THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR GEOCOMPUTATION: GEOCOMPUTATION:

An IntroductionAn Introduction

THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR THE NATIONAL CENTRE FOR GEOCOMPUTATION: GEOCOMPUTATION:

An IntroductionAn Introduction

A Stewart Fotheringham SFI Research Professor and DirectorSFI Research Professor and Director

A Stewart Fotheringham SFI Research Professor and DirectorSFI Research Professor and Director

ncg@may.iencg@may.iehttp://www.may.ie/ncghttp://www.may.ie/ncg

ncg@may.iencg@may.iehttp://www.may.ie/ncghttp://www.may.ie/ncg

Why hasn’t SFI created 5 such centres?

Why has SFI created a National Centre for Geocomputation?

Who are we?Who are we?

Core-funded group NUIM

affiliates

Affiliates from rest of Ireland

Visiting Fellows

Core Funded GroupCore Funded Group

Stewart Fotheringham, Director

Martin Charlton, Senior Research Associate

Stamatis Kalogirou, Postdoctoral Fellow

Mary O’Brien, Spatial Information Officer

Ann-Marie Burke, Senior Executive Assistant

Orla Dunne, Executive Assistant

Susanne Tschirner, Intern

Melanie Tomintz, Intern

Matthew Sammon, PhD Student

Seamus Coveney, PhD Student

Camille King, STAR Awardee

John Sims, STAR Awardee

What is Geocomputation?What is Geocomputation?

Geocomputation involves any aspect of the capture, storage, integration, management, retrieval, display, analysis and modelling of spatial data

Spatial data contain locational info as well as attribute info. Most data sets are spatial.

Geocomputation

NCGNCG

Computer ScienceComputer Science

GeographyGeography StatisticsStatistics

“Geotechnology is one of the three most important emerging and evolving research fields, along with biotechnology and nanotechnology”

US Dept. of Labor, cited in Nature Jan 2004

Why is it important?Why is it important?

Industrial Revolution

Information Revolution

Information is Power and a great deal of information is spatialInformation is Power and a great deal of information is spatial

Geocomputation promotes:Geocomputation promotes:

• Profitability – private sector• optimal location of facilities• shortest path algorithms

• Equity – social sector• resource allocation• impact analysis

• Efficiency – public sector• sharing information (e.g. road building and

archaeological sites – M50 at Carrickmines Castle and N3 around Hill of Tara)

• avoiding duplication of data collection

• Profitability – private sector• optimal location of facilities• shortest path algorithms

• Equity – social sector• resource allocation• impact analysis

• Efficiency – public sector• sharing information (e.g. road building and

archaeological sites – M50 at Carrickmines Castle and N3 around Hill of Tara)

• avoiding duplication of data collection

The Prevalence of Spatial DataThe Prevalence of Spatial Data• Census of Population

• every 5 years in Ireland

• Customer databases• Companies in the UK hold records on over 30

million individuals

• Traffic Flows• Volumes of roads by time of day and day of the

week

• LiDAR• Low pass fly overs by plane: rapid collection

of detailed data on terrain features - local

• DEMs• US space shuttle mission - global

• Census of Population• every 5 years in Ireland

• Customer databases• Companies in the UK hold records on over 30

million individuals

• Traffic Flows• Volumes of roads by time of day and day of the

week

• LiDAR• Low pass fly overs by plane: rapid collection

of detailed data on terrain features - local

• DEMs• US space shuttle mission - global

The Prevalence of Spatial DataThe Prevalence of Spatial Data

• Health Records• Patient records• Incidence of disease

• Satellite remotely-sensed images• Land use cover• Tracking changes over time• Military

• Satellite GPS• ESA launching Galileo starting next year (30

satellites) to begin in 2008. Cost € 3.2 billion and annual running costs of € 140 million. Accuracy of 1m for civilians

• US GPS launched in 1978• Russia’s Glonass 1982• European Commission estimates 3 billion

receivers by 2010 and market worth € 250 billion

• Health Records• Patient records• Incidence of disease

• Satellite remotely-sensed images• Land use cover• Tracking changes over time• Military

• Satellite GPS• ESA launching Galileo starting next year (30

satellites) to begin in 2008. Cost € 3.2 billion and annual running costs of € 140 million. Accuracy of 1m for civilians

• US GPS launched in 1978• Russia’s Glonass 1982• European Commission estimates 3 billion

receivers by 2010 and market worth € 250 billion

The Growing Prevalence of GPS-Derived DataThe Growing Prevalence of GPS-Derived Data

• General data capture• In-car navigation systems• Vehicle tracking – cars, buses etc• Congestion charging• Criminal tagging• Animal tagging and tracking• Newmarket Oct 16th, 2004• The GPS watch

• Children• Alzheimer patients

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The Potential Use of GPS-Derived DataThe Potential Use of GPS-Derived Data

• Link to mobile phones - LBS• The movement of individuals – lapel

badges• Sports applications – runners, football• Covert surveillance• GPS ‘dust’

Raises all kinds of ethical and legal issues that we need to think about now

Types of Spatial DataTypes of Spatial DataTypes of Spatial DataTypes of Spatial Data1. GEODETIC

• Coordinate reference system

2. ELEVATION

• Heights above sea-level

3. BATHYMETRIC

• Depth of water bodies

4. ORTHOIMAGERY

• Georeferenced images of the earth’s surface

5. HYDROGRAPHY

• Rivers and streams, coastline

Types of Spatial DataTypes of Spatial DataTypes of Spatial DataTypes of Spatial Data6. TRANSPORTATION NETWORKS

• Roads, railways, canals

7. CADASTRAL

• Property boundaries

8. UTILITIES

• Locations of pipes, lines

9. BOUNDARIES

• Electoral, school and health districts

10. FEATURES / ATTRIBUTES

• Disease, toxic sites, census info. agriculture, ind. loc. environmental

The Value of Spatial DataThe Value of Spatial Data

Spatial data have enormous value and underpin large elements of the economy

“In the UK, for example, it has been estimated that the value of the information provided by OS underpins some €160 billion of the national economy”

www.eurogeographics.org

What’s special about spatial?What’s special about spatial?

• Spatial data sets can be LARGE

• They have special statistical properties

• They lend themselves to many innovative ways of visualisation

• Spatial data sets can be LARGE

• They have special statistical properties

• They lend themselves to many innovative ways of visualisation

The Size of Spatial Data SetsThe Size of Spatial Data Sets• Census of Ireland

• 3.9 million records

• Satellite land use images• Terabytes of info

• Global data sets• a dataset on a single attribute on each sq m of the

earth transmitted over a 256Kb/s modem would take how long to transmit?

– 1 minute?

– 10 minutes?

– 1 hr?

Answer = 62 years

Take 714,285 CDs to store (7kms long)

Special Statistical PropertiesSpecial Statistical Properties

• Spatial dependence• statistical inference

• spatial interpolation

•Modifiable Areal Unit Problem

• scale and reporting units

•Spatial nonstationarity• global versus local modelling of processes

GWR software salesGWR software sales

Division of Marine Biology, University of the Algarve

Office of National Statistics, UK

Buenos Airies Police Dept

Ministry of the Environment, Singapore

Health Canada

EWL Sciences, Australia

Korolinska Medical Institute, Sweden

Royal Veterinary College, UK

Entomology Dept, Oregon St. University

USGS

Institute of Behavioral Sciences, University of Coloado

Dept of Applied Economics, Univ. of Minnesota

Dept. of Zoology, Univ of Vermont

Eli Lilley Pharmaceuticals, US

Dept. of Transportation, Univ of N. Carolina

CDC, Atlanta

Geocomputation is fundamental to a great variety of application areas

Geocomputation is fundamental to a great variety of application areas

Special ways of visualising spatial data

Special ways of visualising spatial data

• 3-D mapping

• Animations

• Spatial querying

• Buffering

• Data Mixing

• Views at different scales

Goals for the NCGGoals for the NCGGoals for the NCGGoals for the NCG

1. To establish itself as a world-class research centre for geocomputation

• Research and Development

• Visiting scholars

• Conferences/Workshops

• Seminar series (sign up)

• Expansion

• Equipment – High-end, GIS-based Visualisation and Graphics Lab

Goals for the NCGGoals for the NCGGoals for the NCGGoals for the NCG

2. To help promote the use of GIS and spatial data analysis throughout Ireland

• Government offices (national and local)

• Schools

• Universities

• Irish Spatial Data Initiative

• Undertake research on Irish spatial data issues – spatial equity and efficiency

Cost of Irish spatial data

… is expensive and prohibits academic research and training on Irish problems

Cost of full set of 1:1000 vector data + 1:2,500 vector data to academics

UK €8,300 (registration fee for Digimap)

US FreeIre. €1,360,000

Goals for the NCGGoals for the NCGGoals for the NCGGoals for the NCG

3. To train the next generation of geocomputational experts for Ireland

• PhD Fellowships

• MSc in GIS (industry-relevant)

• Work with GIS software industry (cf UK’s CASE awards)

Goals for the NCGGoals for the NCGGoals for the NCGGoals for the NCG

4. To work with Ireland’s GIS software industry

• Train students

• Joint research

• Use and test products

• ESRI Ireland

• eSpatial Solutions Ltd

• Provision of a substantial amount of ESRI software

• Sponsorship of PhD students

• Undertaking joint research projects

ESRI-IrelandESRI-Ireland

Donation of €2.36 million to the NCG

The NCG is now a Centre for Excellence in Enterprise Spatial Solutions

cf CAST in US

eSpatial Solutions LtdeSpatial Solutions Ltd

Hopes for the NCGHopes for the NCG

1. Become a Portal for academics and government agencies within Ireland providing a one-stop spatial data service

• Needs cooperation between OSI / SFI / HEA / Census Office

• cf DIGIMAP and MIMAS in UK

• Needs hardware

Hopes for the NCGHopes for the NCG

2. Become a focal point for a Geogrid network linking the various academic groups across Ireland involved in geocomputation

• Spatial data sharing

• Workshops/visitors/seminars

• Hardware linkage cf Cosmogrid

• Becoming affiliated with the NCG

Hopes for the NCGHopes for the NCG

3. Become a catalyst for the development and use of GIS and spatial data analysis within Ireland. For this we need:

• Long-term commitment and support by SFI. Urgent equipment needs.

• Support from NUIM

• The support of the GIS software ind.

• The support of government depts and agencies – contracts, spatial data, sponsorship of students etc.

• The support of the rest of the Irish GIS community. Please get in touch.

“The NCG is the most significant thing that has happened to the GIS industry in Ireland”

Peter Lyon, Director ESRI-Ireland

“The NCG is the most significant thing that has happened to the GIS industry in Ireland”

Peter Lyon, Director ESRI-Ireland

End of presentationEnd of presentation