Redlands-based tech company Esri hosted its annual Geodesign Summit last week, where design professionals from across the U.S. were given a chance to hear about new spatial technologies.
Esri is the creator of ArcGIS, a cloud-based geographic information system that combines mapping and data functions to provide “location-based” analyses. In an event presentation, Esri Founder and President Jack Dangermond showcased how cities like San Francisco and Los Angeles have integrated Esri technology into urban planning and how GIS technology is becoming “a system of systems,” according to a report from Redlands Daily Facts.
“We’ll have all the data we need. We’ll have all the computer power we need, we’ll have all the big data computing power,” Dangermond said. “We’ll have advanced visualizations. We’ll have the reach to every citizen on the planet. All of that is converging into this thing, the platform that we call GIS. And it’s happening everywhere.”
In addition to his discussion on the future of GIS technology, Dangermond shared his vision in which state, local and federal government, and private initiatives share data, claiming the concept will “take off and grow like the Internet did.”
Esri's Geodesign Summit focuses on helping people "find innovative solutions to the most pressing challenges of the day by fusing design and planning processes with geospatial technologies," according to Esri. Held every year, the event covers a myriad of topics, including 3-D, Web apps, open data and the Internet of Things.
