GIS can determine areas where there is demand for new businesses, such as a McDonalds restaurant. This is done by assessing trends in the population, such as age, employment, transport, income and shopping habits as well factors such as the location of competing McDonalds and other take away fast food restaurants. This will determine whether a new McDonalds restaurant will be profitable and therefore a viable option. Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing - Photogrammetry is the process of obtaining reliable information from photographs. This process dates back to 1839 when the first attempt was made to make a topographic map from a photograph.
Surveyors use photogrammetry to determine distances, elevations, areas and volumes of the landscape.
There are two main types of photogrammetry, aerial and terrestrial. Aerial photogrammetry is used for mapping and determination of the location of control points. Terrestrial photogrammetry is Earth based, some examples are the monitoring of a dam wall or volcano for movement, or the survey and recording of historically important features such as Rock Art paintings. Remote sensing is similar to aerial photogrammetry in that it is taken above the Earth's surface. However remotely sensed images are captured by satellites, and the images are digital in nature and are capable of recording wavelengths of light to visible to the human eye.