The Development of Technology and Crime Mapping - Essay Example

Site surveying Foundation Department 3 Global Navigation satellite system (GNSS) is a satellite system that is used to locate the geographical position of any receiver anywhere in the world. GNSS was at first only used in military applications. GNNS has grown with time to be mostly used in civil applications. Global Positioning System is a type of GNSS that is widely used these days in a number of fields. GPS GPS stands for Global Positioning System. GPS is used in the location of areas using latitude and departure ("List GIS Application and Details," n.d.) When locating a position using GPS, it consists of two primary ends: The locating satellite. The receiver How GPS does work? There are 18 satellites orbiting the earth. The satellites are orbiting in 6 orbits, each orbit consisting of 3 satellites. Two satellites are required to locate a point on the earth. The more the satellite is used in locating the point, the more precise the location of the point will be ("Siteline - Geomatic, Land, Building and Topographical Surveyors - Hampshire | About Us," n.d.). Applications of GPS in Civil Engineering Geographical location of points on the earth. Preparing contours maps Alignment of Roads ands Bridges Advantages of using GPS in civil engineering It saves time since it’s way faster than manual location of points It’s survey is much more precise that manual surveying It reduces the chances of error. It minimizes the difficulty incurred while taking manual measurements Disadvantages of using GPS in civil engineering It requires a lot of initial investments in purchasing the electronic equipments required Skilled workers are needed to operate on the electronic types of equipment Uses of GPS in surveying Surveyors determine the position of objects by measuring angles and distances. From information collected in surveying, a lot can be derived: Calculate vectors. Calculate bearings. Calculating elevations. Calculating volumes. Calculating areas. Surveying involves different aspects: Leveling With the GPS, elevation can be measured with satellite receivers. Using GPS is efficient over long distances. Determining Positions GPS allows most positions to be defined over the surface of the earth. Distance measurement Angle measurements Case study Hammerson commissioned Siteline to conduct a detailed survey of a 1.5 km storm drainage culvert that runs beneath Leeds Town centre to the River Aire, where it discharges. . The project was controlled on the surface through a combination of GPS and total station, and internally the full length was traversed by the total station. . In addition to the accurate plotting of the horizontal and vertical alignments, over 100 detailed cross sections were produced for the flood risk assessment ("Siteline - Geomatic, Land, Building and Topographical Surveyors - Hampshire | About Us," n.d.). The success of this story was because of precise timings and specialist expertise. The whole internal survey job was completed in just four days. The use of GPS was vital to the success of the project. 3.2 Surveying consists of various aspects of measurements. These measurements need to be recorded and analyzed. Traditional methods of surveying recording and analysis made work hard. These methods were also slower and were not efficient. Books were used in recording results from surveying. As technology advanced, better methods of recording and analyzing data were introduced. Computer software played a large part in solving surveying problems. Computer software involves all electronically aided tools and soft wares that can be used in solving surveying problems. Some of the computer software types include: Electronic calculator Excel Spreadsheet Micro survey CAD Ultimate and Studio editions Micro survey Embedded CAD Micro Survey Field Genius Micro survey in CAD The use of computer software in solving surveying problem brought about some benefits in the surveying field: 1. Increased Productivity The use of computer software in solving surveying problems allows for automation of a lot of jobs that would have been manually done. In excel spreadsheet for example; a lot of mathematical calculations can be carried out at ago. This is simply done by sending a command to the computer. This allows for bulks of surveying problems to be solved. This further increase the productivity of a surveyor as a lot of work can be easily done. 2. Time conscious Computer software like micro survey Field Genius has higher power processors. The process can solve a large number of problems within very minimal periods. Surveying problems are solved quickly and much faster using this computer software. Using manual tools for collecting data the surveyor must have collected the data and analyzed all by him. The process was time consuming. With the innovation of computer soft wares, all this has changed. The Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) software allows maps to be automatically generated from the collected data. 3. Efficiency The computer soft wares used in solving surveying problems don’t use human memory. The soft wares are, therefore, less prone to errors. Solving surveying problems using computer software enhances efficiency. A good example of an illustration of efficiency is when using a total station. A total station captures data in the measurement process and stores it. After data collection, the data is downloaded to a software system which then generates a map. Manual tools for collecting data just took the measurements. A PROGRAMMED EXCEL WORKSHEET FINDING THE AREAS OF LANDS 3.3 A total station consists of an optical object that is used building construction and modern surveying. Total stations are used in various fields: Record features in surveying or set out features Used by archeologist to record excavations Crime scene investigators. Private accidents reconstructionists. Insurance companies to take measurements of scenes. The total station is an electronic theodolite integrated with an EDM. An EDM refers to an electronic distance meter. The total station is composed of · Digital barcodes that measure angles · ERM that reads slope distances from the instrument to a particular point · Electronic data storage which stored the collected data. · Some have an external data collector that is external to the total station. 3.4 Geographical Information System applications are computer software that show digital maps accompanied by tools that you can use to view a map, query for information and print a map that you composed.GIS help analyses maps of anything that can be simple represented graphically. Mapped entities help us see everything as it relates to every other thing. Some advantage of GIS is that bulk data is represented on a map. GIS also helps ease how such data can be analyzed. Various applications exist for GIS, Reason being that many fields deal with data’s. A good example of an application of GIS is Crime Mapping. Crime Mapping is a graphical representation of the spread of crimes within an area. Crime mapping is useful to security enforcers. Crime mapping helps law enforcers to make better decisions. It also helps law enforcers formulate strategies in solving insecurity issues. Case study According to Maltz, Gordon and Friedman (1991) Computer-based Crime mapping started in 1986. The crime mapping began when the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) funded a crime investigation project. This project was carried out by the Chicago Police Department. The CPD completed this project in conjunction with the Chicago Alliance for Neighborhood Society, the University of Illinois at Chicago and the Northwestern University. The project was a success. Its success prompted the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to initiate another project. The other project was different focusing on drugs. The project was dubbed Drug Market Analysis Program. This project developed some techniques among law-enforcers. The development of this technology resulted in Crime mapping spread all over the US. References SITELINE - GEOMATIC, LAND, BUILDING AND TOPOGRAPHICAL SURVEYORS - Hampshire | About Us. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://siteline.co.uk/about-us/case-studies/ MALTZ, M., GORDON, A. AND FRIEDMAN, W. 1991. Mapping crime in its community setting. New York: Springer-Verlag. LIST GIS APPLICATION AND DETAILS. (N.D.). Retrieved from http://www.marinmap.org/dnn/Applications/GISApplicationsList.aspx Schofield, W. (1993). Engineering surveying. Oxford [England]: Butterworth-Heinemann. STATE-OF-THE-ART TOTAL STATIONS - October 2011, Volume 25, Number 10 - Archive - GIM International. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.gim-international.com/issues/articles/id1782-Stateoftheart_Total_Stations.html Read More