Geographical Information System (GIS)

Cartography goes back many centuries, but it got its major boost in the 1500 when printing press made it possible to make maps available in bigger number, and at an affordable price. Then the latest major boost it got came around the 1970s when all maps started to be digitized, which changed the formula, where instead of getting data from maps, it was transformed into getting maps from data that were accumulated over the years. Who should get the credit for innovating maps to where they are today is still disputed even if most prefer to side with various governments, rather than private commercial interests, which had various uses for them, one of them being defense.

Now that genre has changed drastically and lately users are poised to reap all sorts of benefits and services from GIS that will definitely make their life easier and help them utilize their time wisely. For those who are planning to drive long-distance in the country there are services like Mapblast, as well as Mapquest and more, where by simply entering the departure and final destination a printable map and driving directions are available.

There are a good number of companies that are delivering this service, and the household technology names are jumping into the fray too availing the service to their customers. Search engine companies like Google, Yahoo, and MSN are among those that are providing this service and they are using it to go neck-and-neck with their search results or it could be used independently depending on the needs, and it has become possible to be very detailed on a particular search. Through them and others a very useful assortment of locations, driving direction, numerous point of interest information, from restaurant, to entertainment centers, to business centers, like banks and ATMs, gas stations, different kinds of business outlets, to schools, hospitals, and airports could be accessed making getting disoriented in any major modern city around the world a thing of the past.

Even if it is not widespread yet, two companies, Navteq and Fodor's have created a digital navigational interface that uses the Global Positioning System, and is being built in cars. For now a few luxury cars are being equipped with this application that is a built- in function from the factory. It has its own screen where the location of the car could be pinpointed with the help Global Positioning System (GSP), and with the help of a software that is loaded into the system all sorts of interesting points of interest locations could be traced by simply keying in the required information. Finding direction is not only fun using the system, but when a mistake is made on the choice of routes taken the system will automatically remind the driver and calculate the exact correction that should be made so that time and other resources like gas will not be wasted unnecessarily.

Another area where GIS is expected to make a difference is in traffic jams in the city where information can be accessed in real-time about road conditions, using a built-in digital maps on most vehicles or using personal devices like PDAs, Wi-Fi, or a mobile telephone service. It is believed that in the long run people could get relief from traffic congestion related problems, like loss of time, fuel, and the like, which are said to be costly and are affecting the economy. It might affect the environment to some extent too by keeping vehicles unnecessarily longer on the streets emitting smoke, and through what GIS is capable of introducing, finding the shortest possible route without the congestion problem to a destination will be made possible, which could alleviate all these problems.

This application also will improve conditions for the huge fleets of trucks that are operating by various companies that are already using GPS to locate their whereabouts. They will be more benefited from cost savings when they are able to avoid traffic jams that could be caused due to accidents or bad weather, and if they are able to use the shortest possible routes.

The use of GIS has also expanded into real estate buying and selling where all kinds of sorted out information could be obtained by developers through Web applications thousands of miles away and could close deals without ever putting a foot on the real property. Obtaining not only point of interests or driving directions, but detailed information about a given location could be made possible as the system is already there, and all it takes is adding the required data.

Starting from environmental details that are endemic to a given region, general cultural information about a given location, social information on the local residents, safety information concerning health, crime, death, and accident rates, information on all forms of businesses located there, not only outlets is believed to be available gradually. It is also possible to make announcements when properties are available for sale, or for rent, with all the needed details.

Over all, more additions and improvements are planned to be compiled in the system in the long run so that what will be required is to ask the application for the proper information, and it will be delivered with numerous built-in options. It is also possible to overcome the fragmentation of the various applications by making them accessible from one source or from various sources that are comprehensive in their format.

For now the expectation is the problems in both hardware and software will get improvement hand-in-hand, because still obtaining the information is not very easy for those who are on the go. For instance, the system to retrieve the GIS information is not available on most vehicles.

Wi Fi is not widespread yet and people will have to leave their vehicle to obtain the information in the very few limited areas where the service is available. Cell phones, pocket computers, and PDAs that are using wireless services could obtain a scant portion of the information that will not require a huge amount of processing. For the rest, it could become unthinkable cost-wise, because it could take a long time to download a complete information that is laden with all sort of graphics and 3D images in some cases, which mostly requires a bigger cache capability to save information for reuse, or most of the information should be available in an offline mode, which means it will have to be downloaded fast, which is not the case now. Even then, the fact that the wireless service is beseeched as being unreliable for the most part adds to the complication.

Nevertheless, for those who are using desktops, the possibilities are always evolving and are on the rise, and it only requires to have a detailed information about any destination, service provider, point of interest and what is required to make the experience safe and gratifying is on the tip of everyone's finger.