…a historical look at the software system’s
roots
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The
MapCalc software is the result of integrating SoilRx precision agriculture software
with pMAP map analysis software.
SoilRx provides the Windows environment for
management and display of raster maps, as well as spatial interpolation and
statistical analysis capabilities. pMAP (Professional Map Analysis Package) provides spatial
analysis and
1970s— The origin of pMAP
software dates to a dissertation project at Yale University from 1977-82. Doctoral student C. Dana Tomlin extended the
grid analysis module to Harvard University's SYMAP program with professors Joseph K. Berry (doctoral advisor)
and Kenneth L. Reed serving as collaborators on Tomlin’s work. Additional analytic operations and an
interactive user interface were added to the SYMAP module and made generally
available by Yale University in the public domain as the Map Analysis Package (
1980s— In 1982
the
In
1986, Drs. Reed and Berry formed
Spatial Information Systems (SIS), Inc., and utilized the basic framework of
the Pascal version of the software to develop a commercial version for
DOS-based PC environments (copyright 1986).
In 1989 this version was completely rewritten and enhanced in the Modula
II language (copyright 1989). This
version underwent several important modifications from 1990 through 1996 and
was distributed under the name pMAP
Version 3.1. Special educational
licenses for classroom use (Academic Map Analysis Package, aMAP)
and for self-instruction (Tutorial Map Analysis Package, tMAP)
were acquired by over 200 universities and thousands of individuals.
1990s— In 1998
HyperParallel, Inc. (HPI), consultants and software
developers in data mining technology, agreed to jointly develop a version of
pMAP for parallel-processing environments.
Under this agreement, HPI and SIS converted the Modula code to the
Visual C++ and began optimizing the programs for HyperParallel’s
parallel environment. In late 1998 HPI
was acquired by Yahoo and the software sales/consulting division was
disbanded. As a result the
parallel-processing project was terminated.
SIS extended the code conversion to Visual C++ and wrapped the
individual components as ActiveX controls.
In
fall 1997, Red Hen Systems (RHS)
began development on SoilRx
and released it in late 1998. The software accepts yield and sample data
then spatially interpolates these values into continuous maps of crop
productivity and soil nutrient, properties, conductivity and other
distributions for a field. The advanced
2D and 3-D graphics, charting functions and grid math capabilities enable
farmers to visualize and interact with the spatial relationships within and
among precision agriculture data. The
software is primarily used to assist in identifying management zones of similar
data characteristics and in the development of prescription maps that use
variable rate technology to vary the amount of chemicals applied throughout a
field. Traditional farming practices
ignore the spatial variation in a field and apply the same treatment
everywhere. SoilRx
and other RHS products are widely distributed throughout the precision
agriculture industry.
2000s— In the spring of 1998, Red Hen Systems began purchasing
deployments of the pMAP ActiveX controls to enhance the spatial analysis
capabilities of SoilRx. In April of 2000 Red Hen Systems acquired SIS and all rights to the pMAP
code. MapCalc Learner and Academic
packages are the educational versions of the software based on the integration
of the two technologies. MapCalc Professional is the commercial
version.
In
2004 Red Hen Farming Systems was
spun off from Red Hen Systems to provide a focus on precision agriculture
applications. Red Hen Farming continued
to enhance and streamline MapCalc for incorporation into several commercial
systems providing yield mapping and analysis capabilities. In 2007
the MapCalc Learner version was included with the book Map Analysis
(Berry, GeoTec Media) providing extensive hands-on
experience with the concepts and procedures involved in spatial analysis and
statistics.
In
2008 the software rights were
returned to Berry and Reed to pursue new academic and commercial
applications. The MapCalc Learner and
Academic versions and numerous instructor materials for infusing grid-based map
analysis into college courses are available for free
download from BASIS. MapCalc
Professional is no longer distributed.
______________________________
Berry &
Associates // Spatial Information Systems (BASIS)
Website www.innovativegis.com/basis/ — Email jberry@innovativegis.com
…see www.innovativegis.com/basis/
for online materials.
December
2009