Professional Documents
Culture Documents
447-498)
Mobile GIS:
Globalization in the palm of your hand.
Real-time location solutions for a modern world.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-nFXBmBrUw
*Reproduced under the Creative Commons agreement.
Pg. 449:
Mobile GIS refers to the accesss and use of GIS data and functions
through mobile and wireless devices such as laptops, PDAs, pocket
PCs, and web-accessible smart phones.
Typical End Use of Mobile GIS Includes the following, and more.
Qs | Jeremiah D. Jones:
2. What are some typical end uses of Mobile GIS.
Business
Unsolicited interaction between wireless patrons in the field (i.e. potential customers),
3rd parties (ex. a restaurant owner), and web-based GIS data providers (ex. Google Maps).
Field Work
Real-time or temporal interaction between field technicians and their in-house
operations. Through mobile GIS, field techs can receive priority work orders.
Also, mobile GIS allows for simultaneous data collection and ground-truth
confirmation, even streaming updates to enterprise datasets.
The individual devices being used for Mobile GIS and the evolution of the
G2 and G3 telecom networks are of the most relevance to our discussion.
Laptops, PDAs, Pocket PCs, and Smart Phones ..and GPS receivers.
By now, pop culture has familiarized most of us with these devices, but as
I-GIS developers and application developers, certain complexities merit our
greatest attention. The next couple slides will analyze them.
Qs | Kapil:
1. What are the practical problems in implementing
Mobile GIS? What do you think are some of the
reasons that hinder the popularity of Mobile GIS?
Mobile devices provide tiny screen areas, limited input methods, low processing
power, and finite battery life.
My cell phone, and some specs to foster discussion of issues related to Mobile
GIS. Notice that it can operate on multiple wavelengths, uses varied wireless
protocols, has a JAVA-based operating system (its capable of running other applications
written in the J2ME and J2EE environments), and a tiny 176 x 220 pixel screen area.
A look at a user interface (UI) I created in early 2008 using Adobes Flex Builder
3 framework. Aware that the UI needed to, at least, fit my own phone, I created
it for 100 pixels x 144 pixels.
Network Evolution
Wireless Internet is an arguable precondition for Mobile GIS, and its roots go back to the days of dialup internet. For
dialup internet to perform, a voice quality line is necessary to cater the data transmission. In the early days of cell
phone use, most networks could only support the lowest quality analog signal, this is the G1-rated network. Since
then, networks have upgraded bandwidth allotment to their individual cells (i.e. towers) and converted from analog
to packet switched (i.e. digital) systems, allowing greater data exchange and improved fault tolerance. In many
regards, these G2 networks are still widely deployed, especially in rural areas. Even more recently, again, more
bandwidth as been added, and frame size has been increased (i.e. larger data packets). When our text was being
written, this evolution was merely perceived, but at present, it is the reality. This minor upgrade to the G2 network has
been coined G2 . The powerful Apple iPhone using Google maps (including the raster satellite imagery) is a perfect
example of a modern device taking advantage of the G2 system. The next phase is G3, which is equivalent to
modern day wired broadband. G3 incorporates a wider radio frequency spectrum and takes advantage of even
greater frame sizes, which are possible using the octal system, rather than a binary system. Maybe the most
significant modification of G3 is its support for TCP/IP (internet protocols). In some metro areas, G3-rated networks
are already operational. Japan specifically has been at the forefront of G3 development and deployment.
http://www.al911.org/wireless/triangulation_location.htm
Using the known speed of radio signals, the distance from receivers
can be calculated. It takes at least three and preferably four to get a
good location.
Position-
Determining
In my understanding, cell-by-cell triangulation was first exploited to assist rescue workers, and it requires
a degree of cooperation from wireless network providers to derive. Interestingly enough, triangulation is an
original byproduct of the cellular infrastructure, because user positions must be known in order to manage Triangulation Method
signal handoff between towers a basic and automated function of these networks. - original diagram
source: http://www.dailywireless.org/2006/12/08/cellular-triangulation/
There is an ongoing debate about the ethics (ex. violation of privacy), related to a corporation or another
individual having immediate access to ones exact lat/long location. It seems, however, that some wireless
providers might be offering this service, disclaimers aside, as a value-add.
Introduces Latency
Qs | Lucas Rengstorf:
3. What hardware and software are needed for
position-determination? Are accuracies for this
better in some areas than others?
(Return to slide #8) A: For government sector uses, Mobile GIS has
had the greatest benefit to rescue workers.