There is a lot to think
about when it comes to being a professional in the field of spatial science. The
number of changes occurring in technology, understanding, and legal standards
add to and erode the concepts of being a PLS and spatial engineer on such a
regular basis that understanding and finding applications is often difficult.
With such chaos, many new business concepts and possibilities are available,
but not all of them will work.
When considering the different
types of work handled by geospatial professionals, the basics can be broken
down into three parts:
1. Production
The ability to create spatial data has gone from
time-tested manpowered methods to autonomous, all-encompassing systems. Field
crews using total stations, scanners, photogrammetry, and GNSS technology
create the basic usable information that people can buy, sell and apply. Doing
the groundwork in putting out physical, visual cues such as flagging also is
handled here.
Increasingly,
professionals can also produce valuable data by mining datasets produced by
remote sensing rather than by creating discreet points. The next technology
shift is in using 3D photogrammetry to create models with tools such as Microsoft
Photosynth and Autodesk's suite of programs and then separating out all the
features. All the current data-mining tools are expensive and complicated, but
less expensive and even free options are emerging rapidly thanks to the
evolution of open-source software.
2. Management
After
data is produced, it must be turned into something usable. A scan may show an
entire city block in great detail, but what the client needs is just where the
cracks in the cement are or the location of a single lot. Management also deals
in the storage and inventive application of this data. GIS is a good example,
where the more accurate the base information, the better (and more valuable)
the results become.
Through
emerging capabilities such as autonomous feature recognition, data mining and
modeling become much faster and easier. The combination of feature extraction
in a GIS environment can allow us to build datasets at will and let clients
shop those databases like a supermarket. Making information buyable in
convenient pieces could be a successful business strategy.
Implementing an augmented reality application to let
anyone see the information overlaid on the actual environment without physical
markers is a logical next step and one that relies on using satellites for
references rather than benchmarks.
3. Consultation
The
single most important asset in our line of work is experience, and consulting is
where years of experience, books of certifications, and the professional
approval from peers and former clients comes in. Someone may have the data
created and edited, but without an explanation of how to use it, the data is often
overwhelming. With the myriad of choices now available, having someone to point
out the easiest path is invaluable. As the entry barrier lowers, being able to
explain the necessity of key pieces of data will separate the players from the
pros.
Surveying
companies mostly fall within the production side of this triad but certainly
can enter the other two fields. I believe every geomatics firm should provide
all three services. I’ve spent the last two months putting together a list of
projects that falls under each of these three categories and will be posting
the results of bringing my ideas into reality and hopefully success.