By employing multiple windows that can be opened and simultaneously linked by geography, data sets can be compared. Geographic precision is a key element in using GIS and visualization, Anderson explains. After all, the world is not a flat surface. Early versions of the tool featured three-dimensional raster and vector draping capabilities. The raster drape allowed the coordination and simultaneous viewing of satellite imagery, photographs taken from aircraft, scanned maps and thematic images.
Military units employ VirtualGIS in training exercises.
The draping of geographic information layers over terrain data allows soldiers to plan missions or familiarize troops with inaccessible or hostile terrain. Late last year, the company introduced an updated release of the product, VirtualGIS 8.4, a visualization and analysis tool set that operates on both UNIX and Windows platforms. This latest version adds intervisibility calculations that offer a three-dimensional mesh of what would be seen, or not seen, from a given position. While previous versions of the tool allowed users to drape raster and vector information then extract and pretend to have these changes, they could not actually be incorporated into the scene, Anderson explains. These changes can now be added to the three-dimensional scene.