Open Source Software- QGIS

Overview- What is an Open Source Software?

Figure 1: Open Source Software Info-graphic

Referring to the info-graphic in Figure 1, open source software is code that people use to modify and share because its design is publicly accessible. (n.d 2019). In a broader context, open source often emphasizes "the open source way" which is a set or principles that  include transparency, collaboration, early/often releases, meritocracy, and community. According to developer.com, advantages of open source software include: 

• Cost Effectiveness- depending on the needs of a company, open source software can be free free compared to propriety software (Gray, 2017).
• Security Concerns are Typically Few and Far Between- its not uncommon for an open source application to have thousands of people working on it and serious problems are typically flagged and fixed quickly (Gray, 2017).
•  Programmers Look Better on the Job Market- nowadays, big software companies have investment, or are registered members of open source code websites. Therefore, companies tend to hire the programmers if they like the projects the programmers are working on. (Gray, 2017).
• Being Able to Add Features You Want- If you use proprietary software and need a key feature that can help your business, you have to submit a request to the developer and wait. And wait. And wait some more. Unless your company is big enough to get the developer's attention, you could be waiting for a while (Gray, 2017).
• The Developers Are Typically End Users Too- therefore, they want to make the software better compared to proprietary software that might not be able to alter code the way the end user wants (Gray, 2017). 
• The Licencing tends to be Flexible- Although you need to read the terms and conditions of open source software carefully, propriety software licencing conditions are relatively more painful. (Gray, 2017).
• Its More Available than Proprietary Software-When you use proprietary software, you're at the mercy of the publisher, who might decide to stop developing it or who could refuse to keep supporting older versions of the application. (Gray, 2017).

QGIS Open Source Software

QGIS is a free and open sourced Geographic Information System that can easily be downloaded from qgis.org. Shown in Figure 2, is the main screen. To anyone that has ever used an Esri GIS software, this resembles a simplified version of Arc Map. As you can see, it has a canvas, panels, tool bars, status bars and menu bars. For a  description of what each of the mention items do, click on the link  and start the video at 3:00. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aLmMovuydqI

Figure 2: QGIS Main Screen

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To demonstrate the capability of QGIS, Figure 3 depicts is a data set used in Lab 7. Would this look different if it were displayed in Arc Map?

Figure 3: QGIS Orthomosaic

Next I experimented with the Hillshade tool that QGIS had and then zoomed into a stockpile shown in Figure 4. Compared to Figure 20 of Lab 7, it appears no different from Arc Map.

Finally I experimented with the carve tool for a pile I selected in Figure 5. To my surprise, it was able to provide a volumetric calculation  shown in Figure 6.

Figure 5: QGIS Carve Tool

Figure 6: QGIS Volumetric Calculation

Conclusion

QGIS is one of many open source softwares out on the internet that can be downloaded for free. As this blog continues to grow, I will do my best to inform you of other open softwares to look into. In the future, I plan to do a direct comparison with Arc map, but for now, check it out yourself. Lastly, I only analyzed a minute portion of this software because there are so many other projects that I have been working on in the upcoming posts that you will see. Nevertheless, open sourced software platforms such as QGIS are another complex, and potentially cost effective system that falls into the overall system of unmanned aircraft. 

References

Gray, D. (2017, August 31). Seven Key Benefits of Open Source Software. Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://www.developer.com/open/seven-key-benefits-of-open-source-software.html

What is open source? (n.d.). Retrieved April 17, 2019, from https://opensource.com/resources/what-open-source