Overview of the development of geographic information systems

my country’s geographical information system started a little later, but its development momentum is quite rapid, which can be roughly divided into the following three stages.

The first is the initial stage. In the early 1970s, my country began to promote the application of electronic computers in the fields of measurement, mapping and remote sensing. With the development of international remote sensing technology, my country began to introduce U.S. Earth Resources satellite images in 1974 and carried out remote sensing image processing and interpretation. The first remote sensing technology planning meeting was held in 1976, forming a new situation of vigorous development of remote sensing technology experiments and applications. Infrared remote sensing experiments were carried out in Beijing, Tianjin and Tangshan. Aerial remote sensing experiments in the Hami region of Xinjiang, environmental remote sensing research in the Bohai Bay region of Tianjin, and remote sensing inventory of agricultural land resources in the Tianjin region. For a long time, the State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping has systematically carried out a series of aerial photogrammetry and topographic mapping, laying a solid foundation for the establishment of a geographic information system database. The research and use of analytical and digital mapping, machine-assisted mapping, and digital elevation models are also carried out simultaneously. In 1977, the first full-element map output by computer was produced. In 1978, the State Planning Commission held the first national database academic symposium in Huangshan. All these have made technical preparations for the development and application of GIS.

The second is the experimental stage. After entering the 1980s, our country implemented the "Sixth Five-Year Plan" and the "Seventh Five-Year Plan", and the national economy developed in an all-round way, and soon responded enthusiastically to the "information revolution". While vigorously developing remote sensing applications, GIS has also entered the experimental stage. In typical experiments, data specifications and standards, spatial database construction, data processing and analysis algorithms and application software development are mainly studied. Focusing on agriculture, we study models and software related to quality evaluation and dynamic analysis and forecasting, and use them for experimental research on many topics such as reservoir inundation loss, water resource estimation, land resource inventory, environmental quality evaluation, and population trend analysis. In terms of special experiments and applications, based on the establishment of national geodetic surveys and digital ground models, a national 1:1 million land retention database system and a national land information system, a 1:4 million national resource and environmental information system and a 1:4 million national resource and environmental information system have been built. : 2.5 million Soil and Water Conservation Information System, and has carried out special research experiments on the Loess Plateau Information System and the Flood Disaster Forecasting and Analysis System. Various small information systems used to assist urban planning have also gained recognition in urban construction and planning departments.

Great development has been achieved in academic exchanges and talent cultivation. Many international academic seminars on GIS have been held in China. In 1985, the Chinese Academy of Sciences established the "National Key Open Laboratory of Resource and Environmental Information Systems". In 1988 and 1990, Wuhan University of Science and Technology of Surveying and Mapping established the "Information Engineering Major" and the "National Key Open Laboratory of Surveying, Mapping and Remote Sensing Information Engineering". ". Many universities in our country have opened RS courses and workshops at different levels, and have trained a large number of PhDs and masters in GIS research and application.

The third is the comprehensive development stage of GIS. From the late 1980s to the 1990s, my country's GIS entered a stage of comprehensive development with the development of the socialist market economy. The State Bureau of Surveying and Mapping is establishing a nationwide digital surveying and mapping information industry. The 1:1 million map database has been put on public sale, and the Wei: 250,000 map database has also been completed. The production and construction of the national 1 million map database has begun. The provincial surveying and mapping bureaus are working hard to establish a provincial 1:10,000 foundation. GIS. Digital photogrammetry and remote sensing applications are gradually moving from typical experiments to operational systems, which can ensure a continuous supply of topographic and thematic information to GIS. Since the 1990s, the development of coastal and riverside economic development zones, the paid use of land and the introduction of foreign capital have urgently required GIS services, which has effectively promoted the development of urban geographic information systems. Urban information systems used for urban planning, land management, transportation, electricity and various infrastructure management have been established in many cities in my country.

In terms of basic research and software development, the Ministry of Science and Technology included "the comprehensive application of remote sensing, geographic information systems and global positioning systems" in the "Ninth Five-Year Plan" scientific and technological research plan as an important national "Ninth Five-Year Plan" Zhongzhijian Science and Technology Research Project, in which a considerable amount of research funds have been invested to support Wuhan University of Surveying and Mapping Technology, Peking University, China University of Geosciences, Chinese Academy of Forestry Sciences, Institute of Geography, Chinese Academy of Sciences and other units to develop my country's independent copyright geographical information System basic software. After several years of hard work, the gap between China's GIS basic software and foreign countries has rapidly narrowed, and several geographic information system software that can participate in market competition have emerged, such as GeoStar, MapGIS, OityStar, ViewGIS, etc. In terms of remote sensing, with the support of this project, a national land dynamic monitoring information system based on the land classification results of IK4 remote sensing images has been established. The implementation of this major national project has effectively promoted the development of remote sensing and geographic information systems in China.