What is GIS?

GIS is a collection of computer hardware, software, and geographic data for capturing, managing, analyzing, and displaying all forms of geographically referenced information.

Why Geography?
Geography is a serious discipline with multibillion dollar implications for businesses and governments. Choosing sites, targeting market segments, planning distribution networks, responding to emergencies, or redrawing country boundariesall of these problems involve questions of geography. Here's an example of how Bank of America used GIS to show the geographic distribution of the bank's network in relation to deposit potential in the New York City market area. From this analysis, Bank of America can determine where their coverage is strong and where it is weak. Red dots symbolize strong coverage; no dots means coverage is nonexistent. Learn more. Learn more about why Geography Matters [white paper, PDF-319 KB].

How Does GIS Use Geography?

With a geographic information system (GIS), you can link information (attributes) to location data, such as people to addresses, buildings to parcels, or streets within a network. You can then layer that information to give you a better understanding of how it all works together. You choose what layers to combine based on what questions you need to answer. In this example, emergency medical service (EMS) call information, including call type, elapsed travel time, and which rescue unit was dispatched to the call's location, has been linked to addresses. With this GIS-linked database, questions such as "What percent of dispatched calls did each EMS unit respond to within its assigned zone?" can be answered. Learn more.

Three Views of a GIS

A GIS is most often associated with maps. A map, however, is only one way you can work with geographic data in a GIS, and only one type of product generated by a GIS. This is important, because it means that a GIS can provide a great deal more problem-solving capabilities than using a simple mapping program or adding data to an online mapping tool (creating a "mash-up"). A GIS can be viewed in three ways:

1. The Database View: A GIS is a unique kind of database of the world

a geographic database (geodatabase). It is an "Information System for Geography." Fundamentally, a GIS is based on a structured database that describes the world in geographic terms. Learn more.

2. The Map View: A GIS is a set of intelligent maps and other views that
show features and feature relationships on the earth's surface. Maps of the underlying geographic information can be constructed and used as "windows into the database" to support queries, analysis, and editing of the information. This is called geovisualization. Learn more.

3. The Model View: A GIS is a set of information transformation tools

that derive new geographic datasets from existing datasets. These geoprocessing functions take information from existing datasets, apply analytic functions, and write results into new derived datasets. Learn more.

In other words, by combining data and applying some analytic rules, you can create a model that helps answer the question you have posed. In the example below, GPS and GIS were used to accurately model the expected location and distribution of debris for the Space Shuttle Columbia, which

broke up upon re-entry over eastern Texas on February 1, 2003. Learn more about this project.

Together, these three views are critical parts of an intelligent GIS and are used at varying levels in all GIS applications.

What Can You Do with GIS?

Map Where Things Are
Mapping where things are lets you find places that have the features you're looking for, and to see where to take action. 1. Find a featurePeople use maps to see where or what an individual feature is. 2. Finding patternsLooking at the distribution of features on the map instead of just an individual feature, you can see patterns emerge.
Maps of the locations of earthquake shaking hazards are essential to creating and updating building codes used in the United States. Online, interactive earthquake maps, as well as seismicity and fault data, are available at earthquake.usgs.gov.

Map Quantities
People map quantities, like where the most and least are, to find places that meet their criteria and take action, or to see the relationships between places. This gives an additional level of information beyond simply mapping the locations of features.

This map shows the number of children under 18 per clinically active pediatrician for a particular study area. It was created by the Center for the Evaluative Clinical Sciences at Dartmouth Medical School as part of an effort to develop a national U.S. database of primary care resources and health services.

For example, a catalog company selling children's clothes would want to find ZIP Codes not only around their store, but those ZIP Codes with many young families with relatively high income. Or, public health officials might not only want to map physicians, but also map the numbers of physicians per 1,000 people in each census tract to see which areas are adequately served, and which are not.

Map Densities
While you can see concentrations by simply mapping the locations of features, in areas with many features it may be difficult to see which areas have a higher concentration than others. A density map lets you measure the number of features using a uniform areal unit, such as acres or square miles, so you can clearly see the distribution. Mapping density is especially useful when mapping areas, such as census tracts or counties, which vary greatly in size. On maps showing the number of people per census tract, the larger tracts might have more people than smaller ones. But some smaller tracts might have more people per square milea higher density.
This map shows population density in the east Asian and Indian Ocean regions.

Find What's Inside

Use GIS to monitor what's happening and to take specific action by mapping what's inside a specific area. For example, a district attorney would monitor drug-related arrests to find out if an arrest is within 1,000 feet of a school--if so, stiffer penalties apply.

This image from The Sanborn Map Company, Inc., shows a geoprocessed sample explosion radius around an area in California. Each separate zone represents 1/4-mile, the outermost perimeter being 1 mile away from the source.

Find What's Nearby

Find out what's occurring within a set distance of a feature by mapping what's nearby.
The Pacific Disaster Center has developed and applied a Vulnerability-Exposure-Sensitivity-Resilience model to map people and facilities (what's nearby) exposed to flood risk in the Lower Mekong River Basin (the feature).

Map Change
Map the change in an area to anticipate future conditions, decide on a course of action, or to evaluate the results of an action or policy. 1. By mapping where and how things move over a period of time, you can gain insight into how they behave. For example, a meteorologist might study the paths of hurricanes to predict where and when they might occur in the future. 2. Map change to anticipate future needs. For example, a police chief might study how crime patterns change from month to month to help decide where officers should be assigned.

3. Map conditions before and after an action or event to see the impact. A retail analyst might map the change in store sales before and after a regional ad campaign to see where the ads were most effective.

These images are from a poster titled "Losing Cape Cod," which is distributed by the Woods Hole Research Center in Woods Hole, Massachusetts. The poster shows the severe change in land use on Cape Cod since 1951. The image on the left shows the town of Barnstable in 1951 and the image on the right shows Barnstable in 1999.

DIVISION :: GIS
Q. WHAT IS GIS? A. A Geographic Information System (GIS) is a computer-based tool for mapping and analyzing things that exists and events that happen on earth. Q. HOW IT WORKS? A. It integrates common database operations such as query and statistical analysis with the unique visualization tool and geographic analysis benefits offered by maps. This ability distinguishes GIS from other systems and makes it valuable with efforts of AnantAccess.

Q. WHAT ARE THE MAJOR CHALLENGES IN GIS? A. the major challenges we face today in the world overpopulation, pollution, deforestation, and natural disasters-have a critical GIS dimension. Q. WHY GIS? A. FIRST-the cost of computer hardware needed for the task is dropping down rapidly and thus it is widely available to people at affordable rates.

A. SECOND-geography is part of our everyday world; almost every decision we make is constrained, influenced by some fact of geography. so in each and every field today we can apply this GIS effectively with Anantaccess !

DIVISION :: GPS
Q. WHAT IS GPS? A. Global Positioning System (GPS) is a satellite based navigation and surveying system, launched and controlled by US department of defense (DOD),for determination of precise position and time, using radio signals from satellites in real time or in post processing mode. GPS primarily was a military navigation system for real-time positioning. However the transformation from the ground-to-ground survey measurements made possible by GPS. In India GPS is now used for applications in diverse fields like navigation, surveying, GIS, cadastral survey etc.

Q. HOW ITS BENEFITIAL? A. one of the most significant and unique features of the global positioning system is the fact that the positioning signal is available to users in any position worldwide at any time. It gives the exact position of the point universally. so easily we can carry out precise survey. Q.HOW GPS WORKS? GPS receivers collect signals from satellites in view. They display the user's position, velocity, and time, as needed for their marine, terrestrial, or aeronautical applications. Some display additional data, such as distance and bearing to selected waypoints or digital charts. The GPS concept of operation is based upon satellite ranging. Users determine their position by measuring their distance from the group of satellites in space. The satellites act as precise reference points. Each GPS satellite transmits an accurate position and time signal, giving us the desired result. Q. WHAT ABOUT SURVEYING ,MAPPING AND CIVIL ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS? A. As our company Anant Access is a civil engineering company with GIS and GPS background we know very well how we can do wonders with this combination. The high precision of GPS carrier phase measurements, together with appropriate adjustments algorithms, provide an adequate tool for a variety of tasks for surveying and mapping as executed by AnantAccess.

The GPS is used to map cut blocks, road alignments, environmental hazards like land slides, forest fires, oil spills etc.. Applications, such as cadastral mapping, needing a high degree of accuracy also can be carried out using high-grade GPS receivers. Also for topographic and linear mapping. Q. WHY ANANTACCESS? A. Anant Access is well equipped with most advanced GIS and GPS techniques and instruments. Our team of expert surveyors, engineers, analysts, project managers and office staff we can carry out any kind of survey, analysis and provide most accurate results to users.

GIS Software for Civil Engineering Verticals: An Overview

Satya Priya, Puneet Sharma and Premal Mehta RMSI, A-7, Sector 16, Noida, UP 201 301, INDIA Tel: 91-120-451-2101, 1102, Fax: 91-120-451-0963 E-mail: SatyaP@riskinc.com

Abstract Geographic Information Systems have become a prevalent method of analysis in civil engineering. Flexible GIS models that manipulate compile and process spatial data above or below the earths surface have provided a powerful tool in civil engineering applications. To realize this RMSI provides a wide range of Geographic Information Systems services and solutions such as geological applications, Bore hole study, ground engineering, geotechnical engineering, environmental engineering, rural, urban and regional planning. For projects where spatial representation and analysis are not separable from the science and substance, RMSI provide the experience, intellect and self-guidance needed to produce top-quality GIS applications. RMSI works at all project levels, from project management, to production, to technical services. Depending on a client's needs, we perform routine task, or take charge of an entire project, from team building to creation of maps and models. RMSI GIS technical services cover the full range, from map production, to spatial analysis, to remote sensing, to application development, to on-site GIS project executions. For MapAsia 2002, we would like to present few top class software applications developed for our Japanese Client - Oyo Corporation to demonstrate RMSI GIS

engineering capabilities to meet complexity of the problem maintaining worldclass quality. Applications to be presented at MapAsia 2002 will be: 1. OYOGIS Software: A geotechnical GIS application. 2. NETGIS: A fast and scalable enterprise solution for Intranet, and Internet using web technologies. 3. BH Manager: Aim is to create a user-friendly environment for loading Borehole data, associating Borehole Images with the selected borehole in ArcView and then Printed on the Plotter. To address the title of the paper the authors preferred to present the content comprising three applications in brief in the form of case studies as follows. Case I About OYOGIS OYOGIS is an integrated multi-lingual desktop GIS application designed to perform geological data analysis and extract geological information from spatial and non-spatial data. OYOGIS is intended for geo-technical professionals and consultants involved in water resource management and infrastructure related projects. Geo-technical engineers using this application can relate alignments and crosssections find the geological composition of a specific point along the alignment, associate documents related to a specific location on the map, and create thematic maps based on attributes of a map. Engineers can also zoom to specific parts of an alignment and see the associated cross-section area, perform spatial and non-spatial queries, and print required reports and maps. There are administrative and client components to the system. This gives managers the control needed when dealing with large projects and data sets. The administrator can create, delete, and update users and user rights, create projects, and also audit any data changes made by users. The system is open enough to support different types of data and can be customized to fit specific user needs. The software configuration used for OYOGS includes Visual Basic 6.0, Crystal reports for report creation and generation, VC++ for custom DLLs, and ESRI MapObjects for the display and analysis of maps.

GIS Software for Civil Engineering Verticals: An Overview

Case II About NETGIS NetGIS is a bilingual web based application developed by RMSI for the corporate intranet of the OYO Corporation Japan. It gives its users the power to visualize

geographic information, search and navigate through spatial and aspatial data, perform analysis on data and print reports for future use. The application is intended to help in feasibility studies for construction activities, aid in construction planning and assist in facility management. The application is designed to perform geological data analysis and extract geological information from spatial and non spatial data. NetGIS has a perfect blend of all common desktop GIS application features like zoom-in, zoom-out, pan , feature identify, search, print and thematic maps. Geo-technical engineers using this application can relate alignments, find the geological composition of a specific point along the alignment, associate digital documents related to a specific location on the map, and create thematic maps based on attributes of a map. Engineers can also perform spatial and non-spatial queries and print maps at scale. There is an administrative component to the system. This gives managers the control needed when dealing with large projects and data sets. The administrator can create, delete, and update users and user rights, create projects, and also audit any data changes made by users.

The application is currently meant for intranet deployment and uses MapXtreme-Java in its middle tier for map-data processing At the back-end is Oracle database (that can be easily replaced with any other RDBMS like MS-SQL server) The map rendering and image creation is done at server using MapXtreme servlets and then the response is sent to browser. The system has been tested extensively for load tests using Rational suite of tools and is found to give stable performance while delivering high scalability It can support up to 100 concurrent users with simultaneous requests being received at the server from clients the testing platform being: MapXtreme Server: PIV 2GHz Dual Processor 1 GB RAM; Database Server: PIII 450 MHz 512 MB RAM

Case III About Bore Hole Manager The Borehole Manager Project is specifically customized for the Punjab State Tube well Corporation. This Project allows the users to Load the borehole data (captured through GPS / Digitizer), and also Link & View / Print the Borehole images. Aim is to create a user-friendly environment for loading Borehole data, associating Borehole Images with the selected borehole, which can then be viewed in ArcView and then Printed on the Plotter. Some of the major processes/functions are as follows:

Data Transfer from GPS device to GPS Pathfinder and then Export GPS data to ArcView Shape Files through GPS Pathfinder

Exporting the Borehole Log to Borehole BMP Images through Viewlog Load Borehole location data using ArcView Merge Borehole Shape files / Themes Link/Associate Borehole Image (Images Exported through Viewlog) using ArcView View/Print/Plot Borehole Image using ArcView Printer/Plotter

The above mentioned three cases has been defied in separate sheet below to realize the scope, need and technology used to address daily civil engineering GIS needs in practice. Acknowledgements: Authors takes this opportunity to thank RMSI team and Oyo Corporation, Japan in particular for sponsoring the project, which has been derived from the actual need from their business perspective. From Oyo, authors would also like to thank Mr. Yamada Toshihiro and his team for providing technical support throughout the project for its successful accomplishments.

GIS Software for Civil Engineering Verticals: An Overview

Project Case Study I - OYOGIS Brief To develop a desktop GIS application for managing geological/geotechnical information and integration with non-GIS based engineering applications. Business Case The requirement was to design and develop a GIS application to perform geological data analysis and extraction, enable visualization of geographic information, search and navigate through spatial data, and print customized reports including maps, graphics and tabular data. Specialized engineering modules such as the Bore-Hole viewer were developed and linked to the GIS application. Scope of work

System Requirement Study (SRS). Design and development of the system. Testing. Prepare documentation to assist use and maintenance of site quality assurance and documentation.

Technologies

OOD and OOP VisualBasic COM RDBMS MapObjects

Salient Points

Bilingual. Component based architecture. Fully parameterized and user customizable. Windows 9x and Windows 2000 compatible. Enabling and disabling of functionalities allows various system configurations. Component architecture enables easy add-ins of new and enhanced functionalities.

Engineering and GIS OYOGIS | Previous | Next |

GIS Software for Civil Engineering Verticals: An Overview

Project Case Study II - NETGIS Brief To develop a bilingual scalable web based GIS solution. Business Case A need was felt to develop a fast and a scalable solution that would allow access to centralized spatial data store enabling data sharing across the enterprise and also with key clients via an Extranet or the Internet, and perform GIS analysis using the Web technologies. Scope of work

System Requirement Study (SRS). System architecture and design. Development and testing of the website. Quality a Assurance and documentation. <,/li>

Technologies

Operating Environment Server Windows 2000 Server Clients Java enabled Web Browser (IE) Programming Server Side - JDK1.3, Servlets, JSP, JDBC, XML, MapXtreme Servlet Client side Java Plugin, Applets, Swing, MapXtreme Beans, JavaScript Application Server/ Servlet Container BEA Weblogic / Tomcat4.0 (currently) Database Oracle 8i(Spatial) / Oracle8i (currently)

Salient Points

Bilingual. Highly parameterized and user configurable. Secure. IE compatible.

Feature rich for both casual and experienced GIS users - basic GIS functionalities such as pan, zoom, identify, fast navigate and advanced functionalities such as export maps, combined spatial and data queries, templates based to scale printing, document management system and creating and saving Acetate Layers have been incorporated. Robust and fast tested for 100 concurrent with an average response time of 3-5 sec for various functionalities.

Engineering and GIS NetGIS

GIS Software for Civil Engineering Verticals: An Overview

Project Case Study III Bore Hole Manager Brief Complete business solution, integrating the functionalities of Global Positioning

System (GPS) & GIS. The objective was to create an application to manage boreholes captured through GPS and the log images captured using Viewlog and digitization, all within a common user interface of ArcView. Business Case This was a Japanese Government aided project for Punjab State Tube Well Corporation, India, to enable state water table mapping and maintain spatial data of the various boreholes. The application was required to be developed as ArcView extension and be able to integrate various external interfaces of GPS and Viewlog. Scope of work

System Requirement Study. System architecture and design. Development and testing of the component. Quality assurance and documentation. User acceptance test. Training for the system.

Technologies

ArcView-GIS Application Software Trimble GPS Geo Explorer 3 and PathFinder ViewLog/PRO

Salient Points

Dynamic loading & unloading of multiraster data. On the fly projection settings. Compatible with ArcView 3.2 and lower versions. Feature rich and intuitive for all levels of GIS users. Basic GIS functionalities such as pan, zoom, identify, fast navigate and advanced functionalities such as combined spatial and data queries, template based to the scale printing, document management system have been incorporated. Digitizing the features in ArcView and plotting the images. Dynamic Linking/Viewing of the Borehole Log Images. Training the users in GIS, GPS, ArcView /ul>

Engineering and GIS Borehole Manager

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