Section 16 Integration 0f Information Technology.docx

Section 16 Integration 0f Information Technology.docx

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Section16Integration0fInformationTechnology

Section16Integration0fInformationTechnology

intotheSurveyingCourseatPennStateUniversity

ABSTRACT:

Informationacquisition,processing,management,anddisseminationmethodsareundergoingevolutionarychanges.Insurveying,theneedforadaptationhascompelledemployerstoseekemployeeswiththerequisiteexposuretoinformationtechnology.Thisrequirementimposesnewdemandsonsurveyinggraduates,especiallyfromtheundergraduateprograms.Thesurveyinggraduateisexpectednotonlytopossesstheabilitytoapplythelatestinformationtechnology,buttounderstandtheimplicationsofthedataprocessingmethodsaswellasthequalityandusefulnessoftheresults.Itistheresponsibilityofeducatorsandresearcherstokeeppacewithtechnologicaladvancesandtoempowerstudentstotransferthetechnologytotheindustry.ThispaperhighlightssomeoftheeffortswithinthePennStateSurveyingProgramtoexposeundergraduatestudentstoinformationtechnologyasappliedtothesurveyingprofession.

Background

Recentdevelopmentsintheelectronicindustryandinnovationsinthemicrochiptechnologyareaidingthedevelopmentofnewequipmentandmethodsforsurveydatacapture,storage,processing,andmapcompilation.Traditionallandsurveyingtechniquesareundergoingevolutionarychangeswiththedevelopmentoftechnologicallyimprovedsurveyingequipment.Whereasthesurveyingprincipleitselfhasnotbeenalteredbytechnologicaladvances,surveyingtechniqueshavebeenchangingrapidly.

Today'stechnologicaladvancesarenotonlyinfluencingthehardwareandthetechniquesforcapturingsurveydata,theyarepresentinginnovativewaysforcommunicatingandpresentinginformation.Theultimategoalformanysurveyingandmappingorganizationsistoremaincompetitivebyprovidingqualityproductsinatimelymanner.Thisgoalcanberealizedwithappropriateequipmentandthefightpersonnel.Withincreasedperformance,thecomputerhasbecomeaninvaluableresourcefordataanalysis,patternidentification,andformodelingtrendswithinspatiallyreferenceddata.Associatedwiththeseinnovationsisaparadigmshiftfromcommunicationtoinformation.

Traditionalsurveyingandmappingisbasedonthecommunicationparadigm.Themap,asthefinalproduct,hastraditionallybeendesignedtocommunicatespatiallyrelatedinformationtotheuser.Asasingle-purposecommunicationmedium,mapmakingdatawerecapturedandprocessedtoportrayonlytheinformationthatneededtobecommunicatedonahardcopymedium.Presentedwiththefinalproduct,themapuserwasthusdeniedtheopportunitytoregroupthedataintoformsmoreusefulforothercircumstancesorneeds.

Today'sinformationparadigmhasevolvedfromtwomainobjectives:

●Theneedforinformationbybusinessesownerstostayaheadofthecompetition;and

●Thedesireofresourcemanagersandpolicymakerstomakeinformeddecisions.

Bymaintainingtherawdatainanelectronicformat,usershavetheopportunitytoutilizetheanalyticalcapabilitiesofboththecomputerandsoftwaretoprocessthedataandobtainadditionalinformation.Inamultipurposeinformationsystem,theclientoftenrequiresaccesstothedatasoastoperformfurtheranalysisandderivemoreinformation.ThecomputertechnologyallowstheUsertoregroup,reclassify,anddisplaythedatabasedonotheruserneedsandobjectives.

Becausethetypeofdatathatclientsrequirefromsurveyorshaschangedsubstantiallyoverthepastdecade,thecontentoftheSurveyingProgramatPennStatehasbeenrevisedtoconformtotechnologicalinnovations.ThispaperlooksatthechangingfaceofsurveyingandidentifieswaysinwhichundergraduatestudentsinthePennStateSurveyingProgramarebeingpreparedfortheprofession'snewopportunitiesandresponsibilities.Belowaresomeofthefactorsthattriggeredthereviewandmodificationsoftheprograminrecentyears.

TechnologicalTrendsinSurveying

ThetechnologicaladvancesthataretransformingthetraditionalsurveyingactivitiesincludetheGlobalPositioningSystem（GPS）receiverandthecomputer.Bothareimpactingsurveyingoperationsbycreatingnewopportunitiesforsurveyingcompanies.Becausefactorssuchasthequalityofthereceiver,andtheobservationtechniqueandprocessingmethoduseddirectlyinfluencetheaccuracyofthedeterminedposition,theGPSreceiveriscapableofbothhigh-andlow-accuracypositionfixes.Drivenbythehighaccuracyrequirementsofsurveyingandgeodesy,theadvantagesofrelativepositioninginGPSarestillbeingexplored.

TheGPSreceiveriscurrentlyoneofthepreferredequipmentforsurveyingactivitiesinvolvinglargeareas.Thetechnologyisusedin:

●Controlsurveysformappingextensiveareas;

●KinematicGPSforthemappingofexistingfeaturessuchasroadcenterlinesinheavilyusedroadsandurbancenters;

●Mappingofexistingfeaturesforgeographicinformationsystems;

●Hydrographicsurveys;and

●AirborneGPStoprovidephotocontrolsforphotogrammetricmapping.

AlthoughairborneGPSdoesnotcompletelyeliminatetheneedforgroundcontrolpoints,thetechniqueallowsphotogrammetriststoperformaerialtriangulationeveninareaswherethereisextremedifficultyinestablishinggroundcontrols.TimeandcostsavingswithbothgroundandairborneGPSforphotogrammetricmapping,maketheGPSreceiveravaluableequipmentforprogressivesurveyingcompaniestoaddtotheirinventory.

InadditiontotheuseoftechnologysuchasGPStofacilitatesurveyingactivities,computer-dependenttechnologiesarealsoexpandingthecareeropportunitiesofsurveyors.SomeoftheseopportunitiesinvolveGIS,LandInformationSystems（LIS）,softcopyphotogrammetry,andimageprocessingandanalysis.Surveyorsandmappershavetraditionallyprovidedspatialinformationtosomespecifiedprecision.Intoday'sglobalworld,themoreinformationonehasasaresource,theeasieritistomakeinformeddecisions.BothGISandLIShavebecomethepreferredtoolsforanalyzingspatiallyreferenceddata.Thesevaluableanalyticalanddecisionsupporttoolsareusedinawiderangeofpublicandprivateenterprisestoexplainevents,predictoutcomes,anddevelopstrategiesformanagingresources.

SurveydataarethefoundationofsuccessfulGISorLISapplications.NotonlyaresurveyorsrequiredtoprovidedataforthedevelopmentofGISandLIS,butthenumberofactivitiesthattheycanperformandofservicesthattheycanprovidehasincreasedasaresultofthesenewinformationtools.ThepushforsurveyorstogetintoGISandLISalsocomesfromstateandlocalgovernmentagenciesmanyofwhomhavebeguntorequestthatsurveyresultsarepresentedinaformatthatcanbeeasilyexportedintoCISorLIS.Asaresultofthesenewopportunitiesandresponsibilities,manyprogressive,surveyingcompanieshavegoneintoGIS/LISimplementationandmanagement.Thesecompaniesfacetheneedtoeitherprovideadditionaltraininginthenewtechnologiesfortheirstafforseekgraduateswhohavealreadybeentrainedintheemergingtechnologies.

AnotherareawhereGISandLISaremakinganimpactisinphotogrammetricmapping.Inthepasttwodecades,photogrammetricequipmenthasprogressedfrommanuallycontrolledmechanicalstereoplotters,tofullycomputerizeddigitalorsoftcopyphotogrammetricworkstations.Softcopyphotogrammetryprovidesimagesinadigitalform,withinthecomputer,thusfacilitatingextractionofmultipledatasetsasrequiredbytheclient.SoftcopyphotogrammetricworkstationsalsofacilitatetheuseofrectifiedimagesasbackdropsforGISorLIS.Needlesstosay,thesoftcopyworkstationisfasterthanthetraditionalanalyticalstereoplotter.Themodernequipmentenablesautomationofthephotogrammetricmeasurementandfeatureinterpretationprocessesinthedigitalenvironment.Efficientproductionoforthophotos,mosaics,andhardcopyoutputsisperhapsthemostobviousinitialbenefitofthesoftcopyphotogrammetryevolution.Softcopyphotogrammetryhasprovedtobeafast,cost-effectivetoolforprovidingaccuratedatatosupportmultipleapplicationinagriculture,environmentalresourcemanagement,andeconomicplanning.Apartfromenablingaerialtriangulation,orthophotos,derivationofdigitalelevationmodels（DEM）,softcopyphotogrammetryalsoenableseasyinteractionwithGISdatabases.

Digitalimages,especiallycolorphotographsfromsoftcopyphotogrammetricsystems,arerapidlygainingpopularityasbackdropsforGISandLISdisplaysandGIS/LISrelatedpresentations.Thisisbecausepeople,ingeneral,relatebettertophotographythananyotherdescriptiveinformationormaps.Whereastheuseofcolorphotographshasnotproducedanydiscernibleimprovementinmappingprecision,itgreatlyfacilitatestheinterpretationofphotographicfeatures.Resourcemanagers,inparticular,requiremultispectralimageryprocessedthroughsoftcopymethodsfortheirinformationsystems.

Thetraditionalphotogrammetricmapcompilerusedtobeatechnicianwhopossessedconsiderableartisticflair,excellentvisualperception,andremarkablemanualdexterity.Thesequalitieshavebeensupersededbytheneedtobemorescientificallyoriented.Thephotogrammetristoftodayneedstohavesufficientknowledgeaboutspatialaccuracyofdigitaldata,aboutremotesensors,imageprocessingandanalysis,andaboutGISinordertocorrectlyapplytheseemergingtechnologies.

ItisclearfromtheforegoingthatworkingasaGISanalyst,photogrammetrist,orimageanalystrequiresadditionalknowledgebeyondwhatisofferedintraditionalsurveyingeducation.Today,thegraduatesurveyorisexpectedtodemonstrateproficiencyintheuseof