Mobile GIS Research Articles

Pemetaan Industri di Kota Batam Menggunakan Mobile GIS Berbasis Android

Android-based mobile GIS application is a service that combines digital maps in vector and smartphone media to search industry in Batam. This application is online. Currently, the information presented only provide location of region, users who are not familiar with the location will be difficult or take a long time to find the location of industry. Therefore it is necessary to design an application that is able to provide information on the location of industries in Batam. This thesis did research and development of Android-based mobile GIS applications to provide information on the location of industry in Batam. These applications have been built with the ability to show a map of Batam are taken from GeoServer, handle the search process, displays information and maps location of industry as desired user.

Landform boundary effects on Holocene forager landscape use in arid South Australia

Landscapes throughout any region vary in the resources they contain. We investigate how Holocene forager populations adapted to this variation in a linear sand dune desert of arid South Australia. We use data from surface scatters of stone artefacts collected during pedestrian survey to compare behaviours at landform boundaries to behaviours at the centers of landforms. We propose a model of human use of the landscape that predicts the prehistoric occupants of the study were sensitive to the different economic potential of subtly dissimilar landscapes. In evaluating the model we find that there are different densities of archaeological sites in each landscape type. We also find indications of a boundary effect resulting from people having used marginal areas of each landscape type in response to the resource characteristics of adjoining landforms. In addition, we make some observations on our field data collection methods, identifying the general conditions where mobile GIS may be optimally efficient for archaeological survey.

Health information system strengthening and malaria elimination in Papua New Guinea

BackgroundThe objective of the study was to describe an m-health initiative to strengthen malaria surveillance in a 184-health facility, multi-province, project aimed at strengthening the National Health Information System (NHIS) in a country with fragmented malaria surveillance, striving towards enhanced control, pre-elimination.MethodsA remote-loading mobile application and secure online platform for health professionals was created to interface with the new system (eNHIS). A case-based malaria testing register was developed and integrated geo-coded households, villages and health facilities. A malaria programme management dashboard was created, with village-level malaria mapping tools, and statistical algorithms to identify malaria outbreaks.ResultsSince its inception in 2015, 160,750 malaria testing records, including village of residence, have been reported to the eNHIS. These case-based, geo-coded malaria data are 100% complete, with a median data entry delay of 9 days from the date of testing. The system maps malaria to the village level in near real-time as well as the availability of treatment and diagnostics to health facility level. Data aggregation, analysis, outbreak detection, and reporting are automated.ConclusionsThe study demonstrates that using mobile technologies and GIS in the capture and reporting of NHIS data in Papua New Guinea provides timely, high quality, geo-coded, case-based malaria data required for malaria elimination. The health systems strengthening approach of integrating malaria information management into the eNHIS optimizes sustainability and provides enormous flexibility to cater for future malaria programme needs.

GPU-Accelerated Rendering Methods to Visually Analyze Large-Scale Disaster Simulation Data

Emerging methodologies for natural hazard risk assessments involve the execution of a multitude of different interacting simulation models that produce vast amounts of spatio-temporal datasets. This data pool is further enlarged when such simulation results are post-processed using GIS operations, for example to derive information for decision-making. The novel approach presented in this paper makes use of the GPU-accelerated rendering pipeline to perform such operations on-the-fly without storing any results on secondary memory and thus saving large amounts of storage space. Particularly, algorithms for three frequently used geospatial analysis methods are provided, namely for the computation of difference maps using map algebra and overlay operations, distance maps and buffers as examples for proximity analyses as well as kernel density estimation and inverse distance weighting as examples for statistical surfaces. In addition, a visualization tool is presented that integrates these methods using a node-based data flow architecture. The application of this visualization tool to the results of a real-world risk assessment methodology used in civil engineering shows that the memory footprint of post-processing datasets can be reduced at the order of terabytes. Although the technique has several limitations, most notably the reduced interoperability with conventional analysis tools, it can be beneficial for other use cases. When integrated into desktop GIS applications, for example, it can be used to quickly generate a preview of the results of complex analysis chains or it can reduce the amount of data to be transferred to web or mobile GIS applications.

Mobile Technologies for Geographic Response Plans (V2.0)

Companies in the oil & gas industry must undertake extensive environmental studies for every new project. The case of the Trans Canada East Energy pipeline project illustrates this phenomenon. These studies include large-scale field surveys campaigns that generate a huge amount of raw geospatial data. A key component of this process resides in the analysis of this data in order to create knowledge. In this perspective, while many mobile geospatial collectors are available, we focused on designing a complete mobile GIS. Most field experts are not data management specialists and vice versa. Our goal is to use mobile technology to reduce the gap between field observations and geospatial data analysis. Bringing data analysis capabilities directly in the field is advantageous because it provides useful insights in real-time and it can avoid costly mistakes. We have also focused on enhancing the planning phase prior to the field surveys, such as allowing importation of external data into our system. We encountered many challenges while developing our mobile geospatial solution for geographic response plans. One critical element was the mean of transportation used during the surveys. For instance, airborne surveys using a helicopter requires specific navigational features to be accurate. Another element was the availability of internet connections. We had to permit offline map layer in order to provide high quality satellite imagery. Finally, power efficiency is critical for long field surveys. We had to optimize our mobile application in order to maximize the battery's lifespan while retaining enough features such as the GPS precision. Overall, the challenge was to design a system that would permit monitoring that could take place years after the initial data collection. This affected the way we had to implement data sharing, storage and export.

An offline–online Web-GIS Android application for fast data acquisition of landslide hazard and risk

Abstract. Regional landslide assessments and mapping have been effectively pursued by research institutions, national and local governments, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and different stakeholders for some time, and a wide range of methodologies and technologies have consequently been proposed. Land-use mapping and hazard event inventories are mostly created by remote-sensing data, subject to difficulties, such as accessibility and terrain, which need to be overcome. Likewise, landslide data acquisition for the field navigation can magnify the accuracy of databases and analysis. Open-source Web and mobile GIS tools can be used for improved ground-truthing of critical areas to improve the analysis of hazard patterns and triggering factors. This paper reviews the implementation and selected results of a secure mobile-map application called ROOMA (Rapid Offline–Online Mapping Application) for the rapid data collection of landslide hazard and risk. This prototype assists the quick creation of landslide inventory maps (LIMs) by collecting information on the type, feature, volume, date, and patterns of landslides using open-source Web-GIS technologies such as Leaflet maps, Cordova, GeoServer, PostgreSQL as the real DBMS (database management system), and PostGIS as its plug-in for spatial database management. This application comprises Leaflet maps coupled with satellite images as a base layer, drawing tools, geolocation (using GPS and the Internet), photo mapping, and event clustering. All the features and information are recorded into a GeoJSON text file in an offline version (Android) and subsequently uploaded to the online mode (using all browsers) with the availability of Internet. Finally, the events can be accessed and edited after approval by an administrator and then be visualized by the general public.

An updated sediment source areas inventory in the Rio Cordon catchment (Dolomites)

This study presents an inventory of sediment source areas updated to 2016 of the Rio Cordon catchment, a small headwater basin located in the Eastern Italian Alps. The aim of the 2016 inventory was to update an old sediment source areas dataset dating back to 2006, built using LiDAR-derived geomorphometric parameters interpretation and field survey, in order to evaluate the geomorphic changes occurred in the last 10 years in the catchment. The new inventory wasrealized by means of an extensive field survey campaign conducted with a mobile GIS mounted on a rugged notebook integrating a GPS receiver. Pictures of individual or collective sediment source areas were also acquired in order to integrate the GIS dataset and to better define their current status of activity. The images were also used for a comparison with the images acquired in 2006 to identify the evolution or stabilization of each sediment source area. The identification and delimitation of large and/or unreachable areas was carried out in the office by interpreting aerial photo images (Bing satellite images and Web Map Services for AGEA 2009-2012 aerial photographs,compared with the old LiDAR-derived high resolution images used for the 2006 sediment source inventory). The comparison with the previous inventory shows that several old sediment sources resulted totally stabilized indicating a general decrease of erosion processes in the catchment. In contrast, some new sediment source areas were identified. They were mainly related to a very recent rock fall that took place in July 2016 in the Lastoni di Formin group and many new shallow landslides were found in the upper part of small Rio Cordon tributary where a small debris flow event occurred in 2012.

A direct observation method for auditing large urban centers using stratified sampling, mobile GIS technology and virtual environments

BackgroundWith the expansion and growth of research on neighbourhood characteristics, there is an increased need for direct observational field audits. Herein, we introduce a novel direct observational audit method and systematic social observation instrument (SSOI) for efficiently assessing neighbourhood aesthetics over large urban areas.MethodsOur audit method uses spatial random sampling stratified by residential zoning and incorporates both mobile geographic information systems technology and virtual environments. The reliability of our method was tested in two ways: first, in 15 Ottawa neighbourhoods, we compared results at audited locations over two subsequent years, and second; we audited every residential block (167 blocks) in one neighbourhood and compared the distribution of SSOI aesthetics index scores with results from the randomly audited locations. Finally, we present interrater reliability and consistency results on all observed items.ResultsThe observed neighbourhood average aesthetics index score estimated from four or five stratified random audit locations is sufficient to characterize the average neighbourhood aesthetics. The SSOI was internally consistent and demonstrated good to excellent interrater reliability. At the neighbourhood level, aesthetics is positively related to SES and physical activity and negatively correlated with BMI.ConclusionThe proposed approach to direct neighbourhood auditing performs sufficiently and has the advantage of financial and temporal efficiency when auditing a large city.

Analysis of Geographical Distribution of Missing Children Based on the Missing Children Mobile GIS Mutual Assistance System of China

The Missing Children Mobile GIS Mutual Assistance System of China (MCMAS) is a mobile service software based on mobile GIS platform software, and it is committed to providing the most convenient and efficient system of personally mutual tracing services for missing children family and society. Relying on collaborative utilization of location-based service technology, face image intelligent recognition technology, cloud computing technology, public big data sharing technology, and mobile GIS technology, the MCMAS has achieved prominent application effects since it was deployed. At present, the MCMAS is running soundly, and it has received and released the information about 1011 missing children from May 25, 2016 to May 25, 2017. In order to explore the geographical distribution features and the influencing factors of missing children, the data of missing children are used for spatial and visual analysis by the data mining and GIS technologies. At the same time, we have built the spatial thermodynamic diagram of the big data of China missing children. By comparing provinces and cities with a higher proportion of missing children, the results showed that: 1) The high proportion of missing children spatially concentrated in the eastern part of the China. 2) The number of missing children was significantly correlated with the population density and economic status of the city. Furthermore, the paper macro-levelly presents a basic basis for rescuing the missing children from two aspects: regionally spatial characteristics and influencing factors.

Development of a Mobile GIS Property Mapping Application using Mobile Cloud Computing

This study presents the development of a mobile GIS Property mapping application for use by local authorities in developing countries. Attempts to develop property mapping applications especially in developing countries have mostly used GIS desktop productivity software tools that required the digitization of property maps by highly skilled GIS experts. In addition, these applications lacked real time capture of attribute, spatial and image data of properties. A survey was conducted in the Kafue local authority to gather systems requirements for the mobile application. After design and modeling, the developed application was trialed in the field and 10 properties were mapped successfully. The software tools used in this study included Android Studio, Leaflet mapping library, Apache2 web server, PostgresSQL with PostGIS Extensions and OpenstreetMaps and MapBox mobile cloud computing mapping services. The hardware tools used included a laptop computer and a mobile phone running android operating system. The study showed that mobile property mapping applications can be developed by tapping into the computing resources provided by mobile cloud computing. The benefits of this model include real time complete property data capture and the use of non GIS experts in mapping projects.

Rethinking GIS Towards The Vision Of Smart Cities Through CityGML

Abstract. Smart cities present a substantial growth opportunity in the coming years. The role of GIS in the smart city ecosystem is to integrate different data acquired by sensors in real time and provide better decisions, more efficiency and improved collaboration. Semantically enriched vision of GIS will help evolve smart cities into tomorrow’s much smarter cities since geospatial/location data and applications may be recognized as a key ingredient of smart city vision. However, it is need for the Geospatial Information communities to debate on “Is 3D Web and mobile GIS technology ready for smart cities?” This research places an emphasis on the challenges of virtual 3D city models on the road to smarter cities.

GEOPACKAGE DATA FORMAT FOR COLLABORATIVEMAPPING OF GEOSPATIAL DATAIN LIMITED NETWORKENVIRONMENTS

Abstract. With the growth of technology in earth and space science informatics has led to the revolution in a wide range of geospatial practice. Nowadays collaborative mapping has become a new hot spot, following mobile and web GIS. This paper explores the potential use of GeoPackage for collaborative mapping of geospatial data in limited network environments. GeoPackage is a data format that open-standard, platform-independent, portable, and self-describing. This paper focus on the implementation of GeoPackage in mobile application for field data collection. A mobile application was developed that implements the GeoPackage data format as an internal database to provide support for offline mapping. The developed mobile application demonstrates that vector and raster data can be stored in a single data format, which reduces the device storage consumption. The details of how GeoPackage data contribute to mobile GIS to achieve collaborative mapping in limited network environments are discussed. The findings show that the GeoPackage data format has great potential to improve existing mobile GIS applications.

GIS DATA COLLECTION FOR PEDESTRIAN FACILITIES AND FURNITURE USING MAPINR FOR ANDROID

Abstract. Mobile GIS is introduced to reduce the time taken in completing the field data collection procedure. With the expansion of technology today, mobile GIS is not far behind. It can be integrated with the high-end innovation tools like smartphones. Spatial data capture which deemed to be the toughest stage of a GIS project is made simple with this method. Many studies had demonstrated the usage of mobile GIS in collecting spatial data and this paper discusses how it can be applied in capturing the GPS location of pedestrian furniture and facilities. Although some of the spatial data are available from local agencies, still a more detailed data is needed to create a better data model for this study. This study uses a free android application, MAPinr, which is available on the Google PlayStore to collect spatial data on site. It adopted the GNSS and cellular network positioning to locate the position of the required data. As the application allows the captured data to be exported to a GIS platform, the geometric error of the data was improved. In the end, an authenticated spatial dataset comprising pedestrian facilities and furniture in point and line form will be produced and later be used in a pedestrian network analysis study.

MOBILE GIS: A TOOL FOR INFORMAL SETTLEMENT OCCUPANCY AUDIT TO IMPROVE INTEGRATED HUMAN SETTLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION IN EKURHULENI, SOUTH AFRICA

Abstract. Upgrading and relocating people in informal settlements requires consistent commitment, good strategies and systems so as to improve the lives of those who live in them. In South Africa, in order to allocate subsidised housing to beneficiaries of an informal settlement, beneficiary administration needs to be completed to determine the number of people who qualify for a subsidised house. Conventional methods of occupancy audits are often unreliable, cumbersome and non-spatial. Accordingly, this study proposes the use of mobile GIS to conduct these audits to provide up-to-date, accurate, comprehensive and real-time data so as to facilitate the development of integrated human settlements. An occupancy audit was subsequently completed for one of the communities in the Ekurhuleni municipality, Gauteng province, using web-based mobile GIS as a solution to providing smart information through evidence based decision making. Fieldworkers accessed the off-line capturing module on a mobile device recording GPS coordinates, socio-economic information and photographs. The results of this audit indicated that only 56.86% of the households residing within the community could potentially benefit from receiving a subsidised house. Integrated residential development, which includes fully and partially subsidised housing, serviced stands and some fully bonded housing opportunities, would then be key to adequately providing access to suitable housing options within a project in a post-colonial South Africa, creating new post-1994 neighbourhoods, in line with policy. The use of mobile GIS therefore needs to be extended to other informal settlement upgrading projects in South Africa.

MOBILE GIS: A TOOL FOR INFORMAL SETTLEMENT OCCUPANCY AUDIT TO IMPROVE INTEGRATED HUMAN SETTLEMENT IMPLEMENTATION IN EKURHULENI, SOUTH AFRICA

Upgrading and relocating people in informal settlements requires consistent commitment, good strategies and systems so as to improve the lives of those who live in them. In South Africa, in order to allocate subsidised housing to beneficiaries of an informal settlement, beneficiary administration needs to be completed to determine the number of people who qualify for a subsidised house. Conventional methods of occupancy audits are often unreliable, cumbersome and non-spatial. Accordingly, this study proposes the use of mobile GIS to conduct these audits to provide up-to-date, accurate, comprehensive and real-time data so as to facilitate the development of integrated human settlements. An occupancy audit was subsequently completed for one of the communities in the Ekurhuleni municipality, Gauteng province, using web-based mobile GIS as a solution to providing smart information through evidence based decision making. Fieldworkers accessed the off-line capturing module on a mobile device recording GPS coordinates, socio-economic information and photographs. The results of this audit indicated that only 56.86% of the households residing within the community could potentially benefit from receiving a subsidised house. Integrated residential development, which includes fully and partially subsidised housing, serviced stands and some fully bonded housing opportunities, would then be key to adequately providing access to suitable housing options within a project in a post-colonial South Africa, creating new post-1994 neighbourhoods, in line with policy. The use of mobile GIS therefore needs to be extended to other informal settlement upgrading projects in South Africa.

IMPLEMENTATION OF KRIGING METHODS IN MOBILE GIS TO ESTIMATE DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS IN CRISIS SCENARIOS

In the paper an example for the application of kriging methods to estimate damage to buildings in crisis scenarios is introduced. Furthermore, the Java implementations for Ordinary and Universal Kriging on mobile GIS are presented. As variogram models an exponential, a Gaussian and a spherical variogram are tested in detail. Different test constellations are introduced with various information densities. As test data set, public data from the analysis of the 2010 Haiti earthquake by satellite images are pre-processed and visualized in a Geographic Information System. As buildings, topography and other external influences cannot be seen as being constant for the whole area under investigation, semi variograms are calculated by consulting neighboured classified buildings using the so called moving window method. The evaluation of the methods shows that the underlying variogram model is the determining factor for the quality of the interpolation rather than the choice of the kriging method or increasing the information density of a random sample. The implementation is completely realized with the programming language Java. Thereafter, the implemented software component is integrated into GeoTech Mobile, a mobile GIS Android application based on the processing of standardized spatial data representations defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). As a result the implemented methods can be used on mobile devices, i.e. they may be transferred to other application fields. That is why we finally point out further research with new applications in the Dubai region.

IMPLEMENTATION OF KRIGING METHODS IN MOBILE GIS TO ESTIMATE DAMAGE TO BUILDINGS IN CRISIS SCENARIOS

Abstract. In the paper an example for the application of kriging methods to estimate damage to buildings in crisis scenarios is introduced. Furthermore, the Java implementations for Ordinary and Universal Kriging on mobile GIS are presented. As variogram models an exponential, a Gaussian and a spherical variogram are tested in detail. Different test constellations are introduced with various information densities. As test data set, public data from the analysis of the 2010 Haiti earthquake by satellite images are pre-processed and visualized in a Geographic Information System. As buildings, topography and other external influences cannot be seen as being constant for the whole area under investigation, semi variograms are calculated by consulting neighboured classified buildings using the so called moving window method. The evaluation of the methods shows that the underlying variogram model is the determining factor for the quality of the interpolation rather than the choice of the kriging method or increasing the information density of a random sample. The implementation is completely realized with the programming language Java. Thereafter, the implemented software component is integrated into GeoTech Mobile, a mobile GIS Android application based on the processing of standardized spatial data representations defined by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). As a result the implemented methods can be used on mobile devices, i.e. they may be transferred to other application fields. That is why we finally point out further research with new applications in the Dubai region.

Travelers’ Route Choice: Comparing Relative Importance of Metric, Topological and Geometric Distance

This study investigates the relative importance of ‘metric distance’(MD),‘topological distance’(TD) and ‘geo-metrical distance’(GMD) in determining the route choice behavior of motorized travelers by mode. The study is based on data which has traced the travelers’ actual movements by using mobile GIS applications. MD, TD and GMD were calculated based on space syntax tool within a GIS environment. The findings indicated that GMD is more appropriate than MD in case of travelers’ who use car and motorcycle, whereas MD is more appropriate than GMD travelers’ who use PT and taxi for mode choice modeling, travel demand simulations and automobile navigation systems.

Implementation of Tile Searching and Indexing Management Algorithms for Mobile GIS Performance Enhancement

The mobile and ubiquitous environment is experiencing a rapid development of information and communications technology as it provides an ever increasing flow of information. Particularly, GIS is now widely applied in daily life due to its high accuracy and functionality. GIS information is utilized through the tiling method, which divides and manages large-scale map information. The tiling method manages map information and additional information to allow overlay, so as to facilitate quick access to tiled data. Unlike past studies, this paper proposes a new architecture and algorithms for tile searching and indexing management to optimize map information and additional information for GIS mobile applications. Since this involves the processing of large-scale information and continuous information changes, information is clustered for rapid processing. In addition, data size is minimized to overcome the constrained performance associated with mobile devices. Our system has been implemented in actual services, leading to a twofold increase in performance in terms of processing speed and mobile bandwidth.

Social Sustainability Achievement through Mobile GIS Applications Development and Audit

(ProQuest: ... denotes formulae omitted.)IntroductionAs it represents a key-element of development, social sustainability includes concepts such as livability, health and community development, in this context the research about the healthy ageing phenomena and the friendliness of communities becomes an imperative. This research brings into play the development of mobile geographic information systems - GIS applications in the evolution of social requirements regarding the increase in the quality of life and autonomy of certain communities.The paper tries to offer a reliable answer to the questions whether the exploitation of mobile applications is beneficial for the senior citizens and if so what are the ways in which these applications should be developed so as to assure the best user experience. The concepts of citizen oriented applications [12] and usability are to be defined and described in a particular manner, in order to correspond to the social sustainability requests of specific communities.Another essential side of this research is to conclude if the process of software reengineering is appropriate for the radical transformation of legacy desktop software to mobile applications and how to add the mapping and GIS features, which are necessary for the fulfilment of novel social and economic objectives.The fact that the target group is the citizens of advanced age involves drawing some special requirements regarding the structure of user interfaces, user session duration and number of steps needed to meet immediate objectives. Making custom recommendations [9] and establish daily dosages to optimize of drug treatments, as well as notifying users about activities at certain times represent just a few of the functionalities these types of applications needed to increase the independence of the seniors.Some of the best-known aspects of sustainability achievement concerning the modern society are represented by age friendly communities and by the easiness of access to the resources by the senior citizens. In papers such as [1] the age friendliness of cities is analyzed, especially by taking into account the allocation of health resources. The knowledge-based society has as a main objective to offer the people in need the appropriate health resources and services in a suitable time, furthermore to support the autonomy and possibility of elderly to live in a secure, healthy and friendly environment, which presumes that they should be able to work with the new information and communication technologies so as to provide valuable information to the medical staff and to their families.In [1] the friendliness of city is analyzed by means of two main areas, such as the needs of the elderly and the capacity of the community to cover those needs. In order to create a clear view of the population lifestyle and health, indicators have been defined which measured the diets, movement and habits. In our case, specific indicators should be determined as well by means of mobile GIS applications specially build for this category of citizens. The use of mobile applications should be available for the grand majority of seniors in certain geographic areas. In some cases, either because of the lack of resources or because of the lack of digital education problems may appear. Consequently, some percentage of the senior citizens will not be included in the statistics. The exposure of the seniors to natural and anthropic risks may affect also their life quality and autonomy.In order to accomplish the social goals of healthy aging and to increase the life expectancy, it is very important that the data which result from the interaction of the senior citizens with the technological devices to be subjected to analytical procedures as well as the extraction of the most significant information, by the specialists, though data modelling and estimation procedures.Such procedures are identified in [2], in which exposure to environmental risk factors is assessed. …