Mobile Map Viewing has Evolved
By Tom DeWitte and Tom Coolidge
The hands-on work of constructing, maintaining, and operating utility networks happens away from the office in the field. That’s why so much GIS development effort is focused on assuring workers have reliable access to the GIS capabilities they need wherever they are in their utility’s service territory.
Technology is key to ever-improving mobile GIS capabilities, and fortunately technology is a never tiring march into the future. Consistently this march has helped to make our lives better. Some of us have seen the idea of the TV remote evolve from our dad’s telling us “hey Tom change the TV channel to 4”. Then we got off the couch, walked to the TV and turned a dial to change the channel to 4. Over time this evolved to TV remote control devices with lots of buttons that most people did not fully understand how to fully use but allowed us to stay on the couch and change the channel to 4. Today, the remote has few buttons, and we can talk to it and say, “I want to watch channel 4.” And the TV “magically” changes to channel 4.
There is a pattern to how technology evolves to solve a problem. The initial solution often is a little complicated. Then successive evolutions of that solution become increasingly intuitive and easy to use. That pattern is evident at utilities across the world. Paper forms were initially replaced with digital forms that looked like the paper form. Those forms are now being replaced with smart forms that are more intuitive, easier to use and quicker to complete. Viewing a map in the field has similarly evolved from a static paper document to an interactive map in an application with lots of buttons, to today’s smart device mobile maps.
Available on Smart Devices
This new generation of mobile map viewers runs on Apple, Android, and Microsoft smart devices (phones, tablets, and laptops). These mobile map viewers, such as ArcGIS Field Maps, follow the design pattern best practices of the device operating system. This means they have very few buttons and use the iconography of the operating system. If you already know how to use the email and text messaging applications on the device, you have completed the first portion of your training.
Location Aware
For well over 100 years, utility workers would look at a paper map and the first question they would ask is: where am I located on this map? Later, they would look at a mobile map on a first-generation mobile application which was likely running on a non-location aware device and ask the same question. None of the many buttons on that legacy application could help them.
Now, with location aware smart devices, the answer is shown automatically. A blue dot displays your location on the screen and the map is automatically centered to your location. You do not even have time to ask the question.
Ever been caught in the middle of a field or subdivision wondering which direction is the utility asset you are looking for? When using a location aware device with a mobile map application, the application will point you in the correct direction.
Real-Time Collaboration
Today’s mobile devices enable real-time collaboration with other mobile devices. This comes in handy when you are using text messaging to arrange dinner plans with the entire family while finishing up a day at work.
In the utility space similar real-time collaboration scenarios exist, such as an outage event. In an outage event the status of the customer’s connection is changing in real time as other utility workers are repairing parts of the pipe or wire network. The benefits of this are obvious for worker safety and productivity. What may not be as obvious is that most legacy mobile map applications only worked offline and were unable to communicate in real-time. ArcGIS Field Maps recently enhanced its capabilities so that when the device is connected to the network a simple tap on the screen will open the connected version of the map enabling real-time communication. Workers in the field now have the same map, whether offline or online.
High Quality Basemaps
In the paper map world, you got one basemap. It was a simple basemap that if you were lucky included curb lines, parcel lot lines and some street names. In the first generation of mobile maps this single basemap was duplicated. Workers in the field had the same content, but with the ability to pan and zoom across multiple map sheets.
In the smart device generation of mobile applications, these basemaps offer a seamless map for the entire planet. Instead of one basemap, you can now have over a dozen basemaps at your disposal when connected to the network. This includes imagery and cartographic maps with color schemes optimized for a variety of situations. These basemaps now include building footprints, and in some locations even sidewalks and trees.
Easy to Use
If the marketing department were asked to come up with a slogan for a typical first-generation mobile map, it might be: We have a button for that. The header of the application was full of dozens of buttons.
Today’s smart device mobile map viewers, such as ArcGIS Field Maps use context driven logic to simplify the application to a few buttons. In context driven logic applications a specific capability is not exposed until the user selects a feature which can use it.
An example of this is the compass tool. It does not display until the user selects a feature such as a valve or regulator station to which that user wishes to be directed.
Easy to Find
First-generation mobile maps would provide a dropdown menu of predefined searches for the field user to select from. This worked if the field user never needed to ask a question that the administrator did not anticipate when initially setting up the mobile application.
Today’s smart device mobile map viewers use single line searches, like the ones we use every day in our personal lives when searching and shopping on the internet. In these modern applications the field user only needs to enter the address, assetID, or station name.
Simply type in the name, address, or AssetID and the search engine returns all items which match. Select the desired search return item from the list and the map zooms to the location of the result.
Aware of Surroundings
The ability to leverage location also includes the ability to proactively warn utility field workers when they are approaching a known safety hazard. Common hazards that utilities track include dangerous animals and violent customers. When this capability is used on a smart device, ArcGIS Field Maps will connect to the devices notification system and issue notification alerts of the approaching hazard.
The March of Technology Continues
This pattern of technology evolution continues to simplify and improve the safety and efficiency of utility field workers. Smart device mobile map viewers are the latest generation. But they will eventually be replaced by the next generation which will likely be 3D enabled and use augmented reality. And in time that generation of mobile map viewers will be replaced by an even more advanced and easy to use generation of mobile map viewers. The march of technology continues.
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