Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs.

447-498)

Mobile GIS:
Globalization in the palm of your hand.
Real-time location solutions for a modern world.

Animated GIF of an Apple iPhone using

Google Maps (http://maps.google.com) to reveal
Starbucks locations in San Francisco, CA.

This demo was rendered using screenshots

of a promotional video, which is available on
YouTube (www.youtube.com) and credited to
Apples website.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-nFXBmBrUw
*Reproduced under the Creative Commons agreement.

Qs: Jacob Nakano:

1. Since the use of "smart" phones has increased, do
you feel that mobile GIS applications will become
something that everyone uses on a daily basis?

Elijah Robison | 1 April, 2008

Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

Five central themes dominate the chapters discussion of mobile GIS:

Qs: Jeremiah D. Jones:

1) End Use Scenarios 1. What are five themes that dominate Mobile GIS.
- Business
- Field Work
- Location Based Services (LBS)

2) The Wireless Environment (pre-2004)

- Devices in use
- Evolution and operations of worldwide wireless networks

3) Overall System Architectures and Device Integration

4) A Survey of Existing Mobile GIS Programs

5) Real-World Applications of Mobile GIS

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.

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Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

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.

Location Based Services (LBS)

Realistically, LBS are the gamut of mobile GIS. They include simple consumer-
oriented data needs (i.e. locating restaurants, gas stations, residential addresses) as well as
more serious community priorities related to emergency response. Right now
fire (first responders), ambulance, and police personnel enjoy the most robust Mobile
GIS deployments. Other examples can include online parcel tracking services
offered by package handlers like FedEx and UPS, even pizza delivery.
Peng & Tsou:
Pgs. 447-454

Elijah Robison | 1 April, 2008

Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

The wireless environment includes hand-held devices, wireless

networks and their protocols, and the Telecom Service Providers
internet gateway solutions.

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.

1. Screen Size, Input Methods, Processing Power, and Battery Life

2. Bandwidth and latency issues of Wireless Networks..

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Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

Wireless Environment | Devices: The not-so-good ol days..

At its inception, mobile GIS required linking

laptops, PDAs, and pocket PCs to GPS
receivers to require real-time lat/long position
information.
This approach was costly and cumbersome.
It also involved handling two battery systems.
Nevertheless, this original combination of
mobile devices with GPS receivers paved the
way for modern mobile GIS.
These days, two different methods allow for
position acquisition by mobile devices: 1)
integrated GPS receivers, and 2) cell-by-cell
network triangulation.

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?

(Also, slide #8.)

Peng & Tsou:

Pgs. 454-458, 462

Elijah Robison | 1 April, 2008

Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

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.

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Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

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.

This is actual size (not

counting projection).

Notice that user controls

are limited to check boxes
and buttons.

In practice, there simply

wasnt room for text-
based input.

The large, unused area at

the top holds a
transparent image canvas
(lines & columns), which I
anticipated using for the
drawn map.

I never actually wrote any

QUESTION: code/logic for the UI, as I
Do you think this UI would scale very well dont yet know the
on a different device with a different screen coldfusion syntax..
area??? (I doubt it would..)

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Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

Peng & Tsou:

Pgs. 458-466 Mobile GIS devices are thin clients, functionally speaking.
Remember that for thin clients, the GIS server performs most processing
functions..
www.fonemap.com
www.fonemap.com isnt built, but, I own the domain. This is what it might look
like occupying the screen area of my phone.

This type of service would require most processing routines to be accomplished

on the server, and due to the limitations of wireless networks (historically
speaking, high latency and low bandwidth), the data exchange needs to be very
lightweight, or lean. In other words, tiny, tiny files are returned to the client (the
phone).

This transitions into the next topic evolution of Wireless Networks.

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.

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Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

Peng & Tsou:

Pg. 457

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.

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Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)

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?

(Also, return to slide #9)

Typical I-GIS, sans wireless

Peng & Tsou:

Pgs. 478-480

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Chapter 9 | Mobile GIS
Qs | Jacob Nakano:
2. The book did not talk much about the use of
Wi-Fi. Do you think improved Wi-Fi networks will
help evolve or increase the use of mobile GIS.
(Return to slide #8)
Qs | Kapil:
3. What is the major difference would b/w GPS
systems in cars and Mobile GIS systems? Are they
the same?
A: GPS in cars is Mobile GIS in action.
Qs | Lucas Rengstorf:
1. In the future, will mobile GIS be more applicable
for navigation or time-crucial field data collection?
A: Probably equal significance, but more economic
impact on the consumer market because it is so
much larger.
Answer-in-question: Do you think it is ethically-
responsible to have a cellular microchip inserted
into a child at birth? Automated systems could
track lost children in real-time, but what might be
the reversals of such a system?
Internet GIS (pgs. 447-498)
Qs | Lucas Rengstorf:
5. Has mobile GIS and its ability to make real-time
changes to data had significant influences on the
management of utilities?
A: For government sector uses, Mobile GIS has
had the greatest benefit to rescue workers.
In the private sector, my educated guess is that
package handling is benefitting from, or at least
experimenting with, these systems. Also, I believe
large utility companies are able to manage
maintenance routines in real-time.
The public sector is the last to get onboard, but
inevitably, public sector solutions will likely eclipse
both government and private sector uses.
Consider a world where every vehicle on the road
was tracked in real-time. Car thieves would have
to become hackers..
Elijah Robison | 1 April, 2008