CHAPTER 7 Mobile GIS Mobile GIS is helping the field workers by providing them with GIS maps on their hand-held computing devices. Field workers equipped with mobile GIS can update their enterprise GIS database from the field. Mobile GIS brings GIS maps to field workers using mobile computers and PDAs. 2097_C007.fm Page 129 Monday, December 6, 2004 6:03 PM Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis LEARNING OBJECTIVE The learning objective of this chapter is to determine the applications of mobile GIS technology in water industry. MAJOR TOPICS • Mobile GIS basics • Mobile GIS applications • Wireless Internet technology • GPS integration LIST OF CHAPTER ACRONYMS LBS Location Based Services PDA Personal Digital Assistant RTK Real Time Kinematic MOBILE GIS BASICS Integration of GIS with consumer electronics such as cell phones and automobile navigation systems has spawned a whole new industry called location-based services (LBS). LBS services are used for managing dispatch and routing, fleets, work orders, and field crews — all of which improve customer service. Telegeoinformatics is also a new discipline resulting from the integration of mobile computing with wired and wireless communications, GIS, GPS, and remote sensing technologies (Karimi and Hammad, 2004). GIS lies at the heart of most mobile information resource systems. For example, it is now possible to wirelessly transmit a GPS location from the field, which can then be viewed on a GIS map via the Internet. Using GIS directly in the field for data collection into a GIS database is referred to as mobile or field GIS. According to a recent study, about 40% of all mobile data applications in utilities are using a GIS (Wilson, 2001). With mobile GIS, feature location and attribute data can be verified, augmented, and immediately updated. New features can be added, existing features moved to their correct location, and nonexisting features deleted in the field. The ultimate goal of a mobile GIS is to link mobile workers with data to make their jobs easier and more efficient. Mobile computers are the field devices used by mobile workers and field personnel to run GIS software (or its field version) and to collect location and attribute data in the field. Examples include notebooks, laptops, and pocket computers; tablet PCs and slate tablets; pen and touch-screen computers; handheld devices and PDAs; and smart phones (a combination of a PDA and a cell phone). Due to their small screen; limited memory, storage, processing speed, and battery life; and lack of a keyboard for field data entry, PDAs may not be suitable for large inspection projects. Currently, in the U.S., most PDAs use three operating systems: Linux, Palm OS, and Windows 2097_C007.fm Page 130 Monday, December 6, 2004 6:03 PM Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis CE (Lowe, 2002). Basically a hybrid between a laptop and a PDA, the tablet PC combines the mobility and handwriting recognition of PDAs with the larger screen size and full-featured operating systems provided by laptops. Tablet PC screens can rotate 180˚ to create digital writing pads that lie flat against the keyboard. This feature allows field workers to sketch notes and diagrams or redline existing maps using a digital pen. Figure 7.1 shows a tablet PC connected to a mapping-grade GPS being used for field inspections. Figure 7.2 is a tablet PC screenshot showing notes and sketches taken in the field. This field editing feature requires taking appropriate GIS layers and base maps in the field on a mobile computer. Custom forms can be created to mimic the paper forms that field crews are accustomed to using. The main advantage of a mobile GIS is that it eliminates postprocessing of paper data in the office. Mobile GIS is the result of advances in four key areas: (1) field GIS software (e.g., ESRI’s ArcPad); (2) lightweight, reliable, and affordable field computing devices; (3) more accurate and affordable GPS receivers; and (4) wireless commu- nications (ESRI, 2004). MOBILE GIS APPLICATIONS Mobile GIS is helping cities in their field data collection and asset inventory activities. For example, many local governments are using ESRI’s ArcPad field GIS software to improve speed and accuracy and lower the costs associated with the field inventory of their infrastructure assets (ESRI, 2004a). ArcPad, now a mobile client Figure 7.1 Tablet PC being used for GPS and field data collection. 2097_C007.fm Page 131 Monday, December 6, 2004 6:03 PM Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis for ArcGIS, allows data collectors to collect asset locations and attributes in the field as ESRI-compatible GIS files. ArcPad Application Builder allows creation of custom field inspection forms using Visual Basic Scripting (VBScript). OnSite from Autodesk, InService from Intergraph, and MapXtreme from MapInfo are other examples of mobile GIS software. Mobile GIS applications can benefit from wireless and Internet technologies for live import or export to office or enterprise data. Wireless connections allow real time access to office GIS data in the field and real time updates to office data. When a persistent network connection is not feasible, mobile GIS can transport the field data back to the parent software in an office for automatic validation and delivery to the target system at the end of each inspection day. Intergraph’s IntelliWhere OnDemand vector-based mapping product for PDAs also runs on some smart phones. Among other features, this product allows workers to red-line maps on their mobile Figure 7.2 Tablet PC screenshot showing field notes and sketches. 2097_C007.fm Page 132 Monday, December 6, 2004 6:03 PM Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis devices and then wirelessly send the edits back to GIS servers in the office for immediate inclusion into the system. It also has an “occasionally connected” mode that allows field workers to extract data from the office GIS, view it, and disconnect until it is time to synchronize updates back to the office GIS (Lowe, 2002a). WIRELESS INTERNET TECHNOLOGY Wireless Internet solutions consist of four key technology components: (1) appli- cations software running on the Internet and mobile devices; (2) mobile middleware software that resides on a server and a mobile device; (3) wireless data network to deliver data to and from mobile devices; and (4) mobile devices. In 2000, one of Southern California’s largest wholesale water providers, the Calleguas Municipal Water District began a program to improve its infrastructure and operations man- agement. It used Fieldport ™ mobile operations management solution from Spacient Technologies, Inc. (Los Angeles, California). The system provides both Web-based and wireless asset management as either a traditional on-site software installation or as an Internet-hosted service. Fieldport allows GIS integration using its GIS/Mapping Module with an industry-standard database design powered by ESRI’s ArcIMS software (Stern and Kendall, 2001). GPS INTEGRATION Mobile GIS applications typically use a GPS receiver; however, using a GPS is optional. Tiny GPS receivers are now available from various vendors that clip into most mobile devices and enable real time positioning on the map display. Without GPS integration, mobile GIS collects only attribute data; with a GPS receiver, data such as coordinates, elevation, and attributes can be collected. Inexpensive recreation- grade GPS receivers that provide typical 10-m horizontal accuracies can be used for navigation purpose. This arrangement would eliminate the need to pan and zoom around the map file to find the inspection location; the GPS connection can auto- matically center the map on the inspection location. Note that recreation-grade GPS receivers cannot and should not be used for collecting accurate horizontal and vertical positions. Figure 7.3 shows a sample GPS integration with a mobile device. The top part of the figure shows Hewlett Packard’s iPAQ Pocket PC and Navman’s recreation- grade GPS receiver for iPAQ. The GPS unit comes in the form of a sleeve that the iPAQ can slide into, as shown in the bottom part of the figure. According to the manufacturer, this GPS receiver typically provides better than 5 m (16 ft) horizontal accuracy for 95% of the time under optimal conditions. Another technology that is helping mobile GIS is the Bluetooth wireless tech- nology. Bluetooth is an international specification for a compact, low-cost radio solution that links mobile devices without using cables. Bluetooth devices can find each other when they are within their working range, which is typically 10 m (33 ft). For example, an RTK GPS rover on a pole can be wirelessly connected to the GPS receiver mounted inside a vehicle, or RTK GPS corrections can be received via a Bluetooth-enabled cell phone. 2097_C007.fm Page 133 Monday, December 6, 2004 6:03 PM Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis USEFUL WEB SITES Figure 7.3 Sample mobile GIS device. Above: Navman GPS sleeve and iPAQ Pocket PC shown separately; below: iPAQ inserted into the sleeve. Hewlett Packard’s iPAQ Pocket PC www.hp.com Navman’s recreation grade GPS for iPAQ www.navman.com 2097_C007.fm Page 134 Monday, December 6, 2004 6:03 PM Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis CHAPTER SUMMARY Mobile GIS plays an important role in simplifying the jobs of field workers and reducing the cost of field inspections and maintenance. For example, GIS allows users to identify valves to be closed for repairing or replacing broken water mains by simply clicking on a mobile field device such as a tablet PC. CHAPTER QUESTIONS 1. What is mobile GIS? 2. What is the main application of mobile GIS in the water industry? 3. How is mobile GIS related to Internet, GPS, and wireless technologies? 2097_C007.fm Page 135 Monday, December 6, 2004 6:03 PM Copyright © 2005 by Taylor & Francis . CHAPTER 7 Mobile GIS Mobile GIS is helping the field workers by providing them with GIS maps on their hand-held computing devices. Field workers equipped with mobile GIS can update. pen and touch-screen computers; handheld devices and PDAs; and smart phones (a combination of a PDA and a cell phone). Due to their small screen; limited memory, storage, processing speed, and. (1) field GIS software (e.g., ESRI’s ArcPad); (2) lightweight, reliable, and affordable field computing devices; (3) more accurate and affordable GPS receivers; and (4) wireless commu- nications