GPSGIS

GPSGIS is a term used to describe the integration of Global Positioning System (GPS) technology with Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to collect, manage, analyze, and visualize geospatial data. It refers to systems and workflows that combine GNSS positioning with GIS platforms to enable accurate mapping, asset tracking, routing, and spatial analysis in real time or near real time.

In practice, GPSGIS starts with field data collection using GNSS receivers or mobile devices to capture coordinates, elevations, and time stamps. Observations are corrected using differential techniques when higher accuracy is required, and the resulting positions are imported into a GIS where features are created or updated and linked to attribute data and existing layers. Data are stored in geodatabases, projected in appropriate coordinate reference systems, and analyzed with spatial operations, topology checks, and visualization tools.

Real-time GPSGIS supports live tracking and decision support for applications such as fleet management, emergency response, and field inspection. Post-processing workflows are also common, providing higher accuracy for surveys and asset inventories. Typical data formats include NMEA for raw output, and GIS formats such as Shapefile, GeoJSON, and GeoPackage, with integration into software packages ranging from commercial platforms like ArcGIS to open-source tools such as QGIS and GRASS.

Applications span surveying, urban planning, transportation, agriculture, forestry, environmental monitoring, utilities management, and disaster response. Benefits include improved positional accuracy, immediate situational awareness, and more efficient data collection and analysis; limitations include signal obstruction in dense environments, multipath errors, device variability, and privacy considerations. The field relies on standards for positioning, coordinate systems, and data interoperability, and on networks that provide differential corrections and real-time kinematic services.