ihm können raumbezogene Daten digital erfaßt und redigiert, gespeichert und reorganisiert, modelliert und analysiert sowie alphanumerisch und graphisch präsentiert werden.
  • Wikipedia, 2008:
    A geographic information system (GIS), also known as a geographical information system or geospatial information system, is a system for capturing, storing, analyzing and managing data and associated attributes which are spatially referenced to the Earth.

The question is: Should all aspects a GIS can have, be fullfilled that you can define a system as GIS?

 Can you “do” some GIS functionality with Google Maps. Yes, Expample 1 and  Example 2.

 Can you “do” as much GIS with Google Maps as you can do for example with ESRI? No.

Some other interesting questions are: In which directions GIS is going in the future? Is there a trend from Desktop GIS to Web GIS? Is there a market for both strategies in the future?

 [inspired by spatiallyadjusted]

 Written and submitted from Home, using my 802.11g WiFi network.