This article was written in the winter of 2000 before
the time of smart phones. It was ArcGIS
that laid the base for the development of location-based services that we know
today. Back when cell phone technology
was still evolving, the companies making the phones realized the possibilities
of location based services and it was GIS mapping that made it possible.
According to the article Arc mapping programs were
used for the base mapping on all locations.
ArcIMS—This powerful GIS technology, designed
specifically for the Web, provides a diverse set of mapping, location analysis,
and routing capabilities for location service developers.
ArcSDE—ArcSDE and API technology provide an open strategy
for query, manipulation, and analysis of data stored or managed in various
DBMSs. Also, ArcSDE is a key component to enterprise solutions such as customer
relationship management (CRM), which enables large mobile telephone operators
such as Telecom Italia Mobile S.pA, and France Telecom Mobiles to leverage the
power of GIS in their customer care operations.
RouteMAP
IMS—RouteMAP IMS is an extension to ArcIMS and is
dedicated to providing routing and directions to mobile and stationary clients.
As Location Services moves beyond simple applications into field productivity
applications, RouteMAP IMS provides both simple (point-to-point) as well as
sophisticated (multipoint/traveling salesman) routing.
ArcPad—ArcPad is a new mobile GIS that is designed to
operate on high-performance CE-based devices. This product operates both
stand-alone (GIS data is loaded on a mobile device) as well as in a
"wireless" communication mode as a client to ArcIMS. ArcPad gets
workers out of the office and into the field where they can use geographic
(locational) information directly. Specifically, ArcPad, when integrated with
GPS, enables mobile field crews to communicate their locations in real time and
to access large databases for information about assets in the field.
With mobile web still in its infancy stages, “wireless carriers were committing enormous
resources to building the communications infrastructure to make wireless
services reliable and widely accessible.
Location-based services were consistently cited by the carriers as one
of the top applications that will enable them to recoup these investments.” Many of the companies were predicting a
massive jump in mobile users over the next few years. “Think ahead two years to
the end of 2002. By then it is estimated that 50 percent of the total workforce
will be mobile, and total wireless Internet users will surpass wired users.”
Today we all have smart phones and everyone of us has used a map program to
find something. A store or ATM or friends address. It was ArcGIS mapping that made smart phone mapping of today possible.
It is great to know what tools and programs were used to create the phenomena of smart phone mapping today. It required several Arc programs, which indicates that there was a lot of data gathered at different points, and analyzed in different measures, but they all eventually comprised a well detailed mapping service. I am interested in seeing how the next few years, with new technological advances and new ArcView editions, how mobile mapping will continue to evolve.
ReplyDeleteWhat is amazing is how ArcMap and ESRI products are actually loosing the mobile mapping race. Google Maps, Yelp, Facebook, etc are actually adding in location services into hand held at a greater rate then the traditional GIS companies. What is amazing is how GIS and Geography is being reinvented from the ground up in a very democratic way. This is know as neogeogrpahy
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Already some of the best datasets for developing countries come from site like, Open Street Map. Some of the best up to date information about what is happen on the ground comes from geotagged photos. Even Google Maps has opened up this platform to start crowd sourcing mapping.
Talk about a blast from the past, funny how much a decade can change everything.
ReplyDeleteI never really understood how phones worked or what GPS meant or all of these amazing technologies and how they affect our lives every day. It's kind of weird that newer things become customary or assumed, except for the folks that have lived without it. I try to appreciate all of the advancements that have taken place that allow me to get along every day - a toaster, warm blanket, a book (I could never make a book by myself!) and all sorts of things that have come about from people working with each other to solve problems. It's really impossible to appreciate all of it. Super cool.
ReplyDeleteI agree with the above statement. In a decade we've gone from mobile phones that actually came in cases, to having smartphones that can pinpoint your location within a reasonable radius. GIS laid the groundwork for this, and while more and more privately held companies are making things like ArcMap, GIS-based software is moving into a more scientific role for the forseeable future.
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