GIS software to become available to everyone across the world<\/p>\n
<\/p>\nClark Labs’ TerrSet\/IDRISI software has been used by scientists for nearly 40 years to monitor and model the earth system, including the analysis of climate change impacts and projecting future land cover change and its impacts on biodiversity. Now, for the first time, TerrSet\/IDRISI will be offered free as an open-access version, starting Dec. 2.<\/p>\n
Clark Labs’ recent merger<\/a> with the new Clark Center for Geospatial Analytics (Clark CGA) presented the opportunity to make TerrSet\/IDRISI more widely available, according to Ron Eastman<\/a>, professor emeritus of geography<\/a> and former director of Clark Labs. He serves as a principal investigator and senior research scientist at the new center<\/a>.<\/p>\n “This new, free version of TerrSet\/IDRISI is the realization of a 37-year dream to make the software accessible to everyone, everywhere,” Eastman says.<\/p>\n Clark Labs originally released IDRISI, the first GIS software developed for a microcomputer platform, in 1987.<\/p>\n “We sought to meet the needs of scholars in the developing world,” Eastman says. “Our goal was to provide an accessible system that could perform professional-level analyses with a minimum of computer resources. This required a special focus on algorithms that could function in a low-RAM environment and would require no more resources than those typically available on home and office microcomputers.”<\/p>\n Over the years, TerrSet\/IDRISI has been licensed for more than 100,000 installations in virtually every country. Many Clark faculty have also relied on TerrSet\/IDRISI software for their research and to train undergraduate and graduate students in geographic information science (GIS).<\/p>\n TerrSet<\/span> liberaGIS<\/span> is the new <\/span>free<\/span> version of the <\/span>TerrSet<\/span>\/IDRISI software. It is set to be released Dec. 2<\/span> and includes significant updates and improvements.<\/span> This 20<\/span><\/span>th<\/span><\/span> release, made possible by the merger <\/span>of Clark Labs <\/span>with Clark Center for Geospatial Analy<\/span>tics<\/span>, will make the software free to all users. <\/span>The freeware software is n<\/span>amed “<\/span>liberaGIS<\/span>,” derived from the Esperanto word “<\/em><\/span>libera<\/span>gis”<\/span><\/em> meaning <\/span>liberated, set <\/span>free<\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n More FAQs<\/a><\/p>\n <\/div>\n The new version of TerrSet\/IDRISI, called liberaGIS<\/em>, will include:<\/p>\n The new version also will be streamlined by removing components that relied on external programs that are no longer supported by their original developers. These include:<\/p>\n Want to keep updated on geospatial news? Read the Clark Center for Geospatial Analytics (Clark CGA) newsletter.<\/p>\nWhat is TerrSet liberaGIS?<\/h3>\n
\n
\n
Subscribe to our newsletter<\/h3>\n