The Future of GIS

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The Future of GIS
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• Redefining GIScience
• New applications
• The frontiers of spatial analysis

3
Redefining GIScience

• What exactly is Geographic Information Science?
• Is it really a science or just a set of tools?
• How does one define GIScience?
• What does GIScience study?
• Is it is changing society?
• As GIScience is becoming more mature, many are
  examining its epistimology and ontology its
  nature and scope (What do we know?) and the
  defining of the terms/conceits it uses (How do
  we describe what we know?). This is just my
  take, as there are multiple definitions of what
  is epistamology and ontology.
• The important thing is that Geographers (mostly)
  and otehr scientists are now seriously examining
  the concept of GIScience and will continue to do
  so. This represents a discipline that is in the
  process of developing.

4
Some New Applications and Developing areas in
GIScience

• Combination of technologiesNanotechnologies and
  GISReal time GISlaser detection of buildings
• Internet GISGoogle Earth On-line distribution
  of geographic informationParticipatory
  GISon-line GIS programs operating from servers
  connected to Internetautomatic updating of GIS
  databases via the Internet
• Open Source GIS
• Navigation Sytems and intergration with
  Intelligent Vehicle Systems
• not really that new, but expanding in its scope

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New Spatial Analysis Techniques

• Chaos theory
• Fractal Analysis
• Agent-based modeling
• Cellular Automata
• Artificial Intelligence
• Neural Networks
• Fuzzy logic

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Conclusion

• GIScience is still a relatively new discipline
  and is in the process of defining itself
• GIScience is a rapidly developing field with new
  applications appearing and existing applications
  expanding their scope
• With the robustness of GIScience increasing new
  spatial analysis techniques are rapidly
  developing