IDRISI
Encyclopedia
IDRISI is an integrated geographic information system
(GIS) and remote sensing
software developed by Clark Labs at Clark University
for the analysis and display of digital geospatial information. IDRISI is a PC grid-based system that offers tools for researchers and scientists engaged in analyzing earth system dynamics for effective and responsible decision making for environmental management, sustainable resource development and equitable resource allocation.
Key features of IDRISI include:
of Clark University
, Department of Geography, as an accessible yet robust PC-based GIS. Dr. Eastman continues to be the prime developer and chief architect of the software. In January 2009 Clark Labs released IDRISI Version 16 (known as IDRISI Taiga). Besides its primary research and scientific purposes, IDRISI is popular as an academic tool for teaching the principal theories behind GIS at colleges and universities.
Since 1987, IDRISI has been used by professionals in a wide range of industries in more than 180 countries worldwide. Environmental managers and researchers benefit from the unsurpassed range of geospatial tools—nearly 300 modules for the analysis and display of digital spatial information.
Based within the world-renowned Graduate School of Geography at Clark University
, Clark Labs IDRISI is known for pioneering advancements in areas such as decision support, uncertainty management, classifier development, change and time series analysis, and dynamic modeling. Partnering with such organizations as The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
, Google.org
, USDA, the United Nations and Conservation International
, Clark Labs leverages its academic base to develop innovative and customized research tools, provide software solutions to organizations in need, and apply geospatial expertise to a range of real-world problems.
(AD 1100-1166) was born in a town on the North African coast.
Educated in Cordoba, and widely traveled in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, al-Idrisi was a cartographer and geographer of major significance during the medieval period.
Commissioned by the Norman King Roger of Sicily to prepare a geographical survey of the world, al-Idrisi led a fifteen-year collaborative effort by scholars and technicians based at the Norman Court at Palermo. Based on direct field studies as well as archival sources, the maps and texts that resulted from that collaborative effort served as primary reference material for over 500 years.
It is to this spirit of collaboration in geographic inquiry that the IDRISI software system is dedicated.
Geographic Information System
A geographic information system, geographical information science, or geospatial information studies is a system designed to capture, store, manipulate, analyze, manage, and present all types of geographically referenced data...
(GIS) and remote sensing
Remote sensing
Remote sensing is the acquisition of information about an object or phenomenon, without making physical contact with the object. In modern usage, the term generally refers to the use of aerial sensor technologies to detect and classify objects on Earth by means of propagated signals Remote sensing...
software developed by Clark Labs at Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
for the analysis and display of digital geospatial information. IDRISI is a PC grid-based system that offers tools for researchers and scientists engaged in analyzing earth system dynamics for effective and responsible decision making for environmental management, sustainable resource development and equitable resource allocation.
Key features of IDRISI include:
- a complete GIS analysis package for basic and advanced spatial analysis, including tools for surface and statistical analysis, decision support, land change and prediction, and image time series analysis;
- a complete Image Processing system with extensive hard and soft classifers, including machine learning classifiers such as neural networks and classification tree analysis, as well as image segmentation for classification;
- integrated modeling environments including the Earth Trends Modeler for image time series of environmental trends and Land Change Modeler for land change analysis and prediction.
History and background
IDRISI was first conceived in 1987 by Prof. J. Ronald EastmanJ. Ronald Eastman
Dr. J. Ronald Eastman is a Professor of Geography at Clark University and the author and chief developer of IDRISI GIS Software. Eastman was awarded the Distinguished Career Award at the 2010 Annual Association of American Geographers Meeting....
of Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
, Department of Geography, as an accessible yet robust PC-based GIS. Dr. Eastman continues to be the prime developer and chief architect of the software. In January 2009 Clark Labs released IDRISI Version 16 (known as IDRISI Taiga). Besides its primary research and scientific purposes, IDRISI is popular as an academic tool for teaching the principal theories behind GIS at colleges and universities.
Since 1987, IDRISI has been used by professionals in a wide range of industries in more than 180 countries worldwide. Environmental managers and researchers benefit from the unsurpassed range of geospatial tools—nearly 300 modules for the analysis and display of digital spatial information.
Based within the world-renowned Graduate School of Geography at Clark University
Clark University
Clark University is a private research university and liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts.Founded in 1887, it is the oldest educational institution founded as an all-graduate university. Clark now also educates undergraduates...
, Clark Labs IDRISI is known for pioneering advancements in areas such as decision support, uncertainty management, classifier development, change and time series analysis, and dynamic modeling. Partnering with such organizations as The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation
Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation seeks to develop outcome-based projects that will improve the quality of life for future generations. The private foundation focuses upon portfolios of large-scale initiatives and encourages collaboration so as to achieve the most significant and enduring outcomes...
, Google.org
Google.org
Google.org is the charitable arm of Internet search engine company Google.The organization has committed over $100 million in investments and grants as of May 2010. To fund the organization, Google granted them 3 million shares during their initial public offering. As of August 2011, Google.org's 3...
, USDA, the United Nations and Conservation International
Conservation International
Conservation International is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, which seeks to ensure the health of humanity by protecting Earth's ecosystems and biodiversity. CI’s work focuses on six key initiatives that affect human well-being: climate, food security, freshwater...
, Clark Labs leverages its academic base to develop innovative and customized research tools, provide software solutions to organizations in need, and apply geospatial expertise to a range of real-world problems.
Name
A Muslim scholar of international reputation in the Mediterranean world of his day, Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-IdrisiMuhammad al-Idrisi
Abu Abd Allah Muhammad al-Idrisi al-Qurtubi al-Hasani al-Sabti or simply Al Idrisi was a Moroccan Muslim geographer, cartographer, Egyptologist and traveller who lived in Sicily, at the court of King Roger II. Muhammed al-Idrisi was born in Ceuta then belonging to the Almoravid Empire and died in...
(AD 1100-1166) was born in a town on the North African coast.
Educated in Cordoba, and widely traveled in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia, al-Idrisi was a cartographer and geographer of major significance during the medieval period.
Commissioned by the Norman King Roger of Sicily to prepare a geographical survey of the world, al-Idrisi led a fifteen-year collaborative effort by scholars and technicians based at the Norman Court at Palermo. Based on direct field studies as well as archival sources, the maps and texts that resulted from that collaborative effort served as primary reference material for over 500 years.
It is to this spirit of collaboration in geographic inquiry that the IDRISI software system is dedicated.