Posts Tagged ‘mobile’
Sunday, October 30th, 2011
Introduction
This article is targeted at individuals or companies looking to build a new mobile or Web application. It is a guide to help you move from a great idea to a great application. Oh, and it is short.
Let’s begin by imagining a house. Your dream house. The home you’ve always wanted to build. At the moment the layout, design, color etc. are in your head. New ideas are continually being added to this mental picture you are forming. You’d like to make this dream reality. But how? You look for professional help; maybe a builder, an architect.
Imagine you call this professional. You start the conversation as follows:
“Hello. My name is Joe. I want to build my dream house. It will need to have 4 bedrooms and a kitchen. How much will that cost to build?”
How do you imagine the builder, or architect will respond?
This is a silly example, which has little relation to software development, I hear you saying. Right? Wrong!
Software development is just like house building. You would be surprised how often we field calls similar to the above.
“We would like an application which does X. How much will that cost to build?”
If you are serious about making a dream reality. You need to start with something tangible. Mental pictures are only useful to you. Once you start involving others you need to transfer your thoughts.
Don’t get us wrong; cost at some point will be an important consideration. Cost will determine what is and isn’t possible. Cost may force changes to some of your ideas. Cost will determine who you choose to do the work. But starting with cost without providing a well thought out, and clearly laid out picture of your thoughts. Will leave your dream just that, a dream!
Mobile Application Development Brainstorming
Let’s start with brainstorming. This is the process of transferring ideas to paper; often many crumpled pieces of paper. Sure there are tools out there to create mind maps. We are old fashioned. Put everybody in a room, grab some paper or a white board and start scribbling. It’s amazing what you can come up with. Figure 1 below are the initial roughs for a mobile app we recently worked on. It shows roughs for an IPad and IPhone version of the same app.
Figure 1: Mobile Application Roughs
These scribbles can be as detailed as you would like. But they are a huge step forward. You’ve transferred thoughts to something tangible. A format others can understand.
Mobile Application Flow
Ok, so we have our initial picture(s) of what the application will be. Let’s formalize things a little. Provide an idea of application flow. Figure 1 includes some simple flow; if I click button X it takes the user to screen 2 which shows content A. Get it?
Mobile Application Development Professionals
So now is it time to turn to a professional? Definitely maybe. If you are comfortable that you have all the application pieces in place, in a format which is understandable to a stranger. Definitely. Remember, pictures work better than words. Always. The words simply support the pictures.
Planning and design are two crucial parts of the application development process. But these are only relevant once you have decided on who will help architect and build the application.
You will find that the professionals you choose to show your application roughs will have questions. Good roughs will help others understand what you are trying to do.
Mobile Application Development Estimates
With a good understanding of what you are trying to build. A software development company can start thinking about some of the technical challenges. This then leads to time estimates for developing the application. Ultimately to the magic number. Estimated cost.
Here is a dirty secret. Developers often take their initial time estimate based on the roughs we have described above. Double it. Then add 10%. What ….because they are greedy?
Estimation is a very inexact science. A developer will always try to overestimate rather than underestimate. Think about it. What would you prefer, a developer saying:
“Great news. We finished the work for less than you expected to pay.”
or
“The work will take longer than expected. That will cost you more money.”
Mobile Application Development – Making Changes
So you find the perfect company to do the work, at the right price. You start moving forward. Then change what you want. Maybe you forgot something, or, have new ideas. Does that change the cost? Quite possibly. By how much? Ask the question. It is surprising how often people make changes to applications, without considering cost implications.
Mobile Application Development & Successful Outcomes
The best applications in the mobile and Web markets are those which start with a great idea. An idea which is transferred to an understandable format and shared. Discussed. Changed. A great development company found to do the work. At the right price. Planning, design, feedback, changes occur iteratively. Your dream becomes reality.
The End (or just the beginning)
WebMapSolutions are mobile application developers. The company specialises in building locations based services (LBS), GIS and mapping applications. If you are looking to build a mobile solution, or just need a better understanding of the mobile sector, contact: rory@webmapsolutions.com
Tags: Android, arcgis, ESRI, IPad, iphone, mobile, mobile application cost, mobile application planning, mobile GIS, phone, tablets, Utah mobile application developers
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Sunday, October 23rd, 2011
You might be wondering how you access GIS layers when your mobile has no Wi-FI access. Well wait no more, the solution is at hand. The demo below shows ArcGIS being used offline. Before you open source folk get upset, this solution could also be applied to a Geoserver/Openlayers/OpenScales solution. The app shows storage of base map tiles and a shapefile on the actual mobile device. In offline mode, we show loading this data. Very cool. Thanks a million to Mansour at ESRI for helping us move this forward. See the application demo in the link below:
Offline Mobile ArcGIS Demo Video
This functionality may at some point be added to our GeoMobile for ArcGIS mobile app. You can get the current free version of the app here.
Tags: Android, arcgis, ESRI, GIS, IOS, IPad, iphone, mobile, mobile application development, no wi-fi, offline, shapefile
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Monday, October 10th, 2011
There are increasingly more ArcGIS apps in the various app stores. ESRI have their ArcGIS Mobile viewer in the Apple store. This renders data published to ArcGISOnline. A number of nice tools have been included in the app to allow data interaction. It is available here:
ESRI ArcGIS Mobile Viewer in Apple Store
Our company have also just released a cross platform ArcGIS mobile map viewer to the Apple, Android and BlackBerry app stores. Based on the popular Web based ESRI Flex ArcGIS viewer, it was released as a free download.
We have just updated this initial version. A key addition to this new version is the ability of users to host their own configuration file, which controls the layers loaded by the viewer. Users can now add their own ArcGIS Dynamic, Tiled and Feature layers to the viewer.
Here is a full list of changes:
1. Application now reads a config file, hosted on any Web server, allowing users to add multiple layers.
2. Routing Widget added.
3. Query Widget added.
4. Minimize button added to all widgets.
5. Viewer can now load Feature Layers.
6. Fix for Geocoder Widget.
7. Fixes for Measure Widget.
8. Fixes for Layer Widget
The following video shows a demo of the new version running on the IPad:
GeoMobile for ArcGIS Demo
The app is a free download. At present it is the only cross platform custom ArcGIS viewer in any of the app stores. This new release is available in the Apple and Android stores from these links:
Free Mobile ArcGIS Viewer in Apple Store
Free Mobile ArcGIS Viewer in Android Market
The viewer should give users a feel for the possibilities presented by ArcGIS on mobile devices. The reason for releasing this as a free app is to encourage user feedback; general reactions, things that work well or badly, what else users would like to see.
Let me know your thoughts on these applications, and any other cool free mobile GIS apps. rory@webmapsolutions.com.
Tags: adobe AIR, arcgis, cross-platform, ESRI, IPad, mobile
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Thursday, September 22nd, 2011
As a company, we sometimes wonder who are our competition. Fundamentally we build mobile location based solutions, both mobile GIS and location based services. Turning to Google I tried some searches. A number of variation on a theme so; mobile gis application developers, geo-spatial mobile developers, mobile location based application developers, mobile location services, location cross platform mobile development. To my amazement the searches came back with very few companies. Very strange. It seems an obvious fit; mobile applications which take advantage of, and utilize mobile data.
Is geo-spatial or location based mobile application development just a niche? Maybe most application development companies are focused on general mobile app development? Perhaps its because mobile is so new, that both clients and software development companies are still trying to fit mobile into their overall plan.
Mobile Location Services
The mobile location sector is very fragmented at the moment. On one side we have ESRI, the worlds biggest GIS company. They were slow in entering the Web, they are moving quicker with mobile, but their world remains GIS focused. And that is a niche no doubt. They have yet to broaden their appeal beyond their core, mostly public, GIS community.
Figure 1: ESRI ArcGIS running on the IPad
The location based sector is more dynamic. Its somewhat a bubble at the minute, with tonnes of VC money pouring into some frankly daft ideas. But there are some gems within that world. Like the dot com boom and bust, many will fall but some real innovation will come from this sector. There are huge opportunities to build location based applications, classed as location based services (LBS), to use in marketing, advertising and beyond on mobile devices. At present this sector is narrowly focused on consumers. Broadening solutions to the enterprise offers mouth watering possibilities. Figure 2 below shows a mobile check-in and data collection application which allows field service techs, surveyors, water utility workers, indeed any workers in the field to utilize mobile in their daily work routines.
MapQuest have an interesting offering. They were one of the the earliest companies to put maps on the Web. Initially focused on routing/directions, and traffic, they have broadened their offering to to include local search, marker and map overlays. In October they announce their Flash mobile API release. This is a big deal. More about Flash in a minute. But the MapQuest offering is in many ways made for mobile. Imagine being able to access routing and up to date traffic information while on the road. Look ahead and see accidents on your route and avoid them. Conduct local searches; find venues near you. Overlay KML and GeoRSS markers on the map to see points of interest (POI). Tonnes of possibilities.
Figure 2: MapQuest Enterprise Check-In and Data Collection App
Location Based Cross Platform Mobile Development
Objective C has become one of the most in demand programming languages. This relates to the popularity of Apple mobile devices. Most of the apps in the Apple App Store are written in Objective C. Successful mobile application development shops are filled with Objective C developers. But the game is changing. Android, and other mobile platforms are becoming increasingly more popular. Where does that leave your beautiful Objective C application? Only running on Apple products that’s where! You’ll need to rewrite it for Android, BlackBerry, Windows!
Now, thankfully there are cross platform solutions. Two of the most notable are Adobe AIR and PhoneGap. With AIR you can take your existing Flex or Flash apps and convert it to a mobile applications. Or build your AIR mobile app from scratch. But, most importantly, run the app on all mobile platforms. With PhoneGap take your Javascript application and do the same. That is one code base, which runs across mobile platforms. Simple.
Geo-Spatial Cross Platform Mobile Development
We have digressed slightly from our original topic. The future of mobile is very interesting, and filled with opportunities. Location will be at the core of many, if not most mobile applications. One day it might be pointless for companies such as us to target location based cross platform application development. But at the minute it seems to make tonnes of sense. Mobiles devices are computers with ever changing locations. Taking advantage of location to provide dynamic data – traffic ahead, what or who is near me, analysis by current location – has endless possibilities. Cross platform too. Who has the money or time to build multiple versions of the same application to run across each mobile platform? Build it once and deploy it to all would seem to be the future.
We might be wrong. But we are going to stay focused on cross platform location based mobile application solutions.
Tags: adobe AIR, Android, arcgis, IPad, location mobile applications, location software, mobile, mobile application developers, mobile location services, PhoneGap, Utah mobile application developers, Utah mobile software developers
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Friday, September 9th, 2011
Recently we’ve had considerable interest in mobile application development based around check-in and mobile data collection. Facility management companies, surveyors, multi-level marketing, insurance claims, pipeline companies, water utilities; all have field workers who would benefit from mobile applications. Not only checking in to work sites, but keeping a record of the work done; notes, pictures, video, even voice records. To help with our discussions with these potential clients, we put together a demo which pulls together much of this proposed functionality. We have included in this article both screen shots of the key functionality in the demo, plus a video of the actual application.
A key challenge of building the demo was finding a suitable mobile application tool set. Initially we discussed using a combination of SimpleGeo with a mapping API. But MapQuest came to the rescue with their new Flash mobile tool set. Not only do they provide routing and traffic data, but local search, and a range of other functionality all easily integrated with the map.
Mobile Worker Data Collection Application – Opening Screen
The opening screen in the application shows the base functionality. Each view or tool is listed as a selectable image. At any point a user can open the map to see their current location. This changes as the user moves. As we will discuss, the map is also utilised by other tools in the application.
Figure 1 – SmartPhone MapQuest Data Collection Application
Mobile Worker Data Collection Application – Directions Screen
Let’s imagine a potential scenario. A field worker starts each day by opening a mobile application such as the one we are describing here. They want to start by seeing the days calls and an optimised route to these calls, mapped out for them. In Figure 2 we show a single source and destination mapped. MapQuest also allow for multiple source-destinations to be entered and displayed. At any point in the day the user can open this tool and see on the map the location of their next call.
Figure 2 – SmartPhone MapQuest Directions View
Mobile Worker Data Collection Application – Check-In Screen
Next, the worker arrives at the first call and wishes to check-in. Figure 3 shows the check-in screen. There are two options shown. First a check-in by venue; so a field technician about to fix the air conditioning in a specific 7-11, for example. In the demo the user would type in the address, this could just as easily be a selection from a list of venues nearby. The second option is a check-in by current location or lat/long. Maybe a surveyor wishing to record, or check-in at a particular point. The check-in process would send name, id, location and time to the company server. A check-out would similarly record similar data centrally.
Figure 3 – SmartPhone MapQuest Check-In View
Mobile Worker Data Collection Application – Local Search Screen
At any point in the day a field worker might wish to do a local search. A search for venues, points of interest, maybe people within a certain distance of a location. The MapQuest api offers many possibilities for these types of searches. In Figure 4 and Figure 8, we show a simple venue search within a certain radius of either current location or from a specific address.
Figure 4 – SmartPhone MapQuest Search View
Mobile Worker Data Collection Application – GeoCoder Screen
A geocoder is a useful tool. In Figure 5 we show how users can type in an address, and use MapQuest to add a marker to the map of that location.
Figure 5 – SmartPhone MapQuest GeoCoder View
Mobile Worker Data Collection Application – Data Screen
Data collection is often an important part of a field workers job. Surveyors, service technicians, pipeline inspectors are all recording data while in the field. Mobile applications are perfect both for recording and storing location based data – notes, pictures, voice records, video. They are also ideal for reviewing historic data. Let’s imagine a pipeline inspectors who on August 1, 2011 inspected a section of pipeline. He records what he sees using this mobile application. A field engineer, using the same application, views this data and makes appropriate repairs. A second inspection done on September 1, 2011 again using the mobile application, to view images and notes made a month before and by the field engineer, shows the work was completed successfully. This is a very real work flow.
Figure 6 shows the applications data screen. The search option makes a request to the company server for past data records. The search could be done by date, location or any number of other criteria.
Figure 6 – SmartPhone MapQuest Data View 1
Figure 7 shows the summary data input view. So this is a summary of the data recorded by the field worker prior to storage. The camera on a mobile device can be used to attach photos or video to the work order. Mobile devices also have voice recorders. Notes can also be included in the data stored. The data itself can be attached to a check-out, or stored locally on the mobile device, maybe for later upload to a central company server.
Figure 7 – SmartPhone MapQuest Data View 2
Mobile Worker Data Collection Application Video
See the application being demo’d in this video.
Summary
MapQuest have an excellent new set of mobile tools. The application discussed in this article is based on input from potential client. Those who have seen the application have been excited by the possibilities. When clients can see live demos of mobile solutions it often elicits new thinking and ideas. As mobile application developers the ideas which come from these discussions and demos are why we love what we do.
WebMapSolutions are a Utah mobile application development company. Specializing in locations based services (LBS), GIS and mapping applications. For more information contact rory@webmapsolutions.com
Tags: check-in, data collection, field workers, Flash, insurance claims, MapQuest, mobile, mobile application development, pipeline companies, service technicians, smartphone, Surveyors, tablet, utah application development, water utilities
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Wednesday, August 24th, 2011
We continue to work with the new ESRI Flex 2.4 release in conjunction with Flash Builder 4.5.1 to build mobile apps. The attraction of Mobile Air is that one code base can be installed on multiple mobile platforms. That is potentially a big cost saving. To prove a point, we built an ArcGIS IPad app, first in Flex then ported it to mobile AIR. We have now taken that code base and installed it on an Android device, in this case the Samsung Infuse. Here is a video of the application:
Video of ArcGIS 2.4 running on an Android SmartPhone
The application is now available as a free install on any Android device in the Android Store see also this link:
https://market.android.com/details?id=air.SwizTest3&feature=search_result
If you do try it, we would be interested in your feedback. Contact rory@webmapsolutions.com
Tags: Adobe, AIR, Android, arcgis 2.4, Flash Builder, GIS, mobile, phone, smartphone
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