Big Trends for the Geospatial Industry in 2019
In this blog, we highlight three important trends for the geospatial industry in 2019. Specifically, we’ll look at how mapping technologies and blockchain integration, drone technology and geomedicine will impact the industry as a whole.
1. Mapping Technologies and Blockchain Integration
After years of promise and hype, blockchain technology will see massive adoption this year. Combined with mapping and location technology, blockchain technology will have many business benefits for sectors looking to tap into this new technology.
How this all works is explained in an informative article from mapping and location technology provider Esri. Combined with mapping and location technology such a as GIS, a blockchain can be geospatially enriched. For example, when different goods are transported across the globe , a blockchain can give different stakeholders access to a single source of truth in case thy change ownership along the way, and provide data accuracy, data accessibility as well as fast transactions to digital supply chains.
Last but not least, it is expected that more stakeholders will benefit from geospatial blockchain technology, such as the automotive industry, pharmaceutical and medical equipment companies, manufacturing and healthcare. Finally, there are governments that invest heavily blockchain as part of smart city development.
3. Drone Technology
In 2019, drone adoption will continue to grow, not in the least because of new legislation that give drone manufacturers and operations room to operate more freely. Looking at specific drone-based geospatial applications, we’ll see more drones in agriculture, mining, construction, exploration of resources and surveying. Innovation is key here, so existing workflows can by automated, for example analyzing huge amounts of different data sources captured by drones with the aid of AI.
While Chinese manufacturer DJI continues to be the leading drone seller, they have announced a larger focus on R&D of enterprise products. And that’s where drone manufacturers and service providers can make a difference: through innovation. Take for example the agricultural sector. Here, a startup company from San Diego, California called SlantRange, helps farmers make the transition from analog to digital farming using remote sensing and drone technologies.
They do this by applying smart technological solutions that result in better and faster data collection, such as using offline processing capacities on a laptop or tablet when there’s no (fast) internet connection in the field. The company also patented a calibration technique that normalizes measurements under changing sunlight conditions, resulting in better crop measurements and data delivery. Finally, their sensors provide real-time feedback during data collection with a drone, which also results in high data collection.
3. Geomedicine
Geomedicine is not something brand new, but a field that holds a lot of potential for the future. The term was used some years ago as the title of an eBook where the author connects individual health with that of the planet, or, seen on a smaller scale, the immediate geographical surroundings of an individual. This means that when an individual is not healthy, this could be the result of an unhealthy environment.
As such, geomedicine is a field that is meant to produce a new type of medical intelligence that uses national spatial data infrastructures in order to benefit personal human health. If people better understand the conditions of the environment they live in (or have lived in the past), this information can be used to modernize health information technology, and make better choices about where people live. It’s clear that spatial data, as well as spatial technology, are core ingredients in creating this new medical intelligence that underpin geomedicine.
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