UAS Map Creation Lab 2


Introduction
* What is GIS? That is, is it just software. What did Dr. Christina Hupy stress when she spoke about what defines what exactly constitutes GIS?
A GIS, or geospatial information system is a system that captures geographical data in a certain area. The GIS is more than just the software used to create it, because you need data and a scale to reference the data to. GIS is more related to understanding all of the data as opposed to just the software.
* What makes open source GIS (QGIS) different than proprietary (ESRI) GIS? And What are advantages and disadvantages between the two?
Open source GIS is created and then developed by the community. People can take the source code and then edit it however they see fit. This is nice for customization options because people frequently release various code updates, however if you want support for said code it may be difficult to get because everything is rapidly changing.
Proprietary GIS such as ESRI is developed by a specific group with secure source code. If you want something different you are unable to edit it, however you do receive support if you run in to any problems.
* Why is Open Source GIS important to the UAS industry? That is, speculate upon your own experiences and goals to relate how this software could open doors and markets where proprietary GIS keeps doors closed.
Open Source GIS allows new code to be developed very frequently, which is beneficial in a rapidly changing UAS industry. As new UAS technologies become developed some systems may not work as well with proprietary GIS because the GIS does not change as rapidly as the UAS technology might. Also, open source GIS allows mass groups of people to be involved in the creation and development of these new software technologies whereas proprietary GIS is restrictive to its own employees. If someone wants to get into GIS development, they are easily able to work with open source software to develop their skills.

Method/Discussions
During our lab time, we created a hillshade by using sample multicomposite data. This hillshade was designed by first loading in the data to the GIS software. After the DEM was loaded in we then adjusted the properties of said DEM to match the elevation values to minimum and maximum elevation values to show greater contrast between the changing elevation. Afterwards we generated a hillshade effect onto the DEM and tinkered with settings until a good-looking image was developed. The difference between this creation and the previous one was that we were shown extra menu options and search keys to find ways to interact with the map differently. Next, we developed a False Color IR image by matching up the RedEdge bands with the order that they were displayed in our settings. Each member in the class had a different order of the bands, so we were not able to use a blanket setting to get the False Color IR image. We used the Near IR, Red, and Green bands for this.

Conclusions
Both labs were very beneficial for developing maps using GIS software. I believe the second lab was a little more difficult for me because we had to try and find a way to match up the specific light wave bands to generate a false-color IR image. In the first lab, we developed hillshade effects while adding other layers to make the elevation change clearer, and I was able to understand that process a little easier. With my final project I hope to develop aviation accident information, this software could be beneficial because I could find elevation change along the terrain to see if that affected how a plane might have rolled after crash.

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