Product Overview: GeoIQ - Making Your Maps Smarter and Better Looking Too - Directions Magazine

Product Overview: GeoIQ - Making Your Maps Smarter and Better Looking Too - Directions Magazine

Product Overview: GeoIQ - Making Your Maps Smarter and Better Looking Too

Tuesday, December 19th 2006

By Hal Reid

Read More About: cartography, geospatial technology, internetweb mappingweb services

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FortiusOne, Inc.
1200 Eton Ct. NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20007-3239
202-333-8559
866-333-8018
www.fortiusone.com

GeoIQ is an open platform that allows you to create applications integrating your data and other folks' data using Google Maps and Microsoft Visual Earth APIs. This combination provides not only interesting visualizations, it also allows for fairly complex analysis in an easy-to-use interface. GeoIQ operates as a Web service; the API lets you configure its usage, the data sources and the level of analysis.

GeoIQ's robust analytics uses map algebra, enabling very fast calculations and the capability to calculate heat maps as well as concentration and intersection indices. GeoIQ bridges the gap between Google Maps (or any other Web mapping application) and traditional GIS. All these tasks can be performed by users who are without significant GIS experience. GeoIQ's objective, as stated by FortiusOne, is to provide true spatial analysis within a Web browser.

Here's a quote from the company's website:

"GeoIQ empowers your organization or user community with the ability to see and analyze the world from a location perspective. With colorful, intuitive heat maps, users can finally get valuable insight from a wealth of geographic data without leaving their web browser."

The most immediately striking visualization is the ‘Heat Map.' It provides not only enhanced thematics, but also the ability to thematize linear features, something not generally found in traditional mapping software.

This ‘Heat Map' shows US demand for electric power based on forecasted temperatures. Note the ‘hottest spots' signify the largest demand. (Click for larger image)

While we are accustomed to seeing transparent fills and gradients, the Heat Map combines both, yielding a very interesting visual presentation.

You can compare two cities using the check boxes next to the data source (#2), while at the same time, mapping point locations of bed and breakfast inns or other locations you might select from Yahoo local search. GeoIQ allows you to compare any two cities. This capability could be very useful in looking at a comparison of your competitiveness or your market penetration. (Click for larger image)

Using Google Maps, this image shows the concentration of high-earning single males in high rent areas, along with all of the coffee shops in these locations. (Click for larger image)

If you are looking for a new site to open a business, GeoIQ can show you the exact location at which your desired demographic and site characteristics intersect. For example, if you are looking to open a new high-end bed and breakfast, you might want to know where the existing B&B's in high property value and high-income neighborhoods are located, as shown below.

(Click for larger image)

GeoIQ treats thematics for linear features in an interesting manner. This example shows a comparison of traffic in Los Angeles and Washington, DC. (Click for larger image)

Traffic data are available via the Web, and GeoIQ can render those data in seconds. If you use your imagination, the image above could show product flow tracked by RFID readers, communication traffic or almost any other data associated with a linear feature.

Speaking of imagination, here is a GeoIQ example created by Pamela Fox. It uses the GeoIQ API and lets you create your own heat map without having to write any code. Give it a try.

Of course, to make any mapping application go, you need data. GeoIQ offers many links to data on the company's site, including the following:

Demographics
Offshore Crude Pipelines
Gas Storage Facilities
Offshore Well Production
Simulated Hurricane Path
Electric Demand
Power Plants
Railways
Crude Pipelines Affected by Hurricane
Waterways
Highways
Earthquakes
Past Hurricane Tracks

The API is still in beta and you can download it - along with a key and some free data. You can also join the discussion group and check out the company's blog.