News article, page-605

World GIS Day

By Daniel Bishton , 15 November 2017

Nearmap CEO Rob Newman said that the event was an occasion to reflect on the rapidly growing accessibility of GIS, and the vast opportunities they have afford a range of industries.
“Not that long ago, high-resolution aerial imagery was available mainly to a privileged few: large companies and governments that could afford to hire an aerial photographer, engage a fleet of planes, and wait weeks, if not months, for a bird’s-eye map to be constructed,” he said, in a statement provided to Spatial Source.
“It was only a matter of time before that out-dated model was completely changed. We saw a movement towards a subscription service that allowed anyone, at anytime to access massive libraries of 2D images and it completely changed the way most industries did their jobs.”
Newman said that a similar turning point of technology and access was on the horizon that would open a new spectrum of potential applications and insights.
“Now we’re on the cusp of a new era as we move toward 3D imagery. Imagine how the nature of work can be transformed with easy user access to a 3D model, reconstructed from data that is captured continuously. A variety of industries will be able to exploit a new mapping reality to plan, design, and communicate better, make faster estimates and more effective decisions about how to execute their projects,” he said.
“We’re just at the beginning of a dynamic new age for aerial imaging technology and GIS services, where future uses lie somewhere beyond our imaginations.