By Jules Loweff, New York , New York 1-212-465-5413, loweff@pbworld.com

Part 1 of this 2-part article included information on imagery, 3-D GIS, and technology. This article picks up where the first one left off.

Industry/Market Sectors

Transportation. As technologies such as global positioning system (GPS), wireless communications, and in-car systems mature, there is a greater potential for an explosion in geospatial technology solutions for the transportation market. For example, as we move to a situation where a majority of people have a location-aware mobile phone or PDA, and/or a location-aware car with wireless communication, opportunities increase for effective management of traffic.

Devices that determine location and a centralized real-time model of the overall transportation system that communicates with those devices are needed as well as an efficient real-time spatial analysis engine that can handle large volumes of new data (thousands of updates per second). Innovative approaches that handle such large volumes will create a new generation of real-time spatial applications.

Planning. Thanks to advances in GIS technology, today's planners make decisions by analyzing multiple factors such as road and utility networks, traffic patterns, terrain characteristics, soil types, wetlands, etc. and can also project future conditions. In the future planners will increasingly use collaborative tools and models to evaluate scenarios and project land use changes based on policy inputs. At the same time greater expertise and evaluation of the models and projections are needed to mitigate uncertainty relating to their use.

Many localities are also developing asset management systems to help manage growing infrastructure and comply with federal GASB34 requirements. Others are deploying networks that allow them to share their distributed data and to enable a more flexible environment for timely response in critical infrastructure protection and emergency management situations.

Utilities. Utilities are continuing to incorporate geospatial software and services into their management and operational networks. Asset information is often provided through GIS, engineering analysis, outage management, and other utility applications. Other applications integrate dispatch and control functions to give access to real-time information.

The economic downturn and lessons from 9/11 are causing utilities to take a look at new and existing systems with an eye toward maximizing return on investment and accepting the importance of collaboration. The projects that will move ahead are those involving the expansion of location-based services further into the field through mobile systems, so they can support not only routine work but responses to emergencies and terrorist threats and attacks as well.

Indeed, at a select number of U.S. utilities, dispatchers can drag and drop work orders to crews and track those crews' movements on digital maps with asset overlays—all in real time. In addition, utilities that have integrated their GIS with their outage management system report being better able to restore service more quickly following an emergency event like a storm or a network failure. Geospatial technology also delivers another benefit: the ability to quickly identify and map critical infrastructure elements that are vulnerable targets. The value of that information has become considerably greater since 9/11. Many utilities, particularly municipals, are now overlaying critical infrastructure and emergency information and even emergency response plans on their core GIS.

Mobile GIS. In the last year, advancements in GPS technology, wireless communications, and rugged handheld devices have made mobile GIS a reality. Increasingly, field crews are taking GIS functionality and data with them and most GIS data collection applications provide the ability to take data into the field to update position and attributes. Mobile GIS enables these crews to accomplish more in a day while keeping data current. Today's mobile GIS devices can receive work orders electronically and download GIS datasets from enterprise databases by wireless communication or through a standard Internet connection. In addition to becoming more productive and flexible, mobile GIS improves the accuracy of data by extending enterprise GIS rules to the field. When a technician enters data, the GIS can automatically check the data against predefined rules. Data in the field and in the office can be synchronized. In this scenario, the enterprise GIS is closer to becoming a true geospatial representation of the infrastructure that exists.

Despite this there has not been the anticipated growth in location based services (LBS) that make use of mobile GIS. Compared with traditional planning oriented spatial applications, real time spatial decision support applications are action oriented and place new demands on data resolution and accuracy. The difference in cost between real-time posting several times per day and daily posting via overnight unit docking is often not enough to justify the additional cost of wireless.

Technology trends, though, are pointing to much greater future growth. Most areas now have reasonable wireless coverage, most phones sold are smart and text messaging capable, and commercial map datasets are widely available. The telecommunications industry has also been pushing for better tools to support mapping capabilities in mobile phones.

Despite the advances in GPS technology, positioning systems are still the biggest barrier. Overall network changes still need to be made to determine a user's location. By 2005 though, in the U.S. the Federal Communications Commission mandates that all mobile users will have locatable phones and the growth in location based mobile applications are likely to increase. Location-based solutions that can be rapidly deployed and easily integrated with existing infrastructure without requiring access through proprietary and closed interfaces, will become the cornerstone of this market sector.

Homeland Security and Defense

Homeland Security. There is growing recognition of the importance of geospatial capabilities to the homeland security community. In fact, Department of Homeland Security Director Tom Ridge has stated, “There is no question that geospatial technologies are arguably among America's most effective tools for fighting and winning the war on terror both at home and abroad."

In the National Strategy for the Physical Protection of Critical Infrastructures and Key Assets, released by the White House last year, the administration calls for the development of a geospatial database, for planning, analysis, and decision support. "We must develop an integrated critical infrastructure and key asset geospatial database for access and specific use by federal, state, and local government officials, and for the private sector," says the report.

Such a database would provide a common frame of reference for senior public-private-sector decision makers and operational planners in support of vulnerability analysis, domestic preparedness, and incident management.

Federal agencies are already seeking out and investing in new technologies for military and homeland security applications. The National Imagery and Mapping Agency is a Department of Defense agency that provides critical spatial intelligence for decision making and operational readiness. Formerly focused on imagery analysis, the agency now uses geospatial data in many different forms. Other geospatial outsourcing programs are found in the USGS, the Army Corps of Engineers, and FEMA.

Within a few years it is expected that the new Homeland Security Department will begin driving changes in the way governments at every level and private infrastructure operators share information. Whether they are business assets or critical infrastructure at risk, collaborative information sharing will be essential.

Many organizations are finding that location intelligence is critical to protecting physical assets. In the wake of a disaster, the best way to ensure continuity is to have a detailed plan in place that accounts for where physical assets are located. It is essential to communicate this information across organizations and allow dissemination of data for first responders.

For many cities and counties, geospatial information technology has emerged as the enabler of new and complex emergency-management plans. Developers have built GIS applications to manage incident action plans in real time and resource databases that have a mapping component that can provide emergency crews with the locations of tools, facilities, or equipment.

As a side effect, geospatial technology is now at the center of debates over whether sensitive information should be accessible by the public. In the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, some municipalities are considering geospatial data as sensitive information that terrorists might use to plan further assaults.

Achieving and maintaining homeland security will require the efforts of more than just a nation's military and intelligence agencies. All organizations that manage the critical infrastructures—powerplants and grids, gas pipelines and storage systems, oil refineries, telecommunications networks, water supply systems, and roads, bridges, and tunnels—must do their part. The reason is that a terrorist attack on any piece of critical infrastructure might have major and widespread economic and social impact.

Following the September 11 attacks on New York and Washington , the federal government initiated a number of efforts whose overall goal is the cataloging and protection of America 's critical infrastructure. A summary of areas in which GIS can support security efforts include:

Detection. The first step in critical infrastructure protection is to determine the level of infiltration detection available at a facility or asset. Infiltration can be detected by closed-circuit TV or by motion, vibration, or proximity sensors alone or in combination. GIS-enabled initiatives that can be undertaken include:

• Resource deployment planning—deciding where to put cameras and/or motion detectors
• Creating asset inventories—cataloging critical assets by their geographic coordinates.

Delay. The ability to delay an adversary from gaining access to critical infrastructure is also important. Two delay-related functions that a GIS can help execute are:

• Perimeter management, typically through the use of fences. A GIS can model and compute the correct distance from a facility that a fence needs to be, either to meet a minimal detection time or to limit the effect of an explosive device.
• Barrier management. Obstacles are the most commonly used devices for delaying vehicles from entering a facility or its grounds. If a GIS is used to site the obstacles, those obstacles will be more effective.

Response. Geographic information systems have played an important role in emergency response for many years. In fact, GIS computations of the drive time to the site of an emergency or the speed at which a chlorine spill will spread, for example, now are often the basis on which many emergency-management plans are developed. Those types of applications can be expanded to include critical infrastructure protection. A geospatial display can instantly provide the answer to a critical question: How long will it take for someone to arrive at the site of a terrorist attack or other infrastructure-related problem?

Other functions that a GIS can perform to aid the response effort include:

• Plume analysis, or determining the impact of a contaminant-bearing airborne plume on the local community.
• Dispatching, guiding, and tracking the movement of emergency personnel to a specific location.
• Evacuation route planning for and managing the movement of people out of harm's way.
• Damage assessment. For years, insurance companies have used GIS in their calculations of the potential damage that a natural disaster would produce. Those same planning scenarios are now being expanded to include the impact of a potential terrorist attack on property and the public.

Search and Rescue. A GIS can service many of the needs of a search and rescue coordinator, including directions for teams who must know where to search and how to document their efforts.

The common element of these and many other homeland security and critical infrastructure-protection applications is their ability to locate assets and people geographically. GIS provides the tools to reveal spatial relationships that otherwise might go unnoticed.

Defense. Technological advances have changed the nature of combat, increasing the military's speed and accuracy. From navigation and reconnaissance to weapons guidance and situational awareness, spatial technologies are at the center of this network-centric warfare.

GIS is playing a key role in command, control, communication and coordination. Applications include real-time tracking of troops to assessing enemy positions to communicating damage to producing updated maps to support air and ground forces. The advanced visualization capabilities of GIS provides detailed land maps with information on land use, terrain models, transportation systems, vegetation cover, communication lines, etc.

In Operation Iraqi Freedom geospatial intelligence proved to be extremely valuable. Imagery was downlinked and processed and coordinates were extracted and sent to bombers by e-mail in near real-time. Commanders viewed troop and vehicle positions on map displays from remote positions. A newly launched GPS satellite became operational in less than a month. According to the U.S. Air Force, in the first six days of the war more than 80 percent of the munitions targeted were precision-guided. Now a GPS receiver is standard issue for soldiers. GPS has been incorporated as a guidance system that allows for precise targeting of military objectives thereby reducing the harm to civilians.

Spatial technologies were used to report the war as well. Commercial satellite imagery appeared regularly on television. Three dimensional fly-throughs were an integral part of stories that placed the conflict in its geographic context. Web sites offering maps and imagery of the rapidly unfolding events saw incredible traffic. Anybody with a PC could navigate through imagery of downtown Baghdad . One Web hosting firm created a public access Internet GIS and satellite image visualization system for Iraq . Users were able to interact and compare the various map layers and imagery, create and download custom image products, and design and print maps, from within a browser interface. For the future a customizable data distribution tool is being developed that combines imagery and GIS data with photographs, diagrams, maps, and text to assist in infrastructure repair and economic development.

As a result of recent experience, the defense industry is pushing for more efficient geodata tools. In the current preference for network centric defense, central command is less important than nodes operating with a certain degree of autonomy. Ideally, then, every node should have access to all geoinformation at the same time. An enormous amount of sensor data (information about dynamic objects) also needs to be distributed. The future vision is for intelligence from multiple sources—including satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles—on wide screen displays giving analysts access to real-time intelligence about nearly any point on Earth.

Geospatial trends in defense have important implications in other sectors as well. Defense investments are typically pooled with investments from non-defense to help power GIS in other areas such as sustainable development, environmental monitoring, and land use planning. The money invested by the military sector in the development of standards that support geospatial interoperability will also result in tools that improve conditions worldwide.

New Technology

Hardware. In the hardware arena, while we most likely will see a variety of hardware form factors in the future, Microsoft's Tablet PC has made the largest splash. Designed to combine the mobility and handwriting recognition of PDAs with the larger screen size and full-feature operating systems provided by laptops, Tablet PCs solve resolution and screen real estate problems associated with PDA-based mobile GIS applications. Wirelessly enabled Tablet PCs can connect to GIS servers in the office to query and update data. Back in the office, the Tablet PC becomes the desktop GIS.

The Tablet PC provides a versatile platform with a lot of mobility and flexibility. The graphic nature of GIS and the obvious advantages of the pen interface for graphics make this a natural fit. An ink tool inside the GIS software lets a user create ink elements that are then inserted into a coordinate system to be tied to geography. Text recognition allows the user to convert writing to annotation text. A voice interface also allows users to talk to applications, and their speech is converted to text to input data.

Both ESRI and Autodesk have announced Tablet PC version of their GIS software. ESRI's tools allow a user to manipulate the GIS software using a digital pen, embed and link voice input, and create sketches on map layers. Autodesk has been testing the Tablet PC on a pilot project with the LA Airport Authority. The project involves managing airport security facilities for evacuation or incident response. The data capacity allows users to collect evacuation plans, combining a high resolution satellite image of the airport with an overlay of floor plans, for example

The Sensor Web. Imagine thousands, even millions, of sensors online and able to return detailed information, including identification, location, orientation, and real-time data. Such sensors might include flood gauges, stress monitors on bridges, heart monitors, and imaging devices such as Webcams and satellite-borne Earth imaging devices. Some may be stationary, others in motion. Some might be on land or water, others in the air or in orbit.

Now imagine that a directory describing the live and stored data from these devices could be published so that the data may be discovered, accessed, and exploited by anyone with a Web browser and proper authentication. Picture each device being controlled remotely via the Web. Data from many such devices could automatically be collected, aggregated, and displayed for easy comprehension. This amazing infrastructure could serve science, environmental monitoring, transportation management, public safety, disaster management, utilities' SCADA, industrial controls, and facilities management needs; and you have just painted a picture of the Sensor Web.

The Sensor Web concept involves multiple numbers and types of sensing platforms, both space and earth based, both fixed and mobile. Each of these platforms, communicates with its local neighborhood of sensors and thus distributes information to the instrument as a whole. The Sensor Web is to sensors what the Internet is to computers, with different platforms and operating systems communicating by way of a set of robust protocols.

The Sensor Web will comprise diverse location aware environmental sensing devices that report data about their surroundings in real time. These devices can measure physical parameters, such as temperature, air quality, or vibration—and report those measurements along with their position and could revolutionize the way we discover and assess real-time data.

A universal standard framework for describing and tasking sensors in XML has already been built and prototyped by OGC members.

By describing their sensors using the standard schema, anyone can put sensors or sensor data online for others to find and use. Adherence to a common schema will make it possible to search for sensors and sensor data with more precision. It will also enable the development of tools that automatically fuse different kinds of data with little intervention. Datasets will be automatically usable with geoprocessing software such as GIS and remote sensing packages.

Conclusion