GPS World

Tag: app

  • ArcGIS apps for the field launched at Esri UC

    ArcGIS apps for the field launched at Esri UC

    Esri has launched two new ArcGIS apps for field operating efficiency at the Esri User Conference, being held June 27–July 1 in San Diego. Attendees can see live demonstrations and experiment with Drone2Map for ArcGIS and Survey123 for ArcGIS.

    “These two apps are already becoming game changers,” said Esri President Jack Dangermond. “What we’ve done is make it much easier for our users to collect data, including imagery, and then right away start working with that data — mapping, analyzing, sharing—in ArcGIS.”

    Drone2Map for ArcGIS provides safe and affordable imagery on demand—a benefit especially useful to people who work in land analysis or infrastructure inspection and those monitoring events such as natural disasters and environmental change. Drone2Map takes still imagery captured by a drone and quickly turns it into high-quality 2D and 3D products in ArcGIS.

    The app detects camera and sensor parameters and intelligently applies appropriate defaults. Its rapid-process capability allows teams in the field to be sure they’ve captured everything they need to avoid costly return trips. The imagery products created using Drone2Map can be used for analysis in ArcGIS Online and ArcGIS Pro to support informed decision-making.

    Esri Survey123.
    Esri Survey123.

    Survey123 for ArcGIS is a simple yet powerful form-centric field data gathering solution that makes it possible to create, share, and analyze surveys in three easy steps. With Survey123, paper forms are effectively transformed into digital surveys. Surveys, from simple to sophisticated, are authored and then shared in ArcGIS.

    Using the Survey123 mobile app for iOS, Android or Windows, teams in the field capture survey results with their smartphones and tablets, even in disconnected environments. Data captured in the field is immediately available for analysis in ArcGIS to help users make better decisions. Survey123 is a versatile data collection solution already popular with people in public health, education, public works, disaster response, and humanitarian agencies.

    Attendees of the Esri User Conference can see live demos and get hands-on experience with both of these new apps along with hundreds of other solutions designed to enable a smarter world.

    ]The annual event attracts 16,000 geographic information system (GIS) users, managers, and developers. It offers 300 moderated sessions, 450 hours of technical training, access to 300 software vendors, inspirational keynotes, and one-on-one sessions with Esri technical and professional support staff. See more of GPS World’s coverage.

    Learn more about Esri apps for the field.

  • AT&T Announces New Personal Security App, Connected Car Collaborations at CTIA

    AT&T Announces New Personal Security App, Connected Car Collaborations at CTIA

    It wasn’t enough for AT&T Mobility President & CEO Glenn Lurie to make just one major announcement during his keynote address at CTIA Super Mobility 2015 Thursday.

    He had to make several.

    Most significantly, AT&T used the stage in front of a packed crowd, including their biggest competitors, to introduce new personal security, fleet tracking and connected car solutions.

    On the personal security front, Lurie announced the Digital Life Personal Security app, essentially a panic button for your smartphone that’s fully monitored and connected to emergency services much like home security and automation components of the Digital Life portfolio. The innovation came from customer feedback that “Digital Life is terrific, but you can’t take it with you.”

    Lurie said this technology was personal to him as the father of a 19-year-old daughter.

    “Imagine the opportunity of a 24/7 monitoring facility taking care of her, the ability for her to hit a button and instantly know where she is and instantly have the police come,” he said. “We’re going to offer to digital life customers and offer to anybody who wants to add this to their smartphone.”

    AT&T also announced major collaborations with connected vehicle technology provider Telogis and automaker Jaguar Land Rover North America. Telogis’ software-as-a-service-based telematics software will allow AT&T to offer full-fleet solutions for business. Telogis is already the commercial vehicle telematics provider used by Ford, General Motors, Volvo, Mack and Isuzu. Meanwhile The AT&T service management platform allows Telogis to “manage the data, devices and services that support its customers,” according to a press release on the AT&T and Telogis announcement.

     

    With Jaguar and Land Rover, AT&T connectivity will power the infotainment features, including Wi-Fi hotspot, navigation and apps. AT&T had already begun equipping Range Rover models with the technology earlier this month; this announcement is an expansion of that to other Jaguar and Land Rover models, which will come later this year. AT&T customers will be able to share one data plan for their smartphone and car with a Mobile Share Value plan, which is $10 per month.

    “We view the connected car as the next great device in your life,” said Lurie, who also gave a keynote at last year’s CTIA conference. “About half of the cars this year will be connected by AT&T.”

  • Getmapping Partners with PlanetObserver on Satellite Imagery

    PlanetObserver-GetMapping-O

    Getmapping has partnered with PlanetObserver to offer customers a full range of global and regional Earth satellite imagery along with global height data. The partnership is in line with Getmapping’s wider strategy to extend its reach beyond its established markets in the UK and Africa and signals an intention to provide a global capability in geospatial products and services. 

    The key PlanetObserver offerings available from Getmapping include PlanetSAT 15, 15-m resolution global satellite imagery and two height data products, PlanetDEM 30 and PlanetDEM 90 with resolutions of 30 m and 90 m respectively. 

    The satellite imagery is the most up to date satellite dataset currently available and provides natural colour (RGB) imagery free from clouds. Available from a few square kilometers to global coverage, the data is especially suited to a wide range of sectors, including energy and utilities, tele-communications and smartphone apps, visualization and simulation, plus mapping and illustration.

    The PlanetDEM height datasets are seamless global digital elevation models at 30m and 90m resolution and are derived from a combination of SRTM (Shuttle Radar Topography Mission v4.1) data corrected with multi-source cartographic data, and are perfect for 3D simulation and visualisation applications, base mapping, energy and geological surveys.

    All PlanetObserver data is delivered in a range of standard formats, and is also available via WMS and as an additional layer in the Getmapping Online GIS software.

    “We have been providing high-quality aerial imagery and elevation data across the UK and Africa for a number of years and it has always been our intention to provide our customers with a global offering,” said Pete Bonham, Getmapping’s Business Manager. We expect satellite imagery and DEMs to be particularly popular with our Online GIS customers who can subscribe to access the data from within the application. The high quality data from PlanetObserver covers the entire surface of the Earth, and provides excellent base layers for our expanding Online GIS application, it really adds value to our offering.” 

    Laurent Masselot, CEO of PlanetObserver added, “Our new cooperation with Getmapping is a major step forward to efficiently supply our geospatial data to a large user community. We’re particularly excited to reach out to users of Getmapping online GIS software and have them take advantage of our value-added products.”

  • TomTom Partners with Mozilla, Telefonica for Online Maps

    TomTom is partnering with Mozilla and Telefónica to bring its Maps Online and Nav Online apps to HTML5-powered Firefox OS smartphone devices.

    “We’re thrilled to offer Firefox OS users TomTom’s Maps Online and Nav Online apps in the Firefox Marketplace,” said Bertrand Neveux, director of Marketplace and Ecosystem at Mozilla. “Our priority is to empower users with a mobile experience that makes their lives richer and more efficient, and great content like TomTom’s ensures that.”

    “Telefónica has now launched Firefox OS devices in 14 markets and is pleased to see high-quality maps and navigation solutions from TomTom that enhance these devices for our consumers in Latin America and Europe,” said Simon Callan, director Business Development at Telefónica.

    “TomTom is excited to be embracing the openness of HTML5 to bring high quality maps and turn-by-turn navigation to the ecosystem,” said Charles Cautley, managing director of TomTom Licensing. “By partnering with Mozilla and Telefónica, we’re opening new markets and opportunities for smartphone users globally.”

    TomTom Maps Online offers accurate and up-to-date maps, as well as Address and Point of Interest search capabilities with routing instructions, enabling Mozilla customers to quickly and easily find their favorite places, TomTom said.

    With TomTom Nav Online, Telefónica’s Firefox OS customers can extend the mapping experience to full voice-guided turn-by-turn navigation.

     

  • Two New Apps Enable Public to Help First Responders

    Photo credit: Texas A&M.
    Photo credit: Texas A&M.

    Two new apps developed at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi use social media to help police officers, news stations, and the public navigate the many incidents and minor emergencies that may occur on a daily basis.

    Richard Smith, creator of the two emergency response apps, is collaborating with Michelle Maresh-Fuehrer, assistant professor of Communication at A&M-Corpus Christi, to identify how the apps could aid first responders during emergencies.

    “With the combination of SituMap and PhotoSorter, the public can be encouraged to submit photos and videos that may be helpful during an investigation,” said Smith, assistant professor of Geographic Information Science and Geospatial Surveying Engineering at the Island University. “For example, during an active shooter event, photos and videos of the suspect or their location can be taken with a cell phone and easily sent to responders. This could drastically improve response time and ultimately save lives.”

    TexasA&M-app-1
    Photo credit: Texas A&M

    Smith developed the mapping applications to provide a way for first responders to rapidly, and easily, receive and map information so they could have a more comprehensive awareness of emergency situations. Maresh-Fuehrer is working on extending the use of Smith’s social media mapping applications to enhance communication before, during, and after a crisis.

     “A crisis event is typically a time of high stress and increased uncertainty for organizations and responders,” said Maresh-Fuehrer, who studies crisis communication strategies. “The applications developed by Dr. Smith have several features that allow for more informed and efficient crisis response.”

    SituMap acts as a tablet-like digital command center that shows officers maps of the crisis area. With the touch of a finger the table-size display can be zoomed, rotated and drawn on. Like a personalized version of Google Maps, officers can search for locations and measure distances. But it goes further than Google Maps. A pin can be created in the application that could represent a person, police car, or groups of people. The pin can be strategically positioned around the area and directions can then be relayed to officers at the emergency location.

    “An organization’s crisis team, along with emergency responders, can use SituMap to identify where people should be during a specific crisis,” said Maresh-Fuehrer. “With this application, responders can even view floor plans. This could help to identify safe locations such as fire exits and stairwells.”

    PhotoSorter works in tandem with SituMap by allowing emergency responders, crisis planners and community members to share pictures or video of the crisis. Emergency responders can then upload the photos and video into SituMap to help in important decision-making situations.

    SituMap and PhotoSorter were designed and developed at the Island University by Smith. The University Police Department is currently using a beta version of SituMap in training sessions.

    In today’s digital world, people all over the globe can be connected through social media and, with the touch of a button, information about a major accident can be shared worldwide. With SituMap, important responders, as well as the community, can see real-time information on traffic congestion, roadblocks, and closed roads, which will aid in faster response times. The app also has a weather feature built into it which could be used during severe weather events such as a hurricane.

  • Smartphone App Locates Injured Farmers in the Field

    Tractor rollovers are the leading cause of death among farmers and claim about 250 lives each year, according to the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). These accidents are deadly because they often occur far away from farmers’ homes or roads and they may be unable to reach a phone to call for help. Now, University of Missouri researchers have developed an application for smartphones that uses GPS systems to locate farmers who have rolled their tractors.

    The app, called VRPETERS (Vehicle Rollover Prevention Education Training Emergency Reporting System), uses sensors and GPS capability built into smartphones that can detect rollovers. Once the app detects a rollover, it sends an automatic emergency e-mail and phone message with the coordinates of the accident location to family or emergency responders.

    “The tractor is the main power source for field operations, and tractor rollover accidents have been killing people since the beginning of their use in agricultural production,” said Bulent Koc, assistant professor of agricultural systems management at MU and developer of the app. “More and more farmers are using their smartphones to monitor weather or calculate production inputs while operating machinery. Since they already have their phones with them, installing VRPETERS could help save lives.”

    Data from the NIOSH show that one out of every 10 tractor operators will roll a tractor at least once. NIOSH also notes that only half of the 4.7 million tractors on U.S. farms have rollover protection. In order to minimize false alarm rollovers on the app, Koc and his research assistant Bo Liu designed a device that must be attached to the tractor. This device helps calculate the stability characteristics of the tractor and will provide a warning to the driver when the tractor approaches its rollover point.

    “Many farmers think they can jump out of their tractors in the event of a rollover, but this isn’t the case usually,” Koc said. “Side rollovers can occur in just three-quarters of a second and most people need a second or more to react to an event. So, VRPETERS can benefit farmers when a rollover occurs because they often can’t reach their phones to make an emergency call.”

    VRPETERS can benefit more than just farmers, as the app also can be used on construction vehicles, trucks, snowmobiles, military vehicles, riding lawnmowers and all-terrain vehicles.

    In addition to the rollover device installed on tractors and other dangerous equipment, Koc and Liu designed another device that can be used with VRPETERS. This device can be installed on vehicles and can be used as a backup to stream data to a smartphone or tablet. “With this additional device, parents or fleet managers can obtain real time data on how machines are being used,” Koc said. “If the device detects improper operation, an intervention can occur before an accident happens.”

    Initial testing of VRPETERS was done using a remote-controlled model tractor. Once fully tested on a standard tractor, Koc and Liu will look for an industry partner to market the app.

  • Flurry Announces Ad Analytics for Mobile Apps

    Flurry has announced Flurry Ad Analytics, an analytics-powered service for mobile app marketers to measure the effectiveness of traffic acquisition campaigns across ad networks. The service enables app marketers to track the quality, follow-on behavior, and return on investment of traffic sourced from campaigns across major mobile ad networks including Apple iAd, Google Admob, Millenial Media, InMobi, Jumptap, and Flurry AppCircle.

    “Flurry estimates that during 2012 app marketers will spend over one billion dollars worldwide on app traffic acquisition without the ability to measure user quality, assign attribution or easily determine ROI,” said Simon Khalaf, Flurry president and chief executive. “Flurry Ad Analytics empowers app marketers to change the way they think about acquisition and focus on quality not just quantity.”

  • GeoSpatial Experts Announces Hamilton County Implements GeoJot iPad Data Collection App

    GeoExperts announced that Hamilton County, Ill., is using GeoSpatial Experts’ GeoJot field data collection app on an iPad to correlate street addresses with parcel coordinates. Initiated for tax assessment and E911 purposes, this photo project is creating the rural county’s first digital map database that matches property addresses to their correct geographic locations.

    “Most houses have been assigned streets addresses, but they’ve never been correlated to our county parcel database,” said Mark Becker, Hamilton County Supervisor of Assessments. “People still have to give their address verbally when they call 911 for assistance.”

    Hamilton County is rapidly updating its address and property database to meet E911 standards using the iPad and GeoSpatial Experts’ GeoJot application, according to Becker. GeoJot is an easy-to-use app that converts an iPad or iPhone into a field data collection device. Available from the Apple App Store, GeoJot is a companion application created for exclusive use with the PC-based GPS-Photo Link photo-mapping software. GPS-Photo Link is able to map photographs and accompanying attribute information captured with a GPS camera, smartphone with GPS, or any digital camera used in conjunction with any GPS unit. Digital map output includes Esri shapefiles and geodatabases as well as Google Earth files.

    In Hamilton County, college interns walk from house to house taking photos of each one with the iPad 2. They then key in the house number, street name and street direction to keep the Assessor’s tax database up to date. These attributes – along with the GPS coordinates – are permanently linked to the correct property photo by GeoJot. Back at the Assessor’s Office, the GeoJot files are uploaded to the GPS-Photo Link photo-mapping software running on a PC.

    “Mapping addresses will save money for Hamilton County by making its assessment activities more efficient,” said GeoSpatial Experts’ President Rick Bobbitt. “More importantly, an accurate address map is a necessity for timely E911 response to emergency calls.”

    In 2011, GeoSpatial Experts introduced GeoJot to leverage and maximize the built-in geotagging capabilities of the camera-equipped iPad and iPhone. These mobile devices use internal GPS chips to stamp each photo with location coordinates where the photo was taken. GeoJot maximizes the geotagging accuracy of the internal GPS chips by up to four times – putting it well within the accuracy specifications of many business-related photo-mapping applications.

  • Galileo Masters Competition Seeks Innovative Satellite Nav Applications

    The European Satellite Navigation Competition (ESNC) — also known as the Galileo Masters — is looking for applications based on satellite navigation that use the technology in a new and innovative way. The deadline for entering is June 30.

    No matter whether you are an individual or a team from a company, research institute, university, or start-up, what counts is your idea, say organizers.

    The competition began in 2004 with three partner regions. Since then, the ESNC has grown into a global network of innovation and expertise, say organizers. In 2010, 23 regions competed against one another, 548 participants registered, and the 357 ideas turned in were evaluated by 186 experts. Many of the ideas submitted in previous years have been implemented and successfully launched into the market, according to the Galileo Masters team: "The key to our success is close collaboration with regional, institutional, and industrial partners with whom we share one common goal: promoting innovation and entrepreneurial spirit on Europe’s GNSS markets."

    Ideas can be submitted via an online form.

    The ESNC 2011 offers special topic prizes:

    New regions to enter the competition this year include Catalonia, Estonia, Latvia, Macedonia, and Medjimurje.

    The ESNC International Kick-Off Conference will be held on May 11 and is hosted by the Institute of Engineering and Technology (IET) in London.

  • Trimble NetR9 Reference Receiver Aimed at Infrastructure, Scientific, and Network Apps

    Trimble NetR9 Photo: Trimble
    Trimble NetR9. Photo: Trimble

    Trimble has introduced an innovative Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) reference receiver for infrastructure, precise scientific, and network applications. The Trimble NetR9 GNSS reference receiver is a Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) receiver that can support the demanding applications for the earth science community and for the surveying, construction, mapping, and agricultural industries, Trimble said, adding that the NetR9 was designed to provide the user with maximum features and functionality from a single receiver.

    The Trimble NetR9 reference receiver offers 440 channels for robust GNSS constellation tracking. The receiver supports a wide range of satellite signals, including GPS and GLONASS signals. In addition, Trimble is committed to providing Galileo-compatible products in advance of Galileo system availability, the company said. In support of this plan, the Trimble receiver is capable of tracking the experimental Galileo GIOVE-A and GIOVE-B test satellites for signal evaluation and test purposes.

    The Trimble NetR9 reference receiver can be used as a standalone receiver or as part of a network solution. Specific applications include high-accuracy positioning as part of a Trimble VRS network, as a mobile field base station or CORS for real-time kinematic (RTK) corrections, as a scientific reference station collecting information for specialized studies, as a field campaign receiver for post-processing applications, and as support for Differential Global Positioning System (DGPS) coastal beacons. In addition, the Trimble NetR9 reference receiver can be used for monitoring the integrity of VRS networks as well as the deformation of physical infrastructure such as bridges, dams, mines, oil platforms, and other natural and manmade structures.

    The Trimble NetR9 reference receiver’s large internal memory (8 GB) allows post-processed results for base stations to be computed after survey completion, improving the accuracy of the survey. The highly compressed secure internal memory allows for more than 20 years of 15-second dual-frequency GPS data storage. In addition, the NetR9 also has USB logging capability for additional storage capacity, Trimble said.

    The receiver supports the new CMRx communications protocol, which provides correction compression for optimized bandwidth and full utilization of all satellites in view. This gives the customer more robust positioning data and reliable positioning performance, Trimble said.

    Optimized for field use with built-in rechargeable batteries, the NetR9 reference receiver consumes very little power and can be used for projects with remote connectivity and in extreme weather conditions. It has an IP67 rating, which means it is sealed against dust and can survive immersion in up to a meter of water for approximately 30 minutes. It also meets MIL-STD 810F standard for drops, vibration, and temperature extremes.

    The Trimble NetR9 has its physical memory built into the circuit board, providing greater protection of data, particularly under extreme conditions. Multiple built-in serial ports supply communications and power to support field use, whether connecting to a radio for RTK surveys, direct communication with a satellite phone for remote operations, or for ancillary input devices such as inclinometers and meteorological sensors, and it offers Bluetooth communication with a cell phone for real-time data streaming. In addition, both power and Ethernet can be supplied over a single cable using Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology.