Tag: mapping

Locating help: Mapping the homeless population

By Troy Lambert

Census data tries to describe for us what the homeless population looks like across the country. Typically the numbers contained in this data are considered to be low, as not all homeless individuals and families are “visible” so getting an accurate count can be challenging.

An interesting interactive map has been created by Movoto that allows the user to look at the number of homeless per 100,000 people in each state. But Geographic Information Systems (GIS), community involvement, and app builders are helping gather and utilize data to truly make a difference.

MOVOTO offers an interactive map.

It’s not surprising to note that most of homeless shelter users have goals, both short and long term. Kelly A. Schwend , Maureen Cluskey , and Michael Cordell of Bradley University explored these in a study released early this year titled “Lifestyles and Goals of Male Homeless Shelter Users.” While most participants short term goals are focused on employment, almost all of them had medium to long term goals involving housing.

The questions raised are several. How do we move the homeless from the streets into some kind of housing ladder, and who will assist them? GIS is helping to answer these questions in some of the larger population centers around the country. These programs are merely examples of what can be done elsewhere on a larger or smaller scale.

San Francisco

Over 10 years ago, then mayor of San Francisco Garvin Newsom promised that the worst of the homeless problem in one of the richest cities in the world would be gone. Ten years later, the city has moved nearly 20,000 homeless of the streets, but this hasn’t made a dent in the population. It seems that when one individual is helped, another takes their place.

Photo Credit: CartoDB

San Francisco Open Data contains information on the homeless population, counted by supervisory district. Taking this data, Bill Levay then overlays a San Francisco neighborhood shapefile. This not only shows where the homeless populations are concentrated, but by also adding in mapped locations of public and affordable housing locations, reveals if the resources are located near those in need. You can view the interactive map above here.)

Photo Credit: CantoDB

For instance, we can see on the map showing the intersection of this data that while a large portion of the homeless population is located near downtown and the South of Market area where there are only a few scattered public housing locations, there is much more public housing clustered together in Chinatown. While this issue has yet to be corrected, this information can be used to inform future decisions when locating resources.

Los Angeles

San Francisco is not the only populous city dealing with homelessness. Los Angeles is dealing with one of the largest homeless populations in the nation. A biennial survey taken in January, said to be the most rigorous and accurate so far according to City Labs, reveals 44,359 people sleeping on the streets, in their cars, and in shelters.

A Los Angeles Survey shows an estimated a homeless population of 44,359, a 12% increase since 2013. (Credit: Los Angeles Times)

A map created by the Los Angeles Times shows where this population ends up at night. Efforts are spotty at best, although the County’s Housing for Health program wants to have 10,000 permanent housing units created by 2018. Although Mayor Eric Garcetti says ending homelessness is a primary goal, and calls for funding for affordable housing, the problem continues to grow.

It is hoped that mapping the concentration of the population to help resource teams know what locations to target, the revision of laws prohibiting sleeping in public, and discouraging police raids on homeless encampments will help.

Baltimore

Baltimore’s homeless population is smaller than that of Los Angeles, but still significant. The city is using both mapping and a survey taken every two years to locate the homeless and target resources.

They’ve added another weapon to their arsenal, the Homeless Management Information System, (HMIS) spearheaded by the group The Journey Home and the Mayor’s Office for Health. Using this data, and a new web survey form, the city has obtained a more accurate picture of the homeless population, its location, and the resources still needed.

The survey, called the Point in Time (PIT), this year counted 2,796 homeless, 88% of whom were housed in shelters. The survey also looked at Housing Information Count (HIC). The study showed some progress and some setbacks, and revealed growth in the category of unaccompanied youth.

Photo Credit: Esri.com

The map above shows the population, and the location of resources all within a one and a half mile radius. The program not only uses mapping, but employs other technology to attempt to create long term, sustainable, and creative solutions to the city’s homeless issues.

New York City

Perhaps the most innovative mapping program in the country involves several apps being used in New York City. Launched in early August the new app called NYC Map the Homeless lets users take a picture of the homeless which is tied to their location, and use hashtags like #man or #sleeping to categorize individuals. They can even choose #violent to let authorities know about individuals perceived to be dangerous.

Photo Credit: NYC Map the Homeless

The idea, according to the developer, is to “gather as much data as possible to make sense of the homeless issues we’re seeing.”

He’s far from the first to try to use technology to address the increasing homeless issues in New York City, Homeless Helper, Feed it Forward, and WeShelter. WeShelter, provides direct assistance to the homeless, and wants create a behavior change from doing nothing to doing something, even if the user is not sure what to do.

The app lets users donate money to the homeless at the tap of a button, and also send location information to WeShelter, which helps them send outreach teams to areas with the most need.

Unlike Map the Homeless, WeShelter does not allow users to take pictures in the interest of privacy. it also keeps the location data it gathers closer to the vest, only making it available to homeless outreach groups.

Regardless of the location or the methodology, it is clear that mapping the locations of the homeless population and the resources available to them is a step in the right direction. GIS plays a large role in aiding social action.

Want to be a part of the solution? The Journey Home has some answers, but you can also get involved in your own community using the skills you have to aid in the eradication of homelessness. As WeShelter states, it’s all about a change in behavior from doing nothing to doing something.

December 22, 2015
GPS artist creates global message of peace on Earth

Above is the STORIES documentary video holiday card, which contains images of Yassan’s journey and the people and places he encountered along the way.

The daytime version of Yassan’s world-stretching art message of peace.

Peace on Earth: That’s the message spelled out across the globe by GPS artist Yassan in time for the holiday season.

Yassan created a massive, international work of GPS art around the theme of world peace and, in the process, is attempting to break his own Guinness world record for the largest GPS drawing. Yassan is the Guinness world record holder for the largest GPS drawing by an individual. GPS World previously reported on his “Marry Me” project.

Yassan visits Times Square in New York City, at coordinates 40.7593 ° N, 73.9852 ° W.

With the help of Japan Airlines and its partners, Yassan’s latest project covered 65,700 miles (105,734 km) around the globe, beginning in Tokyo and ending in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico. He traveled through Asia, Oceania, the Middle East, Europe, Africa and the Americas, and visiting 24 cities on six continents.

To create his GPS drawings, Yassan carries an iPhone and GPS tracker that records his GPS location data as he travels. He then uploads this information to create a drawing on a map. The finished piece of GPS art — a planetary-scale holiday message for the world — spells “PEACE” across the planet.

Yassan visits with Buddhist Monks in Colombo, Sri Lanka: 6.9165° N, 79.8568° E

While a relatively new art form, GPS art is a natural progression stemming from much older, large-scale art forms. “In tracing the history of GPS art, you can draw a clear line of artistic evolution,” said Yassan, “beginning with the ancient Nazca lines in Peru, through Michael Heizer and his work with motorcycle tracks in the Nevada desert, to Richard Long’s walks through the English countryside, to the modern GPS artists.”

Yassan continues, “Peace on Earth has proven very difficult to achieve, but is, at the heart of it, a very simple concept. I hope that this holiday message can convey this idea to the world.”

A stop in London near Parliament: 51.5007° N, 0.1226° W

On this journey, a video production crew, led by director and STORIES creator client Mark Apicella, accompanied Yassan, documenting the creation of this artwork as well as the artist’s interactions with local people at each of the 33 stops along this epic journey.

Yassan makes a stop in Los Angeles with a visit to the edge of the continent, at 34.0074° N, 118.4966° W.

Yassan celebrates at his final stop to complete the downstroke of the “P,” at a place appropriately named “El Fin de la Tierra” — the end of the Earth, near Cabo San Lucas, Mexico: 22.8741° N, 109.8962° W.

December 22, 2015
New mapping technology helps Santa deliver toys more efficiently
This holiday season, Santa Claus is using innovative technology to become even more efficient. He will be using RippleNami, a cloud-based visualization platform, to efficiently and safely deliver presents.

Our favorite jolly man is one busy fellow. Not only does he have to keep track of the naughty and nice kids all year long and make the appropriate number of toys and lumps of coal, he then has to visit the homes of children all over the world in a single night. There are many things Santa has to keep in mind as he’s planning his yearly trek across the globe — such as weather conditions, flight patterns of other aircraft, and which homes have chimneys. How does Santa possibly keep track of everything?

RippleNami, a cloud-based visualization platform, allows users such as Santa to access data from countless sources and customize information layers into an easy-to-use map. Below is a snapshot of the data Santa can integrate into the RippleNami platform to efficiently and safely deliver presents this year.
- Weather Conditions — Poor weather conditions can significantly impact Santa’s route. Fog in particular has traditionally been a difficulty, even with the help of Rudolph’s nose. RippleNami allows Santa to track fog in real time, so he knows when Rudolph’s nose is necessary, and when the reindeer can take a break.
- Aviation Incidents — Santa’s sleigh isn’t the only thing flying on Christmas Eve. Tracking flight patterns and visualizing where aviation incidents have recently occurred help Santa avoid collisions and plan the fastest route.
- Naughty and Nice Lists — Santa is diligent in keeping track of which kids are naughty and which are nice. He makes a list, and checks it twice! But even Santa could use help planning how many toys versus lumps of coal he needs to pack in his sleigh before the big night. And what if a child who has been nice all year long suddenly throws a fit Christmas Eve? With RippleNami, Santa will be alerted in real time and can pick up some extra coal accordingly.
Here is a visual of what Santa sees when he’s using the platform.
December 21, 2015
Storm surge maps: Saving more lives during hurricane season

Storm Surge in downtown New York City in the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. (Photo: USACE)

By JoAnne Castagna
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers

Hurricane Sandy led to one of the largest-scale U.S. evacuations in recent history, according to Edward Schneyer, director of Emergency Preparedness, Suffolk County (N.Y.) Office of Emergency Management.

“During Sandy, we rescued 250 people from their flooded homes, evacuated two major hospitals and several adult care homes,” Schneyer said.
Schneyer was able to do this effectively because his agency uses storm surge maps created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District. Storm surge is when a significant amount of water is pushed from the sea onto the land caused by a hurricane.

The maps provide emergency managers in hurricane-prone states with an understanding of storm surge potential that could occur for worst-case Category 1 to 4 storms, identifying areas from which people should evacuate if faced with the threat of storm surge.

The Army Corps is updating these maps with higher resolution modeling and topography performed by NOAA’s National Hurricane Center’s Storm Surge Unit, so agencies will have more accurate information to educate the public — reducing risk to themselves and their property.

Hazard Analysis

“Historically, 49 percent of human causalities from hurricanes are due to storm surge,” said Donald E. Cresitello, the Corps’ Hurricane Evacuation Study program manager for the New York District. “Other impacts like riverine flooding due to rainfall, falling trees due to high winds, and indirect impacts like carbon monoxide poisoning and electrocution can cause deaths. The development of these maps is the first step in the hazard analysis for the hurricane evacuation study process.”

The “New York Hurricane Evacuation Study Hurricane Surge Inundation Maps” are being produced in collaboration with the Army Corps’ New England and Baltimore Districts and provided to emergency managers. The Army Corps also guides emergency managers on using the maps in the decision-making software  HURREVAC (Hurricane Evacuation), developed by Sea Island Software for the National Hurricane Program.

“Agency officials can use these maps to help reduce risk to the public,” Cresitello said. “They can use them for evacuation planning, to redefine their hurricane evacuation zones, identify where shelters should be located and identify where assets should be staged prior to impact from a storm.”

The new maps will not only show the extent of inland storm surge, but also the depth of the water — in ranges of feet — during different categories of storms, enabling emergency managers to better focus limited resources.

“In the initial stages of a response, our recovery resources are limited, especially for an event the size of Sandy. If resources are dispatched to areas that were not impacted, valuable time is lost mobilizing and reassigning those resources,” Schneyer said.

At press time, Schneyer’s agency is entering information from the maps into an interactive program viewable on its county’s website, so the public can see whether their home is in a storm surge zone and which designated shelter is nearby. During Sandy, people who should have evacuated were stranded and faced dangers such as electrocution from downed power lines and fires from gas leaks.

“This very valuable resource is an excellent tool for public education, emergency management planning, and emergency preparedness in general,” Schneyer said.

Connecticut shoreline: This example of a storm surge map shows the extent of surge that can be expected as a result of a worst-case scenrio that combines hurricane landfall location, forward speed and direction for each hurricane category. (Credit: USACE)

Using GIS to Create Higher Resolution Maps

Geographic information systems (GIS), which capture, store, analyze and display location information, are being used to create higher resolution storm surge maps.

To create the maps, the Corps of Engineers uses the SLOSH model (Sea, Lake, Overland Surges from Hurricanes) provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The SLOSH data is layered over lidar-based topography in Esri ArcGIS software.

“To come up with the actual depth of water through GIS, we are overlaying the data out of NOAA’s SLOSH model and subtracting out the ground elevations using digital elevation models and coming up with an actual depth of water in feet,” said Donald E. Cresitello, USACE Hurricane Evacuation Study program manager for the State of New York, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District.

JoAnne Castagna is a public affairs specialist and writer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, New York District.

November 16, 2015
TomTom to provide data for Uber driver app

TomTom has signed a global, multi-year agreement to provide maps and traffic data for the Uber driver app.

TomTom’s advanced map-making technology, combined with its traffic information, will ensure Uber has a seamless navigation experience, accurate arrival times and efficient journeys in more than 300 cities around the world, according to a TomTom news release.

“We are excited to provide Uber with our best-in-class location data,” said Charles Cautley, managing director, Maps and Licensing at TomTom. “TomTom is a truly independent map provider with the platform for the future. With this platform, TomTom is the trusted partner for innovative and future proof location technology for the global automotive and consumer technology industry.”

“We look forward to working with TomTom, a leader in the mapping and navigation space,” said Matt Wyndowe, head of Product Partnerships at Uber. “Their mapping and traffic data will help ensure we continue to provide a great experience for drivers everywhere.”

November 13, 2015
Esri story map considers Katrina 10 years later

In August 2005, Hurricane Katrina struck the city of New Orleans, causing devastating damage and loss of life. A new Esri story map, “Katrina +10: A Decade of Change in New Orleans,” analyzes the damage from the storm.

“The story map is a new Esri medium for sharing not only data, photos, videos, sounds and maps, but for telling a specific and compelling story by way of that content,” wrote Esri Chief Scientist Dawn Wright in a blog. “This is all done with sophisticated cartographic functionality that does not require advanced training in cartography or GIS.” According to Wright, story maps are applications built from web maps, which in turn are built from web-accessible data.

The below map shows the physical damage in terms of buildings marked for demolition. In all, 10,317 buildings were tagged for demolition by the city of New Orleans. Following Hurricane Katrina, all properties within the city were reviewed for damage under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act.

The heat map shows the density of houses deemed eligible for federally funded demolition through the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA). Although not all properties on this map were demolished, the points illustrate Katrina’s extensive and pervasive physical toll on the city of New Orleans.

For this and other story maps, visit http://storymaps.arcgis.com/.

November 12, 2015
Launchpad: IoT chip, simulators, threat detector

OEM

Internet of Things chip

Chip simplifies integration of GNSS into low-cost products

The Broadcom BCM47748 chip for the Internet of Things and wearables enables devices such as fitness bands to deliver pinpoint location while consuming minimal power and in some cases can eliminate the need for a separate microcontroller. The BCM47748 removes a bulk of the signal processing from the device MCU by calculating position, velocity and time on-chip, delivering significant system power savings. The chip uses intelligent firmware to extend battery life while maintaining accuracy in speed, distance and position. By absorbing location computations on-chip, Broadcom not only reduces power consumption but can also dramatically lower costs for OEMs by replacing the device MCU and reducing board space. Firmware inside the BCM47748 automatically adapts to user activity and context, whether biking, walking or running, to provide precise location results to the user, enabling performance that is not sacrificed for power savings.

Broadcom, www.broadcom.com

Multi-frequency RF simulator

Simulation through real-time generation of GNSS signals

The upgraded ReGen DIF simulator is a high-end, low-cost 24-channel GNSS multi-frequency RF simulation solution for academia and research and development. The Replicator provides users with GNSS simulation through real-time generation of GNSS signals; the recording and playback of dual-frequency GNSS RF signals; and GNSS RF signal analysis with the JAXA COSMODE ionospheric scintillation monitor. Features of the replicator support various combinations of GPS L1, L2; GLONASS L1,L2,L3; BeiDou B1, B2; and Galileo E1 signals, and include ANSI C API for user access to customizable signal propagation, orbital, multipath, spatially correlated, scintillation and other error models.

iP-Solutions, www.ip-solutions.jp

Single-frequency receiver

Designed for unmanned aerial systems and mobile platforms

The S2525F8-BD-RTK is a low-power, single-frequency RTK receiver with centimeter-level position accuracy. It supports GPS, BDS, QZSS and SBAS, simultaneously tracking up to 28 satellites. With its 25 x 25 millimeter form factor, 300-mW power consumption and 3 gram weight, it is designed for any outdoor applications requiring high-precision RTK positioning. S2525F8-BD-RTK supports both base station and rover modes. As a rover, it receives RTCM 3.0 or 3.1 data from a base station, or raw measurements from another S2525F8-BD-RTK receiver serving as base station, and performs carrier phase RTK processing to achieve relative positioning with 1 cm + 1 ppm position accuracy within 10-Km baseline.

SkyTraq Technology, www.skytraq.com.tw

Threat detector

Spirent robust framework evaluates threats to GNSS

The GSS100D Detector is key to a robust PNT test framework to evaluate GPS and GNSS security vulnerabilities for position, navigation and timing systems. The framework will be used by technology, system and application developers where PNT is critical. The framework enables threats to be detected in the field, taken into the lab, and re-synthesized along with GPS and other GNSS signals. Spirent’s threat intelligence library of actual and typical threats provides a wide range of GNSS segment errors and spoofing attacks, as well as space weather and other vulnerabilities for preventive troubleshooting. Developed in collaboration with Nottingham Scientific Ltd., the GSS100D Detector enables detection, characterization and analysis of real GNSS threats.

Spirent, www.spirent.com

SURVEY & MAPPING

Radio data modem

Priate radio data system for measurement applications

Compact-Proof is a UHF radio modem for wireless data transfer with a rechargeable battery, providing a compact and flexible solution for a wide range of applications, including land surveying under varying weather conditions. It supports the radio protocols of Pacific Crest, Trimble and other GNSS providers. It has a temperature range of -30°C to +65°C and frequency ranges of 330 MHz…420 MHz and 403 MHz…473 MHz. Its casing and connectors are rated IP67, making it waterproof and secured against dust. With transmitting power of 1,000 mW, it can be operated fully autonomously for more than 15 hours as a repeater station in the field.

Satel, www.satel.com

Multi-GNSS receiver

Base station or rover survey receiver with 864 channels

The all-in-one TRIUMPH-LS combines a high-performance 864-channel GNSS receiver, all-frequency GNSS antenna, and a modern featured handheld. The 864 all-in-view channels include Galileo E1/E5A/E5B, GPS L1/L2/L5, GLONASS L1/L2/L3, QZSS L1/L2/L5, BeiDou B1/B2 and SBAS L1/L5. The TRIUMPH-LS offers GUIDE data collection, Visual Stake Out (VSO), navigation, six parallel RTK engines, more than 3,000 coordinate conversions, advanced CoGo features, and rich attribute tagging on a high-resolution, bright, 800 x 460 bright display. Two 3-megapixel cameras enable recording of images along with GNSS data.More than 100 channels are dedicated to continuous interference monitoring. The Triumph-LS monitors and reports interference graphically and numerically with patent-pending interference protection. Interference awareness allows safe GNSS operation in city, airport and military environments. The unit can serve as base or rover. It has a GSM modem, UHF transmit and receive, and an internal high-performance geodetic antenna. The TRIUMPH-LS automatically updates all firmware when connected to a Wi-Fi Internet connection.

JAVAD GNSS, www.javad.com

Indoor mapper

TIMMS 2 more maneuverable than predecessor

The Trimble Indoor Mobile Mapping Solution (TIMMS) produces fast and accurate maps of difficult-to-navigate indoor spaces and translates them directly into 2D and 3D models of structured interiors. TIMMS 2 is a fusion of technologies for capturing spatial data of indoor and other GNSS denied areas, providing both lidar and spherical video and enabling the creation of accurate, real-life representations of interior spaces and all of their contents. The maps are geo-located; the real world positions of each area of the building and its contents are known and can be easily placed and oriented in a wide area model. Small and lightweight, TIMMS 2 can negotiate tight corners, closets and catwalks, and can be carried up and down staircases where no elevator is available for travel between building levels.

Applanix, www.applanix.com

The new Leica Geosystems Pegasus backpack wearable mobile mapping solution.

Wearable reality capture

Portable backpack allows mapping while walking

The Leica Pegasus:Backpack is a wearable reality-capture technology that combines five high-dynamic cameras and two LiDAR profilers within an ultra-light and ergonomic carbon-fiber chassis. The ergonomic mobile mapper creates a 3D view indoors or outdoors for engineering or professional documentation while using SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) to determine position in GNSS-denied areas. With its fast and efficient capture, calibrated images and point clouds are quickly generated for applications as diverse as BIM 6D to industrial training and disaster analysis.

Leica Geosystems, www.leica-geosystems.com

UAV

UAV-ready lidar

Lightweight lidar with GPS  and inertial for UAVs

The YellowScan is a lightweight lidar designed for fixed or rotary-wing UAVs. It has an embedded Ellipse-E, a miniature inertial navigation system from SBG Systems, which helps obtaining a clear and accurate point cloud. YellowScan is operational at up to 75 meters and delivers a highly dense point cloud. It includes a lidar with a ±50 degree angle that measures 40,000 points per second, an Ellipse-E inertial navigation system coupled with a centimeter-level RTK GPS, an on-board computer and an integrated battery. LED lights provide useful information, such as whether the GPS is receiving RTK corrections.

YellowScan, www.yellowscan.fr

Aerial photo sharing

App adds sharing, editing and discovery tools

The DJI GO app is an upgrade to the previous DJI Pilot app with a redesigned user interface to make it easier to capture and share images with DJI’s Phantom 3, Inspire 1 and Matrice 100 UAVs. The app includes expanded in-app editing tools to make it easier to adjust photos and videos before uploading to social networks. DJI Director, which automatically edits the best moments from flights into short videos, has also been upgraded to include video speed control, additional templates and background music options.

DJI, dji.com

Cameras for UAVs

Lightweight with the resolution  of a medium format system

The iXU-R camera series for UAVs is available in 80 MP, 60 MP and 60 MP achromatic versions. The cameras feature dedicated interchangeable 40-mm, 50-mm and 70-mm Phase One Rodenstock lenses equipped with central leaf shutters that can be quickly changed in the field, offering flexibility in aerial applications. The Phase One iXU-R systems have been designed to address the aerial data acquisition market’s needs with high-performance optics, flexibility to fit into small places and Phase One’s fastest 80 MP platform. Phase One aerial cameras offer direct communication with GPS/IMU systems and the ability to write data to the image files.

Phase One Industrial,  industrial.phaseone.com

Military UAV

VTOL UAS designed for intelligence gathering

The Aeryon SkyRanger introduces a new airframe and integrated system design to its Aeryon sUAS (small UAS) platform, based on thousands of hours of flight time and successful customer exercises and missions around the world. The SkyRanger is suited for both land and maritime applications, and is designed to military and government specifications for immediate aerial intelligence gathering. Vertical Take-Off and Landing (VTOL) enables continuous eyes-on-target, operations in confined or hard-to-reach environments, and low-risk launch and retrieval without peripheral equipment. Features include up to 50-minute flight time, single operator transport and deployment with no launch or recovery equipment, reliable flight performance in demanding environments such as high winds, and an intuitive touchscreen interface. Microsoft has chosen the SkyRanger to demonstrate aerial image and data capture for its new Microsoft Advanced Patrol Platform (MAPP) vehicle.

Aeryon Labs, aeryon.com

November 12, 2015
Have Accuracy, Will Travel
Photo courtesy of Trimble.

BYOD Sub-Meter Positioning for Mapping and GIS Professionals

Employees bringing their own mobile phones and tablets to their jobs in the field enables them to complete more tasks using fewer devices. However, this practice introduces operational and security vulnerabilities.

By Matt van Doorn

In the mapping and GIS industries, mobile devices such as smart phones and tablets have a growing presence in the field; they enable businesses to work smarter and more efficiently. The Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) trend — essentially the use of commercial-grade devices for work purposes — will likely not slow down. BYOD is not without its pain points. Organizations face many security vulnerabilities when commercial-grade devices access critical data via corporate IT networks. Additionally, there are applications where a mobile device’s location capabilities are not accurate enough for GIS professionals to efficiently and effectively locate an asset and collect data.

Company IT departments have multiple options that control and monitor access to combat BYOD security issues; however these options do not resolve the accuracy issue. Traditional company-issued handheld integrated receivers for data collection are designed to meet accuracy demands in almost any physical environment condition. While these devices are the most appropriate technology option for some applications, they tend to be expensive for the positioning tasks where a smart phone or mobile device is “good enough.”

What to do when better accuracy on a mobile device is required, but it doesn’t make sense to invest thousands of dollars in a traditional receiver? With proper research, field professionals will find professional solutions that pair with consumer-grade smart devices to produce the requisite accuracy for a fraction of the cost of a traditional receiver.

Requirements and Accuracy

At a minimum, handheld receivers destined to work in conjunction with mobile devices must meet the following requirements:
- The device must have moisture ingress protection to function properly in snow, ice, rain or dust environments.
- The device must survive falls in hard terrain. It should have shock, drop and vibration protection.
- The device must last the full workday for the professional to complete all workflows on a single battery charge.
Legacy company-owned receivers typically meet the requirements above and have had a long-term reputation for accurately providing positioning data. These devices are still the appropriate solution for environments where it does not make sense to take a smart device, such as a remote location in rough terrain where the smart device may not perform.

However, a smart device can in many cases enable the employee to be more efficient. Thanks to the accessory market, many of the above-listed requirements can be easily addressed. For example, smart-phone juice packs can fix the battery longevity issue; cases can protect against weather, shock or dropping; and screen covers can address the sunlight screen visibility issue. With a smart device in hand, GIS and mapping professionals not only have access to GPS data, but they are able to access and complete other work-related tasks from the same device such as email, internet access and voicemail. Plus, a smart phone is only a fraction of the cost of traditional receivers.

The most critical component that smart devices still cannot address is sub-meter accuracy, which many mapping and GIS professionals require to successfully do their job.

Accuracy Drives Cost. Mapping and GIS businesses are acutely aware of the efficiencies created by greater accuracy. With poor information, errors become increasingly costly. When robust, accurate data is collected, there is a direct correlation to improved workflows and operations. This allows professionals to be more strategic in ensuring that applications are effective and efficient across operations.

Aerial and satellite imagery made initial steps toward generating more accurate data collection, bringing mapping and GIS professionals to within a 50-centimeter range of the assets. Subsequently, high-speed lidar collection tools, designed to capture large areas at 5–10 cm accuracy, came to the market. While these tools significantly improved data collection, precise measurement typically requires more time, more expense and highly specific instruments in order to generate more data.

Today, handheld receivers can achieve high accuracy without using survey-grade tools, in applications that include:
- Mapping: Any application, including locations, quantities, densities, specific areas and map change.
- Aquatic monitoring
- Buried utility infrastructure/cable location
- Water/wastewater disposal
- Location and elevation measurements: for example, elevation data on manholes or trunk lines.
Requirements vary across applications and industries. The mapping/GIS professional must determine the level of accuracy their workflow requires.

Accuracy Evaluation

A typical smart device, properly assisted, can achieve an accuracy range of up to 5–6 meters when used to locate an asset. In many cases this is good enough. To obtain positioning data, iOS devices use the application “Location Services,” which is available on multiple mobile platforms. Location Services enables location-based apps and other applications to use information from GPS and cellular and Wi-Fi networks to determine location information. The location provided by a hybrid system with cellular-assisted GPS (A-GPS) allows the device to identify location within a 5–6 meter range of an asset. Wi-Fi positioning alone can determine a location with an accuracy of about 74 meters, and cellular positioning alone offers about a 600-meter range for location, according to industry sources (www.windowscentral.com/gps-vs-agps-quick-tutorial).

However, cellular positioning can be limited when there is no network available. In remote or industrial settings, this could create difficulties in asset location. In water/wastewater, for example, when a GIS professional is in a ditch looking for a valve or a meter and there isn’t a network connection, the accuracy level provided without GPS may not be sufficient for that application. When A-GPS is not available due to a lack of cellular network, GIS professionals also have to deal with convergence time.

Another example involves searching for a manhole cover when the ground is covered by a couple feet of snow. In this case, the 5-6 meter range is quite large and could lead to a lot of time spent digging until the manhole is uncovered. This wastes time and energy, and leads to higher costs. Some receivers have the sub-meter capability and can provide the location data directly to the professional’s consumer-grade smart device through Bluetooth. By simply pairing the receiver with a cellphone, the GIS professional can quickly locate the asset, collect data and move on to the next task.

Accuracy Solutions

Location shortcomings in consumer-grade devices generally boil down to antenna performance. Consumer-grade smart devices are designed for exactly that: consumers. With antennas for Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and GPS built into the small device, there will be compromises in location accuracy. When location must be pinpointed, an integrated handheld receiver can enhance accuracy. Receivers are readily available with 12 channels parallel tracking. Some receivers can also support multiple satellite constellations, including GPS, GLONASS, Galileo, Beidou, and QZSS with up to 44 channels of parallel tracking. The accuracy of these devices is further supported by augmentation: WAAS, EGNOS, MSAS and GAGAN. These receivers can provide sub-meter accuracy, with asset location with as close as 60 centimeters. Some devices also support Virtual Reference Stations (VRS) and Trimble’s Real Time eXtended (RTX) correction service for sub-meter accuracy. Some RTX services achieve real-time sub-meter accuracy with IP and cellular connectivity, or over satellite L-band.

A receiver that integrates with the workflows of various mapping and GIS softwares as well as third-party applications will pair up nicely with a mobile device. The computations are all done for the professional, and will transmit signals via Bluetooth into the host devices using NMEA protocol. On iOS and Android devices, the location is available through the Location Services API. Third-party applications are also able to work with the receiver through consumer-grade devices that utilize the location services API. Some receivers are available across operating systems including iOS, Android and Windows, and are available to upgrade to the latest smart device whenever needed.

Important Device Attributes

Receivers designed to be compatible with a variety of smart devices can be shared among multiple devices. When it is time for a smart device upgrade, the new device can easily integrate with the receiver. Additional features that make these receivers especially convenient to use in the field include:
- Small size: Mapping and GIS professionals don’t always have an extra hand available to carry an extra device. If it can fit in a vest, jacket pocket, pouch, clipped onto a belt, or pole mounted it will function in many scenarios.
- Lightweight.
- Rugged: Some receivers comply with MIL-STD-810 ruggedness with IP65 rating for shock, drop and vibration.
- Battery life: for field performance for a full work day.
- External antenna port: An accessory port for external data if the collecor needs to be mounted on top of a vehicle, or in a hard hat situation; a bonus feature worth consideration.
BYOD Trend and Limitations

The smart-device market will not cool down anytime soon. Gartner Research predicts that in 2015, almost 2.3 billion devices will be shipped worldwide. Whether these smart devices are provided by the company or truly BYOD, they will need to be augmented to effectively serve the applications they are intended to support. Solving the security issue can have a bearing on whether a company chooses to let employees use their own device or provide one; either way, enhancing the location capabilities of the device can be easily achieved with accurate receivers.

Matt van Doorn is a product management, product marketing, market management and business development professional at Trimble Navigation. He has years of experience in the data communication and telecommunication industry with deep knowledge of international markets.
October 4, 2015
High Above Down Under: Database Offers 3D Elevation Model of the Globe

(WorldDEM image courtesy of Airbus Space & Defence)

Wilpena Pound, shown above, is a natural amphitheater of mountains in the heart of Flinders Ranges National Park in South Australia. Wilpena Pound is 17 kilometers long and 8 kilometers wide, covering an area of 100 kilometers. The highest peak is St. Mary Peak, at 1,170 meters.

The WorldDEM Digital Elevation Model of the Pound is based on data acquired by the German high-resolution radar satellites TerraSAR-X and TanDEM-X, which started synchronous data acquisition in December 2010 and completed coverage of the Earth’s entire landmass twice over in mid-2013. The satellites covered more complex terrain areas with a third and fourth acquisition campaign to ensure accuracy for the WorldDEM mapping database, a 3D global pole-to-pole digital elevation model distributed by Airbus Defence and Space.

Since its commercial launch in April 2014, WorldDEM has provided high-precision elevation models to a wide variety of industries. Mining studies in equatorial regions use it to analyze dense vegetation. It’s used for infrastructure corridor design and costing. Military and civil aviation use it for low-altitude flight path and landing-area planning for helicopters and aircraft in remote and difficult to access areas.

The database now covers large parts of North and South America, Western and Southern Africa, the Middle East, Australia, Northern Europe and Asia. The most recent additions include complete coverage of Scandinavia, Ukraine, Iran, Iraq, Angola and Saudi Arabia. In all, 80 million km² of WorldDEM data has been captured.

Check what areas are available.

October 1, 2015
Post-Mortem on Flight MH370 Crowdsource Search

Janice Partyka

Last year, in a massive crowdsourcing effort, eight million volunteers from around the world sat at their computers and searched high-resolution satellite imagery looking for signs of Malaysia flight 370, which had left Kuala Lumpur and never arrived in Beijing. The effort was akin to putting thousands of digital helicopters into the sky above 340,000 square kilometers of ocean. The project, organized by DigitalGlobe’s Tomnod group, didn’t find evidence of the plane. More than a year later and with wreckage recently discovered, it’s a good time to do a post-mortem of the crowdsourcing effort that involved amateur GPS citizen scientists from around the world.

Tomnod provided volunteers with images of the Thailand Gulf, Andaman Sea and areas of the Indian Ocean (West of Australia), an area that had been recommended for scrutiny by AMSA, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority. The area was organized by map tiles, each one-eighth of a kilometer. The images provided to the volunteers were still photos, a snapshot in time. The search followed the core rule of crowd sourcing — redundancy, and all map tiles were reviewed by multitudes of people.

The Tomnod crowdsourcing website from 2014.

I signed up to search images, and like others, was instructed to individually tag signs of wreckage, rafts, oil spills and interesting objects. Volunteers submitted 18 million tags for further review. Some of the tags were then inspected by analysts at Tomnod, but the vast majority were analyzed by computer programs alone. Search and rescue organizations were given the results to aid their search efforts.

With advancements in object recognition, one would think it possible for the initial search to be done by computer vision algorithms. Crowdsourcing could be used to manually clarify or further refine classifications. Tomnod believes identifying objects in the ocean is difficult and best done by humans, but has used digital object recognition in a new project. “For our project of mapping Swaziland to help eliminate malaria, Tomnod uses object recognition algorithms to locate buildings,” says Caitlyn Milton of DigitalGlobe. “Our next step is having crowdsource volunteers manually draw building footprints for each individual building. We either use volunteers or deploy our algorithm to identify the roof types (metal, wood or thatch), which are correlated with Malaria rates.”

Debris from flight MH370 washed up on Réunion Island in July.

Tomnod would have needed a trifecta: the correct geographic area, visible debris and identification of the debris to yield the actual crash site. Unfortunately, even with the discovery of plane parts found last month near Réunion Island in the Indian Ocean and even with analysis of ocean currents and weather conditions, it will be difficult to ascertain if the plane crashed within the Tomnod search area.

Crowdsourcing is not new to mapping. European countries offered hefty pouches of gold in the 1500s to people who could help solve the puzzle of determining latitude for maritime navigation. The competitors were well educated — mathematicians, astronomers and watchmakers. To contribute today, all one needs is a computer, a wireless connection and free time.

Next month, I’ll be in Las Vegas at CTIA’s Super Mobility 2015 reporting on industry developments. If you have interesting news, contact me.

August 27, 2015
Map Technology Takes Center Stage in San Diego

Esri President Jack Dangermond will deliver the keynote speech at Esri UC.

More than 16,000 people from 120 countries around the world are expected to converge in San Diego to discuss the power of maps and applying geography at the 2015 Esri User Conference (Esri UC). The Esri UC and related events will take place from July 18–24, featuring a variety of speakers from a presidential candidate to global first responders. Attendees will share ideas and best practices for improving our world through maps.

GPS World/Geospatial Solutions staff will also attend, and will be posting news and videos from the show. Follow us on Twitter at @GPSWorld and @GSS_NCM. Follow our coverage here.

“We have millions of users around the globe who do amazing things with our technology every day,” said Esri president Jack Dangermond. “The User Conference is our opportunity to recognize their important work, learn from them, and empower them with even better tools and techniques to continue their mission.”

Other featured speakers will include operations staff from Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, executives from JPMorgan Chase, the director of Strategic Cooperation at the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development (ICIMOD), and the president and CEO of the National Geographic Society. Former Maryland governor Martin O’Malley headlines a list of innovators from across every industry who will demonstrate how geospatial technology can make government smarter, combat global health challenges, ensure public safety, and drive greater revenues for businesses.

With a full week of activities, the 2015 Esri User Conference is shaping up to be the biggest yet.

Starting Off the Week with a Bang. Before the Esri UC even kicks off, a series of concurrent events related to business; education; national security; architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC ); and 3D mapping will take place July 18 and 19 in and around the San Diego Convention Center. These focused events will give attendees a deeper dive into various functional areas and equip them with an action plan to immediately invigorate their own organizations.

Real Stories from Real People. Throughout the week, more than 1,000 users will deliver presentations detailing how GIS helps their organizations in a number of ways. Whether they’re onstage for Monday’s Plenary Session or leading one of the nearly 300 moderated paper sessions, speakers will share lessons learned and best practices that can help their peers succeed.

Celebrating 100 Years of Mapping. The National Geographic Society will be on hand to continue celebrating the organization’s 100 years of making maps. A chronicle of the history of maps and the American presidency, from future President Dwight Eisenhower carrying maps into battle during World War II to President Barack Obama receiving official presidential maps in the White House, will present the art and science of where. Gary E. Knell, president and CEO of the National Geographic Society, will also speak at the Plenary Session about the importance of geography in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.

Innovation on Display. From hundreds of expert-led technical workshops to the expansive GIS Solutions EXPO featuring more than 300 technology companies and start-ups, attendees will immerse themselves in the latest and greatest in mapping and spatial analysis. Attendees will find a range of demos, talks, and resources about hot topics—big data, 3D visualization, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and more.

The Esri UC and related events will span seven days and offer opportunities for both technologists and managers to understand how geography can be applied to every organization’s challenge to drive better outcomes. For more information, visit esri.com/uc.

July 16, 2015
Location Intelligence Platform Aims at Local Marketing
Local ID has closed a $1.9 million seed round of funding led by Crosscut Ventures. Local ID is a local intelligence platform that provides multi-unit brands with the data, tools and process needed to maximize their local marketing efforts, according to the company.

Other investors in the round included Technicolor, TenOneTen, Baroda Ventures, Double M Partners, Tallwave, Wavemaker Partners and Queens Bridge Venture Partners.

Founded by a team with more than 60 years of collective retail experience, Local ID is a cloud-based platform that provides brands with visibility into each store’s trade area. For example, Local ID:
- surfaces local events that present timely and contextual marketing opportunities;
- identifies competitive intrusions;
- provides proactive preparation for weather events; and
- incorporates a wealth of other data on the hundreds of local marketing opportunities taking place each day within a store’s trade area.
With brick and mortar representing 94 percent of the $4.5 trillion retail sales market, according to eMarketer, Local ID gives multi-unit brands an edge in capturing a larger share of this vast but extremely competitive market, the company said.

“Local ID is the first local intelligence platform designed to solve at-scale local store marketing for large brick and mortar brands,” said Alex Nocifera, Founder & CEO of Local ID. “Our dynamic, enterprise platform will increase same store sales and traffic for our customers by systemizing the way they plan, execute and track their local marketing activities. This funding, along with the extensive outreach we’ve done over the last year with large brands, has validated the timeliness of our solution to solve brands’ decentralized, inefficient inability to execute and measure local marketing at scale. Overall, I could not be more excited about our team, the early market signals and the product we are taking to the market.”

Local ID is a single-source solution that will centralize all local store marketing programs, institutionalize market-specific knowledge and systemize best practices across the enterprise. The platform leverages Esri mapping software, integrates multiple data streams and then custom curates brand opportunities for every store in the system. The core pillars include:

Store Profiles – A dynamic database of every store in a brand’s system providing visibility into every location and activity

People Profiles – Details, activities and insights of all employees engaged in local marketing at any level

Relevant Opportunities – Custom curated, brand relevant opportunities in each market

Marketing Activities – An innovative and engaging task management tool for tracking and systemizing local marketing activities

The company will use the new funding to invest in product development, research and acquiring key talent. Nocifera previously served as founder and CEO of both Ripple TV and Circle Street, two venture-backed start-ups focused on helping big brands solve complex local challenges. Ripple TV was acquired by TargetCast Networks (now part of Brite Media Group). Circle Street was acquired by Valassis, the largest local advertising company for promotional media to retail and CPG brands.

“Local ID has the opportunity to be the Salesforce.com of the trillion dollar local marketing space by solving the conundrum large, multi-unit brands face in executing successful local store strategies at the enterprise level,” said Brian Garrett, co-founder and managing director of Crosscut Ventures. “It’s a massive, untapped market and one that the Local ID team, with deep experience in RetailTech, is perfectly situated to address.”
June 10, 2015