From the course: Foundations of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

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Creating your own GIS data

Creating your own GIS data - GIS Tutorial

From the course: Foundations of Geographic Information Systems (GIS)

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Creating your own GIS data

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Suppose you have the task of creating a GIS for an industrial complex. How would you get data for it? Well, most GIS software comes with a built-in base map of aerial imagery. So when you open your GIS for the first time, you just turn on the base map, you search for your facilities address, and zoom in until you can see it. Now the imagery that comes with the software might be a few years old, so if you've had many recent changes at your facility, you might hire a drone pilot or an aerial photo company to acquire newer imagery. Now, to add your specific data, you would start with the most prominent features in your complex, like the buildings and parking lots. You could trace these off aerial photos if they existed when the photo was taken. Or if you have original plans or blueprints of these structures in a CAD format, that's Computer-Aided Design software like AutoCAD or MicroStation, then you could import these files. If all you have are paper versions of these blueprints, that's…

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