2005 Computerworld Honors Program

	Michigan MapImage Viewer Michigan State University East Lansing, Michigan USA Year: 2002 Status: Laureate Category: Environment, Energy & Agriculture Nominating Company: Morgan Stanley
	Interactive digital aerial images of Michigan's 83 counties delivered on CD-ROM, support a wide range of activities among users who never before had such high-quality maps
	Michigan MapImage Viewer CD-ROMs contain an interactive archive of resource maps and digital aerial images for each of the 83 counties in the State of Michigan. The included viewing software incorporates Geographic Information System (GIS) and imaging technology to efficiently and effectively handle the maps and images. The user can search for and view roads, drains, rivers, lakes, land use, sites of environmental contamination, soils data, wetlands, topographic maps, and aerial photography. The Michigan MapImage Viewer product was developed at Michigan State University (MSU) Center for Remote Sensing & Geographic Information Science in partnership with the Michigan Information Center and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. In November 1997, Michigan State University released the MSU LandScan CD product containing a collection of digital aerial imagery of Michigan on 92 CD-ROMs. The collection contains thousands of 35mm color photographs each depicting approximately 400 hectares (1.5-square miles) of land. There are several hundred LandScan users including county planning staff, health departments, road commissions, equalization departments, real estate companies, agricultural business firms, private consultants, cities, townships, and state departments. The images in the collection are geographically referenced to a grid cell of the U.S. Public Land Survey System of Michigan. A Town-Range-Section notation (number) denotes the location of an image within this rectangular referencing grid. A major limitation of the LandScan Viewer is that the user must know the geographic location for the photo of interest referenced to the U.S. Public Land Survey System. The user must have either prior knowledge of this referencing system or use a county atlas or plat book to identify the correct geographic reference numbers. A logical solution to the image-referencing problem is to create a software product that can display digital maps that contain reference features similar to those in a hardcopy county atlas. The user could then point to a location on the digital map and press a mouse button to retrieve and display the LandScan aerial photographs of this area. The initial goal was to create a new LandScan photo viewer that would include reference maps and provide new capabilities requested by current LandScan users, particularly the ability to annotate the images with text labels and graphics. Preliminary work on the development of this type of mapping software began shortly after the release of the LandScan Viewer. It took four years to develop the final product, the Michigan MapImage Viewer. Over this development period there was a major shift in objective from constructing a single function LandScan photo viewer to building a comprehensive Geographic Information System (GIS) product that could view a wide range of integrated, statewide data on the environment of Michigan. The most important requirement of a mapping product is the provision of high quality digital map data. Ideally the maps should contain many detailed reference features such as roads, lakes, rivers, drains, and places (e.g., cemeteries, parks, schools, and churches) as well as text labels for these features. Two immediate sources were the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (MDNR) 1:24,000-scale digital map files or the 1:100,000-scale road centerline data (called TIGER Line files) available from the U.S. Census Bureau. The MDNR files contain more features and are more accurate than the Census TIGER Line data, but do not contain feature labels or other feature attribute data. An alternative to these two established sources was a new base map product, called the Michigan Geographic Framework, being constructed by the Michigan Information Center, Michigan Department of Management and Budget. The Framework files were being built by conflating (joining) the 1:100,000-scale TIGER attribute data (e.g. road names) to the 1:24,000-scale MDNR road network lines. We decided to use the emerging Framework data because the files contain the most accuracy map data and the richest set of feature names, which are essential for locating areas of interest on a map. The construction of Framework files for the entire state of Michigan was a multi-million dollar effort that took four years to complete. We began developing the MapImage Viewer product using early versions of the Framework data that became available for a few counties in Michigan. At that time, we had no idea how long it would take to complete the Framework files for the state. We participated in monthly Framework meetings to stay abreast of new developments and to provide feedback on our use of the files. Through the Framework meetings the MIC and MDEQ became aware of the prototype-version of the MapImage Viewer software. Based on several demonstrations they wanted the viewer to be crafted to serve as a basic GIS viewer for the Framework data and to serve the mapping needs of the MDEQ Source Water Assessment Program. For the past three years, The Michigan Information Center and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality provided substantial funded the redesign and implementation a more general GIS data viewer. Since it took several two years to construct the Framework files, we had the opportunity to substantially improve and enhance the capabilities of the initial MapImage Viewer software and to integrate many other types of map data. Each Michigan MapImage Viewer CD-ROM contains an interactive, searchable archive of more than 30 resource maps, air photos, and feature attribute data for one of the 83 counties in the state. This product delivers the following resource data: · Roads, lakes, rivers, drains, cities, minor civil divisions, entity names, street addresses, and other feature attribute data from the Michigan Information Center · Villages and places such as cemeteries, churches, parks, schools, and radio towers from the USGS Geographic Names Information System · Land use, airports, pipelines, utility lines, and public land survey data from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources · Soil maps from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service · Wetland maps from the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory · Flood insurance rate maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency · Sites of environmental contamination and watershed maps from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality · Topography and other information on scanned copies of USGS 1:24,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps · Aerial photographs (digital orthophotography) from the U.S. Geological Survey · Satellite imagery (Thematic Mapper data) acquired by a Landsat satellite The user can also add map files, database information, and digital aerial photography that are used in their business operations. The MapImage Viewer software enables the user to view these data from an integrated perspective. The Michigan MapImage Viewer software provides a set of mapping functions that find, display, measure, identify and query map features. Map features can be selected by searching by feature attribute value(s), by street address, by road intersection, by geographic coordinates or by using a global search engine. With the product, users can perform fairly simple searches for features (such as locate the Red Cedar River) as well as complex ones. Queries can be performed using Boolean conditions and spatial filters such as, show all lakes that are between 10 and 40 acres in size within Meridian Township. The selected map features are highlighted on the map and the database information associated with these features can be viewed in a results table. The map, aerial imagery, and search results data can be copied to a file or sent to a printer. Clicking on a map location will display aerial photos of the surrounding area. Besides serving independent GIS user needs, the viewing software was constructed to also provide enhanced access to LandScan CD images. Tools are available to view and modify the LandScan photos or others types of digital aerial photography. Image controls include a magnifying glass, image enhancement functions, image annotation tools for drawing text, lines and symbols, and a function to zoom the map to the geographic area shown on the aerial photograph. The first beta version of the Michigan MapImage Viewer was released on March 16, 2000 to the county and district health departments in Michigan as part of the MDEQ Source Water Assessment Program. The product became available to the public in May of 2001. The MapImage Viewer product is available on 83 CD-ROM discs, one for each county in Michigan. We are currently developing packaging and deployment capabilities to automatically assembled data products for other geographic areas such as multi-county regions, minor civil divisions, watersheds, or a user-specified area. The viewer, software updates, documentation, and associated data sets will eventually be available via the Internet. In summary, the Michigan MapImage Viewer software was developed as a basic data viewer for the Michigan Geographic Framework files and other statewide resource maps of Michigan and to provide enhanced access to LandScan CD photos and other types of aerial imagery.
	The major benefit of the Michigan MapImage Viewer is the delivery of integrated maps, feature attribute information, and aerial photos to a variety of organizations; many of which are first time users of Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. The integration of both spatial and attribute information into a CD-based product moves the data and mapping capabilities from a few GIS centric organizations to a more diverse group of application-oriented users throughout the state of Michigan. Each Michigan MapImage Viewer CD-ROM contains an interactive, searchable archive of more than 30 resource maps, air photos, and feature attribute data for one of the 83 counties in the state. This product delivers the following resource data: · Roads, lakes, rivers, drains, cities, minor civil divisions, entity names, street addresses, and other feature attribute data from the Michigan Information Center · Villages and places such as cemeteries, churches, parks, schools, and radio towers from the USGS Geographic Names Information System · Land use, airports, pipelines, utility lines, and public land survey data from the Michigan Department of Natural Resources · Soil maps from the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service · Wetland maps from the USFWS National Wetlands Inventory · Flood insurance rate maps from the Federal Emergency Management Agency · Sites of environmental contamination and watershed maps from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality · Topography and other information on scanned copies of USGS 1:24,000-scale topographic quadrangle maps · Aerial photographs (digital orthophotography) from the U.S. Geological Survey · Satellite imagery (Thematic Mapper data) acquired by a Landsat satellite A direct result of this product is the provision of more information on the environment to users throughout the state of Michigan. Integrating and providing easy access to public domain environmental information is giving the MapImage Viewer user a new opportunity to view data from a different perspective. It is enabling staff of many diverse organizations to access and view integrated land resource data that should help improve decisions based on this broader base of information. The product is positioned as a starter GIS mapping solution but through its use the user learns how to accomplish a variety of GIS capabilities which make it easier to transition to more complex, higher-end GIS products in the future. The Michigan MapImage Viewer software provides a set of mapping functions to find, display, measure, identify and query map features. Map features can be selected by searching by feature attribute value(s), by street address, by road intersection, by geographic coordinates or by using a global search engine. With the product, users can perform fairly simple searches for features (such as locate the Red Cedar River) as well as complex ones. Queries can be performed using Boolean conditions and spatial filters such as show me all lakes that are between 10 and 40 acres in size within Meridian Township. The selected map features are highlighted on the map and the database information associated with the features can be viewed in results table. The map, aerial imagery, and search results data can be copied to a file or sent to a printer. The user also benefits because they can add map files, database information, and digital aerial photography that are used in their normal business operations. The MapImage Viewer software enables the user to view these data from an integrated perspective. District and county public health departments in Michigan view, analyze, and map data on underground storage tanks, public and private water wells, and oil/gas wells as well as sites of environmental contamination. Other types of data being accessed by the MapImage Viewer user include locations of state-owned facilities and property, land uses, tax reverted lands, the location of parolees, and census data. Another benefit is the product’s support for several different data packaging and access configurations. Users in different computing environments can tailor the data installation to their needs, hard drive disk capacity, and network capabilities. Map and aerial imagery access modes include: 1. The viewer reads county data directly from the CD-ROM. This installation requires the least amount of computer disk space and is desired by the infrequent user of the application. 2. Install data for one or more counties on the PC hard drive to increase speed of access and provide a more efficient environment for the more frequent user of the product. The viewer smoothly handles transitioning from one county to another county. 3. A seamless statewide version of the county map data can be installed and accessed by the viewer. 4. The statewide and/or county data sets can be installed on a network file server and the viewer installed on separate local computers. Viewer configuration options and map display settings are maintained for each local user’s needs. 5. LandScan aerial images for a county can be read directly from the LandScan CD-ROM or images for one or more counties may be accessed on a hard drive or a network file server. 6. The viewer can also retrieve other types of digital aerial photographs from a file server based on their geographic location stored in an index map containing the boundary of each photo frame. All of the map and aerial imagery data for the state of Michigan contained in the MapImage Viewer CD-ROMs have been placed on file server at Michigan State University. MapImage Viewer software, installed at remote locations across campus (including the MSU Map Library), provides access to the maps, feature attribute data, and aerial photographs in this statewide collection. We are currently implementing a custom installation for the Michigan Family Independence Agency (FIA). In the near future, FIA staff will be able to query and download records on a wide range of agency programs (e.g., day care, dependent care, and food stamps) from their large mainframe data warehouse and immediately view, analyze, and create maps using the MapImage viewer at their desktop. Customizing the MapImage Viewer software provides new tools for environmental mapping and geographic information applications. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and local public health department have benefited from the inclusion of custom tools for their mapping applications. These include a tool to digitize the location of facilities, water wells and other sites known to health department staff and a function that creates a custom database view of both well construction data and well lithology (formation) information. Using another custom tool, the user can click on a map location and immediately display scanned copies of the original water well records for that location from a digital archive of over 700,000 well records. Application-specific versions of the viewer are also being constructed for the Aerial Imagery Archive at Michigan State University, and for access to information on the state’s infrastructure that is stored at the Michigan Information Center. The product has also become very useful for demonstrating and marketing GIS technology to potential new users, particularly various departments of state government. Besides a few technical specialists, other employees in Michigan governmental agencies are not using GIS technology. The same situation exists for most county and local governments, private firms and environmental consultants. Demonstrations of the MapImage Viewer are being conducted for potential users using a laptop computer that holds all of the map data for the entire state of Michigan as well as selected examples of aerial imagery and scanned topographic data. The statewide data can be searched, viewed, and analyzed very efficiently and effectively using current laptop computer technology. Recent demonstrations have been given to staff of the Michigan Department of Transportation, Department of Corrections, Department of Education, the Family Independence Agency, and the Governors Office. The MapImage Viewer software also serves as an initial software development environment to quickly construct and test new State agency business applications that use Framework data. Intranet/Internet mapping applications will be developed after the software component specifications are defined through prototyping with the MapImage Viewer.
	Without the availability of inexpensive and powerful personal computers with large capacity hard drives and CD-ROM technology this project would not have been possible. Advances in computer processing, storage, and networking technologies have created the hardware environment that can host this application. The software would not have been implemented without utilizing existing and commercial off-the-self software development tools. The software uses Geographic Information System (GIS) technology to handle the search and display of map data, database access controls to search and view feature attribute data, and imaging technology to display and manipulate the aerial photographs. The software is written in Visual Basic and could not have been implemented as quickly or as full-featured without an object oriented programming environment, Component Object Model (COM) technology, and the availability of mapping and imaging programming components from commercial companies. The first six months of development were spent writing code to access map data stored in a Computer Aided Design (CAD) format using one of the first software toolkits for developing mapping applications. Then a new mapping software development toolkit, based on Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, entered the market at about the same time as GIS formatted map files were replacing the older CAD files. The Visual Basic programming environment and the new map control provided a smooth and quick transition from accessing one type of data to the other. The new map control also provides a faster data display speed and more mapping functionality then the first map control. Additional object programming modules were integrated into the software to improve the user interface with toolbars, to provide more powerful database viewing capabilities, and to access images stored with new data compression technology. Through today’s computer programming environment we were also able to add options to view documents stored in text, Adobe PDF, or HTML formats.
	The Michigan MapImage Viewer product is unique because it provides a wealth of statewide resource data on the environment of Michigan and the capability to search, view, analyze, and create maps using the included custom software built with imaging and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology. Before the release of the Michigan MapImage Viewer CD-ROMs, there was no single source for statewide spatial data of Michigan. Potential users would have to obtain the GIS data files, often in different formats, from data repositories at state and federal offices. A generic GIS software product could then be used to integrate the different data sets and to provide the GIS analytical and mapping capabilities. The technical level of expertise required to effectively use mainstream GIS products is often beyond what many potential users of spatial data possess or need to have. A more simple data viewer and map creation tool would meet or exceed many of their needs in a mapping product. The MapImage Viewer software itself is unique because it provides both standard GIS mapping capabilities and a separate set of imaging functions and tools in a single product. Commercial companies that create and market spatial software have traditionally focused on only one or the other of these two technologies. They are either principally a GIS/mapping company or a remote sensing/image analysis company. Popular commercial mapping products do not provide the imaging functions (e.g., color controls, sharpening operators, and annotation tools) found in the MapImage Viewer. The aerial images are displayed in a separate window from the map data, which allows using scanned aerial photographs that are not geographically referenced with the map data.
	The main goal of the Michigan MapImage Viewer project is to deliver basic map viewing tools and a set of integrated geographic map data, feature attribute information, and aerial photos to the desktop of new users of Geographic Information System technology. We believe that this goal has been achieved with the recent release of this product, but there is an on-going effort to update the software and integrate more statewide spatial data of Michigan. The MapImage Viewer product became publicly available on May 23, 2001. The first users of this product include agricultural service providers, wildlife managers, regional planners, drain commissions, environmental health specialist, city and township governments, road commissions, land conservancies, real estate agencies, and environmental engineering firms. The feedback from the initial, but growing, user community has been exceptionally positive. Some of the MapImage Viewer users feel empowered by their ability to seamlessly travel from one area of Michigan or resource map theme to another. Seeing for the first time their own data on a map is especially rewarding to them. Over 60 requests for the product have been received since it was released five months ago. Since there has been no marketing effort yet, knowledge of the product has been principally by word of month. We have delayed advertising the product until the Michigan Information Center completes a final version of the Framework data for the last two counties in Michigan. A gradual release of the product provides an opportunity to receive more comprehensive feedback from the initial users and when necessary revise the software. A recent demonstration of the MapImage Viewer at the annual conference for staff of the Michigan State University Extension Service (MSUE) was so well received that there has been a rush of requests for the product by MSUE agricultural and natural resource agents. MSUE has employees in all counties of Michigan. The Michigan Information Center and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) continue to use the product and financially support the development of new versions. In February 2002, the MDEQ will provide copies of the MapImage Viewer CDs and training to all the district and county health departments in the state. The Michigan Information Center is fostering the use of the viewer within other state departments. The Michigan Department of Corrections and the Michigan Family Independence Agency are starting to use the viewer. A beta version of the Michigan MapImage Viewer product took the Third Place award for best MapObjects Software Application at the 2000 ESRI International GIS Users Conference, which drew over 10,000 attendees. The Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI) is the leading vendor of Geographic Information System software in the world.
	The greatest challenge was not the technology or the resources but in the implementation of integrating data for the entire state of Michigan containing 83 counties. Data management issues were paramount during the collection and integration of more than 30 layers of data. Anomalies were found in these data and we had to learn how to reconcile differences in the data sets. Many data sets had little or no metadata (descriptions that document the data itself). Unanticipated resources had to be used to develop the metadata. The new Michigan Geographic Framework files, being constructed by the Michigan Information Center, were in a constant state of flux where each new version brought changes in data structure and content. It took two years to clean and build the polygon areas for the lakes and two-bank rivers in the state from the Framework file line work. The Framework files contain all of the line work and attribute data for areas of the state in one master file. In order to create the map layers that are used by the MapImage Viewer, we had to write an in-house computer program to extract the layers such as roads, rivers, and cities. The extraction software is very complex and powerful. It uses GIS components from a commercial company and custom written routines to extract data based on feature codes and to build separate line segments into polygon objects (e.g., cities and minor civil division areas). Extensive error reporting was built into the software. Errors and other data quality issues were reported back to the constructors of the Framework data. The extraction software has been used for two years to create files for beta versions of the MapImage Viewer product, but will be obsolete by December this year. At that time, the Michigan Information Center will start to provide extracted map themes that are compatible with the Michigan MapImage Viewer product. Another area of difficulty was the development of software capabilities that were not included with the commercial map control or the imaging control. Code had to be written to find street addresses, to annotate an image with text or graphic objects, and to provide tools to measure distances and areas on the map. Packaging and deploying the product was a very challenging endeavor. Identifying all the necessary software components (dynamic link libraries, database objects, component dependencies) and properly installing them on a variety of target computers required more time than expected. The MapImage Viewer product is currently available on 83 CD-ROM discs, one for each county in Michigan. We are now faced with the challenge to develop new packaging capabilities to automatically assemble the data for other geographic areas such as multi-county regions, minor civil divisions, watersheds, or user-specified geographic areas. Another problem that we are currently working on is merging the raster files (e.g., digital copies of topographic maps and digital aerial images) into a seamless, statewide image file. Currently, image data is tiled either by township, county, or some other geographic area. Users do not want to be restricted in their view of entirety of the data. The technology to merge, compress, and serve large image files is now available from several commercial vendors. As stated previously, the greatest challenge is not the technology or the resources but the implementation of integrating image data for a state the size of Michigan.