A Controversial 2023 View of Geospatial

Happy New Year.

In first of the year articles like this one, it is always tempting to review the year past and make forward looking predictions. I'll avoid that here. What I will do is cover a repeating theme in my many geospatial conversations. It is centred on a simple formula for how to think about, approach problems and covey the benefits of geospatial.

No rocket science here.

The Two Geospatial Camps

I've been somewhat critical of the geospatial industry over the last few years. True, these are exciting times: New data and technology offer incredible geospatial possibilities. But geospatial camps remain firmly in place:

• The Traditional Thinkers - These are the majority. Those who talk endlessly about maps. This is a niche conversation. Nothing wrong with that, but (and this is my problem), niche conversations will never lead to mass adoption!
• The Geo-Science Fictioners - Technology is advancing rapidly. What we will be able to do tomorrow is hard to grasp. Yes, tomorrow. I read so much geo-science fiction (my term .. and one I rather like). Philip K Dick was imagining in the 60's in his many science fiction books (Blade Runner, Total Recall etc) the future. Its amazing how much has become (will become) reality. It's fun to imagine tomorrow; but mass adoption requires us to focus on what is possible today!

The Third Camp

Two camps. Two problems:

• The traditional thinkers have locked geospatial in the GIS department.
• The geo-science fictioners cannot deliver today, and if they try (see some of the new players in the emerging satellite industry) they are too often stretching the truth.

An increasing group of us sit firmly between the traditional thinkers and geo-science fiction crowd. Words like new, flexible, innovative, business outcome focused frame what I associate with the third camp. This is a much broader conversations; centred on value and communicated (and understandable) to a mass audience.

So what are the building blocks of the third camp?

There are 4 parts:

1. Patterns - 2D Map

2. Sense of Place - 3D Digital Reality

3. Augmented Reality - Seeing Beyond Our Eyes

4. Change - 4D Real-Time

Telling New Geospatial Data Stories

Starting with business problems, then constructing geospatial data stories to solve these problems, is the focus of third camp thinkers. These stories might be one or a combination of the 4 building blocks. To paint that picture:

• 2D maps are ideal for large data-sets: To orient and isolate.
• 3D digital reality provides that 'remote site visit', providing context and allowing additional data to be added eg. a 3D model of an intersection with the addition of GIS point data of vehicle crash locations.
• Forget Google Glass or equivalent, today we can augment reality through analysis. Coloured point clouds showing vegetation which is a threat to power lines, is one of many examples here.
• Lastly, 4D or real-time (near real-time) data allows us to track change. This is the promise of IOT.

I told you: no rocket science here. To third camp thinkers, this seems so obvious. And yet our industry struggles to change its thinking. A controversial viewpoint?

I think not.

A call to action?

Come join us in the third camp