The Google effect
The world of GIS and geospatial intelligence applications, programs that relate location data to maps or satellite imagery, has never been more accessible to government agencies thanks, in part, to commercial applications such as Google Earth.
Available as a free download or in professional and enterprise editions, Google Earth combines various location information into an orthogonal (straight-down, two-dimensional) view or a three-dimensional view.
Although Google Earth isnt GIS, it and its sibling, Google Maps, are quickly becoming a standard for location-based Web applications. In August, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency recognized Google for its contribution to relief efforts during Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath. Many private and public agencies, including the Federal Emergency Management Agency, used the companys imaging and mapping technologies to track the storm, monitor relief operations and dispatch aid.
Another use of geospatial data is emerging on mobile phones in Japan: point-and-click geographic search tools based on a compass and a Global Positioning System integral to the phone. The technology, developed by GeoVector Corp. of San Francisco, is available on commercial handsets from Sony Ericsson, and uses a mix of terrestrial radio signals and GPS to fix a users location within 30 feet, even among tall buildings where satellite signals might be blocked.
The broad stroke of GeoVector is connecting people with the world around them, said Peter Ellenby, director of new media at GeoVector. It could be extremely helpful for many types of homeland security applications.
Because the technology runs on readily available devices, Ellenby said, government agencies could distribute handsets to first responders and offer the application over a private cellular network. By pointing a handset at a building, or even a manhole cover, first responders could access information about the item and its surroundings.
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