Issue link: https://read.dmtmag.com/i/99375
Industry Trends None of these uses of maps will be replaced by navigation devices. As tools for creating maps have become democratized and accessible to those outside the exclusive world of traditional GIS, we see more and better maps used to illustrate what���s happening in the world around us. Tim Case: Perhaps reading the specific language of those 2-D maps will fade through the generations as we come to increasingly depend on these rich media interfaces, but, in its place, moreengaged users could actually have Tim Case, customer success increased geographic literacy. manager, Autodesk Today the digital map interface is being supplemented with additional visual and auditory interfaces that enhance diverse user experiences. Although these advanced personal navigation solutions can diminish retained knowledge of the segments along a desired route on the way to a chosen destination, these technologies may enable users to experience more of their surroundings while en route instead of just focusing on making the correct next turn. Who hasn���t experienced the frustration of flipping back and forth through the road map rather than taking in an amazing vista in the windshield or stretching out from the sidewalk? Using that logic, new devices enable a net gain in geographic literacy and placebased knowledge. Chuck Drinnan: Yes! Our machines have assimilated the ability to read maps, and many GeoWorld readers made the contributions that made this possible. However, our children are destined to lose the ability to read maps. Chuck Drinnan, principal, eWAM We are experiencing tremenAssociates dous improvements in GPSenabled technology. As the quality of navigation devices increases until our vehicles drive themselves, we will no longer rely on maps. Today many of us no longer understand directions such as north and south, and instead rely on talking devices that tell us to turn left in 300 feet. When was the last time you got a road map from AAA or a service station (oh, there aren���t any oil-company maps or service stations any more). Has our ability to add, subtract and correct spelling errors increased as our machines do this for us? 16 G E O W O R L D / D E C E M B E R 2 O 1 2 Do you get telephone numbers from the telephone books���the books you can���t find? Our ability to read maps is following these same paths. However, our ability to control our surroundings has exploded. With new smart meters, we can monitor our home-energy usage and change our thermostats with a cell phone in our offices. With social media, we share photographs in seconds without printing a single image. Have you seen a baby trying to open a magazine by swiping the cover from left to right and then in disgust throwing the magazine away? Connie Gurchiek: In general, I believe many of us follow our navigation systems almost blindly. We turn right because we are told to ���turn right��� without any thought to the direction that we should be traveling. This means that we Connie Gurchiek, president, are and will continue to be depenTranscend Spatial Solutions dent on data updates from map vendors. When major changes occur to road networks, many of us will wander aimlessly until the necessary base maps are updated. As with other geographic applications, the closer the networks represent the real world, the better our decisions will be. However, I believe that the use of navigation systems has increased our ability to read maps and understand geographic concepts at the macro level. Our children are introduced to map concepts earlier, because maps are displayed on our car navigation systems and on their phones. Although we won���t be using paper maps for navigation, maps and geographic applications have become much more commonplace. William Holland: Increasing use of these technologies has significantly increased geographic awareness, literacy and use. Notwithstanding, there���s clearly a transformation in the ways maps and map products are used and William Holland, president and consumed. CEO, RedGiant Analytics Inc. For example, until recently, spatial analytics have been confined to sophisticated users and purposes. The growth of location-based services on these devices has made even casual users keenly aware of space, place and time. Whether they know it explicitly or not, these users are part of a spatial analytical system���simultaneously consuming and providing topologically relevant data. Social media has hastened this dynamic.