History of development of GIS
UNIVERSITY OF NAIROBI
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
FEB 503: GEOINFORMATION SYSTEMS
2014/2015 ACADEMIC YEAR
COURSEWORK: ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF GIS
SUBMITTED BY:OMUFISI O MILDRED
F21/1104/2010
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Bachelor of Science in
Environmental and Biosystems Engineering of University Of Nairobi
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF GIS
GIS basically deals with the creation of maps which for now are far more advanced than they
have ever existed. However, the early stages of this process can be traced back as far as 500 B.C.
when, artifacts such as clay tablets from Assyria were made with maps of certain northern
Mesopotamian regions. recognized evidence of maps and mapping in the western world exist
from as far back as 12 B.C. when the Roman map was executed by Emperor Augustus’ son-inlaw, M. Vipsanius Agrippa. Man has only made leaps in the forward direction since. Subsequent
discoveries, such as the spherical shape of the Earth, also affected the mapping process
positively. While cartography continued to develop through conducting of tests in the course of
the ensuing centuries, newer technologies also came to be developed all together, significant
among them being the invention of the computer and its astounding capabilities. It was when the
two were brought together that the groundwork for modern day GIS was laid.
The development of GIS was a result of several initiatives taken in a range of different quarters
to solve or question specific problems all of which resulted in knowledge that led to the overall
construction of GIS. Here are the most significant events that occurred from the 1950s to the
present that determined the steady development of GIS:
In the 1950s, William Garrison a distinguished geographer and analyst of transportation issues,
worked at the University of Washington and came up with a brilliant idea to make use of
statistics and computers to study and better identify with spatial problems. This idea launched
what was referred to as the quantitative revolution in the field of geography. Waldo Tobler, a
student of William Garrison and contestant in the Quantitative Revolution, devised a model
called Map In – Map Out (MIMO) in 1959 which was to apply computers to cartography. This
model was the basis for GIS and contained all the prime features of GIS software available and
in use today.
During the 1960s, first in the year 1960 saw the development of the world's first true operational
GIS in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada by the federal Department of Forestry and Rural Development.
Developed by Dr. Roger Tomlinson, it was called the Canada Geographic System (CGIS). CGIS
was an improvement over computer mapping applications as it provided capabilities for overlay,
measurement, and digitizing/scanning. It supported a national coordinate system that spanned the
continent, coded lines as arcs having a true embedded topology and it stored the attribute and
locational information in separate files. As a result of this, Tomlinson has become known as the
"father of GIS", particularly for his use of overlays in promoting the spatial analysis of
convergent geographic data. This process gave dawn to many GIS aspects. The same year saw
the formation of URISA – The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association – in the US
that sought to solve problems related to public works, planning, emergency services,
environment issues, etc., through the application of information expertise. The subsequent year
Howard Fisher created the Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics. It was in this Lab that many of
the GIS pioneers worked culminating in the creation of software that could handle spatial data.
Howard Fisher completed his work on the Synagraphic Mapping System (SYMAP) at the Lab in
1965, a process he had started while in the Northwestern Technology Institute. This application
was the initial, programmed computer mapping system. In 1967 George Farnsworth- the Dual
Independent Map Encoding system of data , in the same year David Bickmore- ECU
(Experimental Cartography Unit) at London’s Royal College of Art, 1967 saw the development
by the CIA of an Auto Mapping System, in 1968 Robert Tweedie based in Albany and working
for the New York State Department of Transportation invented a Transportation Information
System, in 1969, Jack Dangermond established the Environmental Systems Research Institute
(ESRI), Jim Meadlock established Integraph Corporation, Laser-Scan was founded by 3
academics from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratories in UK and the publishing of Ian McHarg’s
book Design With Nature which popularized overlay map techniques.
In the 1970s; the start of the 70s was marked by four significant events that shaped the history of
GIS. The Roger Tomlinson led Canadian project began to make full use of the Canada
Geographic Information system (CGIS) developed, E.L. Amidon an employee of the Berkley
based American Department of Agriculture developed a grid manipulated Map Information and
Display System that was able to tabulate data for single as well as overlaid maps; Arie Shachar,
working at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem generated “The Urban Atlas of Jerusalem” by
applying the grid manipulation system to a block inventory data bank, Dieter Steiner of
Switzerland created the Geographic Mapping Program (GEOMAP) which was grid manipulation
based and similar to Howard Fisher’s SYMAP and could produce shaded maps; The first ever
symposium on GIS took place in Ottawa, Canada.
In 1971, Roger Tweedie made use of a database that contained such information as physical
attributes of roads, traffic volumes, bridge records, and road inventories to create the Highway
Inventory Information System for the state of New York. The following year marked the launch
of the first Landsat satellite which provided a wealth of information about our planet’s
geography. IBM began developing a Geographic Information System called GFIS the same year
while, in the UK, the Department of Environment created the GISP to aid planning. In 1973,
Maryland became the first state to initiate state-wide projects under the MAGI (Maryland
Automated Geographic Information). The USGS (United States Geological Survey)began to
create a large database of land resources and also began developing GIRAS (Geographical
Information Retrieval and Analysis System) to analyze and effective manage their geographical
resources. The first International Symposium on Computer-Assisted Cartography also took place
the same year followed by the first AUTOCRATO conference in 1974.
By the early 1980s, M&S Computing (later integraph) along with Bentley Systems Incorporated
for the CAD platform, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), CARIS (Computer
Aided Resource Information System), MapInfo Corporation and ERDAS (Earth Resource Data
Analysis System) emerged as commercial vendors of GIS software, successfully incorporating
many of the CGIS features, combining the first generation approach to separation of spatial and
attribute information with a second generation approach to organizing attribute data into database
structures. In parallel, the development of two public domain systems (MOSS and GRASSGISS)
began in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1986, Mapping Display and Analysis System (MIDAS), the first desktop GIS product
emerged for the DOS operating system. This was renamed in 1990 to MapInfo for Windows
when it was ported to the MicroSoftWindows platform. This began the process of moving GIS
from the research department into the business environment.
The early 20th century saw the development of photozincography, which allowed maps to be
split into layers, for example one layer for vegetation and another for water. This was particularly
used for printing contours – drawing these was a labour-intensive task but having them on a
separate layer meant they could be worked on without the other layers to confuse the
draughtsman. This work was originally drawn on glass plates but later plastic film was
introduced, with the advantages of being lighter, using less storage space and being less brittle,
among others. When all the layers were finished, they were combined into one image using a
large process camera. Once color printing came in, the layers idea was also used for creating
separate printing plates for each color. While the use of layers much later became one of the
main typical features of a contemporary GIS, the photographic process just described is not
considered to be a GIS in itself – as the maps were just images with no database to link them to.
By the end of the 20th century, the rapid growth in various systems had been consolidated and
standardized on relatively few platforms and users were beginning to explore viewing GIS data
over the internet requiring data format and transfer standards. More recently, a growing number
of free open-source GIS packages run on a range of operating systems and can be customized to
perform specific tasks. Increasingly geospatial data and mapping applications are being made
available via the World Wide Web.
The Future of GIS: GIS technology has only gotten more user-friendly with time, in terms of
both its usage and the costs involved. The continuous developments taking place in this field, it
is forecasted, will result in the increased usage of this technology in fields like science, industry,
government, public health, archeology, urban and rural planning, logistics, transportation,
environmental sustainability, defense, etc.
REFERENCES
GIS Development by JRB Dein Techblog.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_information_system
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL AND BIOSYSTEMS ENGINEERING
FEB 503: GEOINFORMATION SYSTEMS
2014/2015 ACADEMIC YEAR
COURSEWORK: ASSIGNMENT
ASSIGNMENT TITLE: HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF GIS
SUBMITTED BY:OMUFISI O MILDRED
F21/1104/2010
Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements of the Degree of Bachelor of Science in
Environmental and Biosystems Engineering of University Of Nairobi
HISTORY AND DEVELOPMENT OF GIS
GIS basically deals with the creation of maps which for now are far more advanced than they
have ever existed. However, the early stages of this process can be traced back as far as 500 B.C.
when, artifacts such as clay tablets from Assyria were made with maps of certain northern
Mesopotamian regions. recognized evidence of maps and mapping in the western world exist
from as far back as 12 B.C. when the Roman map was executed by Emperor Augustus’ son-inlaw, M. Vipsanius Agrippa. Man has only made leaps in the forward direction since. Subsequent
discoveries, such as the spherical shape of the Earth, also affected the mapping process
positively. While cartography continued to develop through conducting of tests in the course of
the ensuing centuries, newer technologies also came to be developed all together, significant
among them being the invention of the computer and its astounding capabilities. It was when the
two were brought together that the groundwork for modern day GIS was laid.
The development of GIS was a result of several initiatives taken in a range of different quarters
to solve or question specific problems all of which resulted in knowledge that led to the overall
construction of GIS. Here are the most significant events that occurred from the 1950s to the
present that determined the steady development of GIS:
In the 1950s, William Garrison a distinguished geographer and analyst of transportation issues,
worked at the University of Washington and came up with a brilliant idea to make use of
statistics and computers to study and better identify with spatial problems. This idea launched
what was referred to as the quantitative revolution in the field of geography. Waldo Tobler, a
student of William Garrison and contestant in the Quantitative Revolution, devised a model
called Map In – Map Out (MIMO) in 1959 which was to apply computers to cartography. This
model was the basis for GIS and contained all the prime features of GIS software available and
in use today.
During the 1960s, first in the year 1960 saw the development of the world's first true operational
GIS in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada by the federal Department of Forestry and Rural Development.
Developed by Dr. Roger Tomlinson, it was called the Canada Geographic System (CGIS). CGIS
was an improvement over computer mapping applications as it provided capabilities for overlay,
measurement, and digitizing/scanning. It supported a national coordinate system that spanned the
continent, coded lines as arcs having a true embedded topology and it stored the attribute and
locational information in separate files. As a result of this, Tomlinson has become known as the
"father of GIS", particularly for his use of overlays in promoting the spatial analysis of
convergent geographic data. This process gave dawn to many GIS aspects. The same year saw
the formation of URISA – The Urban and Regional Information Systems Association – in the US
that sought to solve problems related to public works, planning, emergency services,
environment issues, etc., through the application of information expertise. The subsequent year
Howard Fisher created the Harvard Lab for Computer Graphics. It was in this Lab that many of
the GIS pioneers worked culminating in the creation of software that could handle spatial data.
Howard Fisher completed his work on the Synagraphic Mapping System (SYMAP) at the Lab in
1965, a process he had started while in the Northwestern Technology Institute. This application
was the initial, programmed computer mapping system. In 1967 George Farnsworth- the Dual
Independent Map Encoding system of data , in the same year David Bickmore- ECU
(Experimental Cartography Unit) at London’s Royal College of Art, 1967 saw the development
by the CIA of an Auto Mapping System, in 1968 Robert Tweedie based in Albany and working
for the New York State Department of Transportation invented a Transportation Information
System, in 1969, Jack Dangermond established the Environmental Systems Research Institute
(ESRI), Jim Meadlock established Integraph Corporation, Laser-Scan was founded by 3
academics from Cambridge’s Cavendish Laboratories in UK and the publishing of Ian McHarg’s
book Design With Nature which popularized overlay map techniques.
In the 1970s; the start of the 70s was marked by four significant events that shaped the history of
GIS. The Roger Tomlinson led Canadian project began to make full use of the Canada
Geographic Information system (CGIS) developed, E.L. Amidon an employee of the Berkley
based American Department of Agriculture developed a grid manipulated Map Information and
Display System that was able to tabulate data for single as well as overlaid maps; Arie Shachar,
working at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem generated “The Urban Atlas of Jerusalem” by
applying the grid manipulation system to a block inventory data bank, Dieter Steiner of
Switzerland created the Geographic Mapping Program (GEOMAP) which was grid manipulation
based and similar to Howard Fisher’s SYMAP and could produce shaded maps; The first ever
symposium on GIS took place in Ottawa, Canada.
In 1971, Roger Tweedie made use of a database that contained such information as physical
attributes of roads, traffic volumes, bridge records, and road inventories to create the Highway
Inventory Information System for the state of New York. The following year marked the launch
of the first Landsat satellite which provided a wealth of information about our planet’s
geography. IBM began developing a Geographic Information System called GFIS the same year
while, in the UK, the Department of Environment created the GISP to aid planning. In 1973,
Maryland became the first state to initiate state-wide projects under the MAGI (Maryland
Automated Geographic Information). The USGS (United States Geological Survey)began to
create a large database of land resources and also began developing GIRAS (Geographical
Information Retrieval and Analysis System) to analyze and effective manage their geographical
resources. The first International Symposium on Computer-Assisted Cartography also took place
the same year followed by the first AUTOCRATO conference in 1974.
By the early 1980s, M&S Computing (later integraph) along with Bentley Systems Incorporated
for the CAD platform, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), CARIS (Computer
Aided Resource Information System), MapInfo Corporation and ERDAS (Earth Resource Data
Analysis System) emerged as commercial vendors of GIS software, successfully incorporating
many of the CGIS features, combining the first generation approach to separation of spatial and
attribute information with a second generation approach to organizing attribute data into database
structures. In parallel, the development of two public domain systems (MOSS and GRASSGISS)
began in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
In 1986, Mapping Display and Analysis System (MIDAS), the first desktop GIS product
emerged for the DOS operating system. This was renamed in 1990 to MapInfo for Windows
when it was ported to the MicroSoftWindows platform. This began the process of moving GIS
from the research department into the business environment.
The early 20th century saw the development of photozincography, which allowed maps to be
split into layers, for example one layer for vegetation and another for water. This was particularly
used for printing contours – drawing these was a labour-intensive task but having them on a
separate layer meant they could be worked on without the other layers to confuse the
draughtsman. This work was originally drawn on glass plates but later plastic film was
introduced, with the advantages of being lighter, using less storage space and being less brittle,
among others. When all the layers were finished, they were combined into one image using a
large process camera. Once color printing came in, the layers idea was also used for creating
separate printing plates for each color. While the use of layers much later became one of the
main typical features of a contemporary GIS, the photographic process just described is not
considered to be a GIS in itself – as the maps were just images with no database to link them to.
By the end of the 20th century, the rapid growth in various systems had been consolidated and
standardized on relatively few platforms and users were beginning to explore viewing GIS data
over the internet requiring data format and transfer standards. More recently, a growing number
of free open-source GIS packages run on a range of operating systems and can be customized to
perform specific tasks. Increasingly geospatial data and mapping applications are being made
available via the World Wide Web.
The Future of GIS: GIS technology has only gotten more user-friendly with time, in terms of
both its usage and the costs involved. The continuous developments taking place in this field, it
is forecasted, will result in the increased usage of this technology in fields like science, industry,
government, public health, archeology, urban and rural planning, logistics, transportation,
environmental sustainability, defense, etc.
REFERENCES
GIS Development by JRB Dein Techblog.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geographic_information_system