The FREE Rosetta Stone of GIS Data Formats

Could DNR Garmin be the Rosetta Stone of GIS Data?

It will now read from and/or save to the following file formats:

• Shapefiles
• ESRI File-based Geodatabase (9.2 only & only if you have it installed on your system. It apparently uses ArcObjects)
• KML
• GPX
• Text files (comma or semi-colon delimited)
• DBF

 

The Save As file options (I don’t have ArcGIS 9.2 installed on this computer so the Geodatabase option doesn’t show up).

In addition to saving as & reading from files, it will also read from & save directly into ArcMap or Google Earth.

A new version (5.2 beta) was released on March 12, 2007, with several new & important features. This program was already on my “Must Have” list for anyone working with GPS units. It is invaluble for the field work we do at Plateau Land & Wildlife.

Another great feature that it has but only some of us can use is the Image Hotlink/Geocode feature. This works essentially the same as GPicSync (a Google Code project). But DNR Garmin has been doing it for several years now.

This feature works based on the time stamps of your waypoints or tracks and the time stamp of your photos. It can automatically calculate an offset if your clocks aren’t syncronized.

Notice the “Project and Unproject Coordinates” menu items above. The software uses the Proj.4 projection libary to allow reprojection into a vast array of coordinate systems & datums very rapidly.

I’m fairly certian that you could use the libaries used by this program to make a utility that worked with any and all attributes included in your data rather than just the GPS centric fields that this works with by default. To be fair, though if you have some standard attributes, you can cutomize the fields for waypoints, tracks, routes, and real-time data to include whatever fields you want.
Update – Price for all of this : Free

I’m sure you can think of plenty of innovative ways to use this software but let me share an example with you.

As I’ve posted about before we do a lot of bird surveys in the spring. Many of these are done by sub-contractors who don’t have access to a GIS system. Let’s say we have a new client for whom we have never done a survey before. We send the sub-contractor a shapefile of the client property. She then uses DNR Garmin to convert that shapefile directly into KML & into her Google Earth My Places file. She opens up GE & there the property is with aerial photo, roads, & elevation. She adds placemarks for each of the proposed survey stations which she picks based on the info visible in GE. If she wants to colaborate with the biologist familar with the property they can easily share the info to each other. Then she opens DNR Garmin, loads those placemarks directly from GE to her GPS unit. Gets driving directions from her house to the client property through GE and goes and does the survey. If we wanted her to, she could send us back a shapefile of the census stations by saving the actual station locations from her GPS unit into a shapefile via DNR Garmin.

AGXcellent? Not Quite Yet.

I was like a kid in a candy store last night and stayed up way later than I should have when I found out that ArcGIS Explorer was available for download. I’ve really been waiting for this since rumors of it’s existance began.

What I like:

Aggregation of a variety of services and formats.

Native support for MrSID

• I have nearly 150gigs of SIDs for Texas. Various years of NAIP, DOQQ, and Municipality, County, Regionally collected aerial photos. Along with some private source imagery. All of the stuff we use is 2 years or less old. Data quality ranges from 2m CIR to 0.5ft TrueColor. It is all better than what you can get from any of the free web maps and nearly all of it is better than ArcWeb’s DigitalGlobe Standard imagery. We also use some ArcIMS services for some county’s annually updated super high-quality aerial photos. The last thing I want to do is convert all this into ECW or JPG2k. We get updates pretty regularly of different areas so continual data conversion is not something I really want to do either. We have NO budget for ArcIMS or ArcGIS, so finding a way to use our imagery in its existing format has been our biggest challange to distributting our data over the web.

Creation of custom tasks and geoproccessing models

• We want a few very simple editing and feature creation tasks. I don’t need a full suite of GIS tasks. Keep it simple, keep it focused.

Fully skinable

Simple but powerful navigation and interaction methods

All of the above, except the tasks without programming

What needs to improve:

The STREAMING SUCKS!!

• Come on! I’m testing all of this on the same machine and it takes 3-5 times longer to load base imagery than ArcMap 8.3, and guess what, those are being read of the same disc as AGX and AGX is cacheing them. After going to one area, seeing the imagery of it again should be lighting fast, but it is SLOW!
• The ArcGIS Online servers are definately not handling anything nearly as quickly as GE, VE, or Yahoo. That said, even if they were, would we know it? When even local imagery loads slowly, imagery from external sources is like watching a maple syrup race in January.

No easy way to change the styling of imported data sources once they are in.

• Should offer to read .lyr files in addition to shape files. All the styling info it needs, including visiblity scaling has already been recorded there. Why should I have to go through all that again, using unfamilar scales of km or mi above earth’s surface. (By the way to help with that you can use the formula provided in an earlier post)
• Even if you don’t read .lyr files, then you should at least give an easy way to restyle a layer that you have added from a local or external data source. I understand not restyling layers from GIS server, WMS, or KML as they should have all the styling info they need in them. But importing a shape file doesn’t come with any styling info and trial and error of import, delete, re-import just isn’t cool with me.

Label support is poor and much more difficult to manage than in GE, GMap, Yahoo or VE.

Bottom line is that this is NOT going to truly challange GE/VE. This could be a good 3D enabled simple GIS client that is highly customizable without the use restrictions of GE. The general population doesn’t need a true GIS. They want a great GeoVisualization System with the ability to see data they are interested in draped over 3d enabled imagery. AGX is CLEARLY not trying to be this. It is a ArcGIS Server client that can be repurposed for some other uses for those who are above the general masses in thier GIS needs but don’t need a fully functional professional GIS.

That is exactly what I’ve been looking for, but I don’t think there are that many people in this same position. This is going to be a niche product. If they can get the speed up to some reasonable level, I think it will a really good one.

I’m going to see how well this works with Manifold WMS tonight. I’ll definately be posting more about this in the next days and weeks.

GIS Data Distribution & Visualization Methods

I am attempting to put together a list of the various methods by which one can distribute GIS data AND the ability to visualize it to non-GIS users. Below is my 1st pass at making such a list. My main focus is the ability to distribute private data in a controlled manner. The end user for this system is typically someone with limited computer skills and no previous GIS use. They would need to search for & identify features, turn layers on/off, and print or export maps. Some users may also want to create their own custom layer by selecting a sub-set of an existing layer and applying different symbolization to it. They do not need a fully featured GIS, nor do they want to need much if any training to use the system.

I will be using this list in a presentation & proposal to help us decide the best method for distributing our multi-county project to outside of the 4 related companies that I developed it for.

I am further expanding on this list to include pros, cons, & costs related to each method along with links to the software & examples of implementations. The expanded list can be found at www.kestrelcomputer.com/GIS-Distribution.htm. I will post the fully expanded list on Friday Aug 18.

Please let me know if you think I have left any important method, software, or technology out.

GIS Data Visualization & Distribution Methods

Physical
Data & Viewer Reside on Client Computer or Removable Storage

• DVD – Tatuk Viewer, ArcView Project, and Data & Imagery Files
• DVD – ArcExplorer, ArcPress Document, and Data & Imagery Files
• CD – Either of Above Options

Web
Data & Viewer Reside on Internet or Intranet

• ArcIMS Viewer
• ArcWeb Services Viewer
• ArcWeb Explorer (ASP.Net or PHP Custom Version)
• Google Maps (ASP.Net or PHP Custom Version)
• SharpMap (ASP.Net Custom Implementation)
• MapServer
• MapBuilder
• MapXtreme 2005 .NET
• GeoServer
• DEMIS WebMap Server

Hybrid
Viewer Resides on Client Computer & Data Is Served From Internet/Intranet

• ArcGIS Explorer
• Google Earth
• WorldWind (with customizations)
• uDig (with customizations)
• SharpMap (Windows App Version)
• WorldWind (with customizations)
• MapDotNet Server 2007
• MapWindow GIS
• Dapple (based on WorldWind)

Calculating GE Altitude from GIS Scale

With the release of KML 2.1 and the introduction of dynamic display boxes, it became necessary to know the relationship between view range (ie Altitude) and cartographic scales to convert the dynamic display values from layers in ArcGIS to its KML representation.

I calculated the following formulas from the Bounding Box and Range parameters returned by GE. I used the Haversine formula and calculated the represented pixel width in meters and then converted that to real world distance. You can see the graph of Scale vs GE Altitude below. There is some difference in the formula if you are looking N/S or E/W. The formulas are below.

Given a relative scale in (1:X) ie 1:24,000

N or S Up

Alt = -0.000000187 * X2 + 2.00587 * X - 5.4758

E or W Up

Alt = -0.000000155 * X2 + 1.80864 * X + 10562.8812

Example:

North Up, Max Scale 1:36,000

X = 36,000

Alt =

-0.000000187 * 360002 + 2.00587 * 36000 - 5.4758

-0.000000187 * 1296000000 + 2.00587 * 36000 - 5.4758

71963.4922 meters

I still need to do the calculations for Min Scale using the MinLodPixels tag. I’d also like to make a little app that will read a ArcGIS layer defination and output the KML tags to use in the Regions tag. I’d love to know if I made an error in my calculations or if anyone has something to contribute.

Latecomer to Google Earth as GES Bandwagon

I always thought GE was super cool, but after the intial WOW factor wore off, I had pretty much just thought of it as an interesting toy. As a very experinced ArcGIS user, it seemed to me that whatever I could do in GE that was applicable to my job and our area of interest, I could do better in ArcGIS. After all, I had better imagery & topography (GE should really let you use your own topographic data source since they don't have it available for most areas).

Then I was tasked with creating a browse-able map for our sister law firm. They wanted to see the location of client properties in the Edwards Aquifer region, and determine, based on a variety of factors, if they would be a good canditate for conservation easment funding that is being provided to protect our water source. I could have done a traditional GIS analysis, but thier critera were rather fuzzy and changed across the region. They really wanted to see the properties and make thier own decisions. Well, I sure didn't want to install ArcReader, port the map over, & then train them to use ArcReader. So Google Earth seemed like the logical choice.

Our services coordinator was already creating a kml file with all our clients properties to aid in getting directions & determining travel times (which BTW GE is NOT really good at it rural areas). I used the KML_Home extension and exported the Edwards Aquifer Zones and all the counties in Texas with labels. Then I just combined the 3 items into a single folder in GE and emailed it to the attorneys. They were off and running with nearly zero training from me. They made thier decisions and had ownership & confidence in them. In fact one of the attorneys who is weeks away for having a baby, gave this gem of a quote:
Oh my God, Google Earth is so exciting I hope I don't go into labor after using this map.

If your interested here is the kmz of the Edwards Aquifer Regions and the Counties of Texas.