This week, the “Locationgate” drama triggered by Apple’s storage of location data on the iPhone 4, and a blog post by Matt Ball on Spatial Sustain, got me thinking about and researching 3D GIS data and the many ways it can and will be used. Much like video surveillance, where the discussion is always around invasion of privacy and rarely around the valuable data it provides to law enforcement and others, if this industry only lets one side of the discussion be heard, the side that decries location data’s role in “tracking” people, it will be a real shame, as location data has real value that can be extracted by a whole host of users.
Here are my thoughts (and, yes, I wore a tie this time):
Resources for this video blog:
The Spatial Sustain blog – Where’s the Geospatial Industry’s Response to ‘Locationgate’
American Libraries Magazine – Tufts University Library uses GIS resource planning and facility management
Khaleej Times – 3D model of Abu Dhabi showcased
