2020 GIS Predictions from the President
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Brendan Wesdock, M.C.P., GISP , President
2020 is here, and with it comes the next generation of geospatial technology that is positioned to change the world we live in for the better. With advances in 5G, improved mobile GPS accuracy, and the growth of geospatial machine learning and artificial intelligence (AI) solutions, GIS data will be an integral factor in enabling new experiences and even saving lives.
Growth with 5G
5G will accelerate the growth of geospatial edge computing in 2020. This will combine big data and cloud, virtualization and augmentation, automation and intelligent machines, and distributed computing and artificial intelligence to derive insights from data that is generated by billions of connected devices worldwide. 5G’s connectivity, low latency, and 100 times greater bandwidth compared to 4G will present businesses with a more powerful geospatial platform to help drive new revenue opportunities by leveraging GIS data.
5G will also usher in technology trends that will impact the current location-enabled market. With location becoming fundamental to governance and all business processes, the value of location-based services for industries such as advertising and marketing, transportation, and retail will only increase with the 5G rollout, enabling more mobile geospatial opportunities.
Proliferation of Dual-frequency GPS Chips
In addition to 5G, dual-frequency GPS chips will change the location business, allowing for the use of more than one GPS constellation to be accessed at a time. Currently, in the US, mobile phones are generally only able to access the L1 GPS frequency, but they will soon have access to the more accurate L5 frequency too. This feature has been available in commercial and handheld units for years, and bringing it to mobile phones will unlock a new level of geospatial accuracy for the masses. Going from 10-meter accuracy to 30-centimeter accuracy will allow for lane level vehicle navigation, improved emergency service response, and accurate indoor geolocation.
In 2017, Broadcom Inc. and Qualcomm announced that they would make dual-frequency GPS chips available to the mobile phone market in late 2018. Although these chips have largely been utilized by only Huawei and other foreign phone makers, expect that to change in 2020 with the launch of newer Android and iOS handsets in the U.S.
AI and Machine Learning Advances
2020 will also bring the continued growth of geospatial machine learning and AI solutions. These solutions will empower organizations to use predictive modeling to make informed decisions based on synthesized, historical, and multi-sourced data. AI will leverage those outputs to automate processes, responses, and actions. We’ve already seen machine learning improve the accuracy and dramatically speed up the capture of image and video artifacts. AI has also been able to predict vehicle crashes and machine learning has helped prevent them. Going forward, geospatial machine learning and AI will become common tools that we will use to help our decision-making processes.
