When it came right down to it, finding something in the days before GPS could be terribly inconvenient. Fortunately, those days are over.

Today, both in-car and portable GPS navigation systems save time and trouble. Portable units are especially popular in vehicles due to their relatively low cost (ranging from $100 to $400) and ever-increasing gaggle of features. If you’re thinking about buying one of these units, there are ten things to consider:

1 – The Screen. If you need a portable GPS unit that doubles as a personal unit you might use out on the trail, then you don’t want to go too big. While portable GPS unit screens keep getting bigger and bigger, most people can’t comfortably hold a GPS unit if the screen is much bigger than 4″. On the other hand, if you plan on keeping the GPS unit exclusively in your vehicle, go with whatever screen size you like.

Also, there’s a difference between screen size and screen resolution. Basically, screens with good resolution are easy to read. Screens with poor resolution? Not so much. Some low-end manufacturers offer really big screens, but the resolution on these screens is poor. Not all screens are the same, so ask to see a demo model or pay special attention to the screen specs before you buy online.

2 – The Mounting System. Second only to the size of the unit, mounting options and “where the power comes from” are the most important aspects of any portable GPS unit. For most portable GPS devices, the standard mounting option is a low-tech suction cup windshield mount. Most of the time, this will work well enough. However, if your vehicle’s windshield has a very steep rake (a high angle windshield typically found on sports cars), a suction cup might not be a good fit. If the suction cup doesn’t work, check out a bean bag or friction mounts.

As for power, almost all portable GPS units use some sort of cigarette lighter adapter. Look for one that uses a low-profile plug (bigger plugs only get in your way), and consider a rechargeable unit that doesn’t always have to be plugged in. If you don’t have to constantly plug-in your GPS unit, it’s going to be much easier for you to stow it away when your vehicle is parked.

Sometimes, specialty make and model websites, such as this one for Toyota Tundra owners, allows you to find specific mounts for your GPS device.

3 – Automated Traffic Updates. This is the most compelling featured of many portable GPS devices. This feature promises to steer you clear of traffic jams and, when it works, it’s great to have. However, the emphasis here is on “when.” These systems tend to work best in large cities (e.g. Dallas-Ft. Worth, Los Angeles, New York, etc.), so if you don’t live in a major metro area you may find that this feature does you little good. Considering that some of these systems require you to pay a monthly fee, don’t look at this as a major benefit if you live in a smaller city.

4 – Text To Speech. This is a safety feature that will likely become mandatory in the very near future. Distracted driving has proven to be very dangerous, and portable GPS manufacturers are beginning to offer “talking” GPS systems as a result. Some of the more expensive portable GPS units have a “voice pack” feature that allows you to download a unique accent or tone for your GPS.

For example, your GPS will give you directions using a voice similar to Darth Vader, Christopher Walken, Homer Simpson or Barbara Walters. While it might not be able to improve the sound of your car’s exhaust (maybe look at using some noises from this exhaust sound clips website!), it’s definitely helpful when you’ve got your eyes glued to the road.

Funny voices or not, this is a great feature to have. Don’t buy a portable GPS without it.

5 – Lane Guidance. It’s just like it sounds. When you get on the freeway, the GPS not only tells you what exit to take, but it helps you prepare for that exit by telling you which lane to be in. This is a HUGE benefit, but it’s not available on a lot of low-end models. If you can afford it, it’s great to have.

6 – Maps. A portable GPS unit is only as good as the included map data. Most people will be satisfied with the “standard” data in these GPS units, but if you live anywhere outside the continental U.S., you may have to buy some additional map data. Also, remember that map data needs to be updated regularly. While some GPS units come with automated updates, the standard practice is to charge consumers for new data every year or two. Make sure you know what this charge is going to be before you buy.

7 – Reality View. Instead of seeing a very geometric map schematic, units with “reality view” try to show you a cartoon-like depiction of the road. If you find the standard map view confusing, this may be a helpful feature.

8 – Bluetooth and Hands-Free Phone Features. Some portable GPS units have the ability to be connect to your cell phone, the benefit being that you can look-up addresses on your phone to “send” to your GPS unit, initiate or answer calls via your GPS voice activation system, etc. This could be a nice add-on, but keep in mind that using Bluetooth reduces the battery life of both your phone and your GPS.

9 – Voice Recognition. If you have this feature, when you talk to your GPS it will listen. While not completely foolproof, voice recognition technology is as good as it’s ever been. It’s not a required feature, but it might save you a lot of time keying in addresses.

10 – Theft. There are two kinds of theft to be concerned about.

1. People have been known to break into cars to steal GPS units. Obviously, you’ll want to make it as easy as possible to stow your GPS away when it’s not in use. This is why mounting and power are important considerations – if your GPS unit is hard to unplug and dismount to put away, it’s more likely to be stolen.
2. While this situation is very rare, it’s worth mentioning: because most portable GPS units have the ability to remember your home address, thieves have broken into a car with a GPS system and then asked the unit to guide the “home.” These thieves will then rob your car AND your home. Obviously, this is bad news. Learn more about preventing car burglary.

Finally, keep in mind that many smart phones offer a lot of the same features that are found in a portable GPS. You may very well have a perfectly acceptable GPS sitting in your purse or pocket right now.

You might not think that’s anything startling, you could get that using Google Maps but this is where the Telogis® GeoBase™ mapping API starts to really stand out, and why DEF (Diesel Exhaust Fluids) chose to use the Telogis GeoBase business mapping program to power their website’s powerful search feature.

Using the GeoBase API (download a free trial), DEF were able to build an advanced mapping tool that takes advantage of some of the superior features offered by GeoBase, including road restrictions.

For example, when planning your journey you can specify the dimensions and weight of your truck, even the cargo you are carrying, e.g. hazardous materials, as this will affect which roads you can use.

There are a huge number of options available to drivers to customize and plan their journey including:

• Cargo type
• Fastest or shortest route preferred
• Road crossings (or left-hand turns) discouraged or forbidden
• U-turns or toll roads are permitted
• Vehicle specifications including weight, axles, height and length of the truck

DEF incorporated GeoBase’s smart routing software with its own business mapping needs, pinpointing locations of DEF suppliers along the route being taken. It took a step further by allowing drivers customize which suppliers were displayed, filtering by truck access, store type or opening hours and DEF delivery options.

DEF supplier stores are listed with full details, and are linked from both the map and their main listing, providing great flexibility for the user as well as brilliant branding opportunities for suppliers.

Telogis GeoBase mapping program – Great for drivers and developers

The DEF website is a great example of how GeoBase can be used to build useful, engaging websites, proving that it’s more than just a tool for developers of asset management programs. Website developers can use GeoBase to create routing tools, business location systems and other GIS services to visitors, customers or staff alike.

When businesses realize that to survive they need to be easily found, there will be greater demand on web developers to build applications that make it easy for users to find relevant businesses and get directions to the door. This demand will only grow stronger as more internet users access the web via mobile devices, tapping in to ‘near me’ services that can be used in real-time.

Mapping software you can trust

Telogis products are built on years of experience in GIS services and telematics, setting themselves apart as leaders in the field, providing users with a leading-edge, premium product. Telogis only partner with the best data providers including NAVTEQ and Tele Atlas. While some map providers are being targeted for problems relating to use of customer data and privacy issues, Telogis offer secure, confidential data storage options.

So, if you’re a driver wanting to find an easy way to locate products or services nearby, then hopefully you can expect to see more of these helpful websites, like DEF, becoming available.

If you’re a developer looking for a fully-customizable mapping program, API or SDK then Telogis GeoBase can offer a professional solution to solve your client’s business mapping needs.

The next generation of emergency location is DASS (Distress Alerting Satellite System) and local government agencies and NASA are working together to make it fully operational within the next couple of years. The biggest change involves switching from low-Earth orbit satellites to the medium-Earth orbit GPS satellites. With the ongoing work done by the U.S. Air Force to keep GPS constellation as the ‘gold standard’ in navigation this is a huge advantage over the current system.

Nine GPS satellites are already equipped with the new technology, with 12 more planned. Teams are in the middle of testing the new technology, as well as working with international agencies such as Galileo and GLONASS to extend the reach of DASS from North America to Europe and Russia.

Why DASS is better

• Faster response – Primarily, DASS will allow SAR to respond a lot quicker to emergencies because it uses medium-Earth orbit (MEO) satellites instead of the current low-Earth (LEO) orbit satellites. DASS-equipped satellites will instantly transmit location details to a ground control station, from where SAR crews can be immediately notified and respond appropriately. They will use the GPS constellation of satellites giving a much better coverage.
• Works with all beacons - Another advantage is that it works with beacons that don’t have a built-in navigation receiver. Under the current system, for beacons to work effectively they need to have a navigation receiver that can convert the latitude and longitude information received from a satellite, encode and transmit that to ground control so SAR can respond quickly and accurately. With DASS, satellites relay this information directly to ground control stations, also known as MEOLUTs.
• Saves money – Rescue operations are extremely costly and every extra hour spent searching increases the costs significantly. DASS will provide faster, more accurate locating of distressed parties, saving vital SAR funds.
• Better coverage – Since emergency beacon signals will be picked up by satellites on the GPS constellation in medium-Earth orbit instead of the current low-Earth orbit, they are less likely to be blocked by difficult terrain.
• 2-way communication - DASS also introduces the ability for 1-way or two-way (non-vocal) communication, perhaps being used to confirm a distress alert has been received and an ETA for the rescue team, or to eliminate false alerts. It hasn’t been confirmed this feature will be part of DASS or not.
• Less risk to rescuers – Because authorities can respond with more certainty and accuracy, it reduces the risk to rescuers.

Better your odds right now

Don’t panic. Emergency beacons still work and they can still find you – DASS will just speed things up.

In the meantime, do yourself a favor and register your beacon. This can be helpful if for example your beacon is mistakenly activated allowing SAR to contact you to determine if it is a false alert. It can also help them locate you faster in a real emergency.

Until DASS is operational, do what you can to take the best care of your personal safety, make sure your GPS systems are working correctly, your emergency locator beacon is registered and you have an escape plan. It all helps you to stay safe, no matter where you are!

Is the current emergency system too slow?

You probably don’t want to be reading this if you are on a sinking ship or lost in the woods but current emergency beacons can take up to an hour before search and rescue is alerted to your crisis and provided with your location details.

Hopefully your situation is not so life threatening that you can’t comfortably wait an hour before being rescued. However, there are times where minutes can mean the difference between life and death. Here are a few scenarios* where you want to be rescued in a hurry:

• You’re in the middle of a forest fire and left your flame-retardant suit at home
• The boat you’re on is sinking fast into shark-infested waters
• You’re stuck in downtown LA and about to miss the final episode of Lost
• You’re stranded in a cave with your booty and the tide’s rising quickly
• You’re underwater breathing through a reed with Amazon killer bees circling above you and the piranhas are almost finished with the cow next to you
• You’re trapped in an elevator with Jay Leno
• A bear with a chainsaw is chasing you through the woods, and Sarah Palin is nowhere to be seen
• You’re hog-tied in the boot and Thelma and Louise are driving you around the cliffs
• You’re on a bridge on Harper’s Island with Wakefield and Henry on either side

*Scenarios not based on actual experiences

When you need help in a hurry, you want your emergency locator beacon to notify SAR (Search and Rescue) quickly and give them your exact coordinates. So why is the current system, which is credited with saving more than 27,000 lives over the last 30 years, not good enough and what are rescue services doing about it?

So what’s wrong with the current rescue system?

The current system used is known as the COSPAS-SARSAT system.

The COSPAS-SARSAT system detects signals from emergency beacons, when activated, which transmit a signal on the 406 Mhz channel (or 121.5 Mhz, however these older, less reliable ELTs are being phased out). The signal is picked up by a low-Earth orbit NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) satellite, however, and this is one of the problems with the current system, it may not be in the right position to detect the signal as soon as the beacon is activated. This is because the satellites only make 14 orbits a day leaving gaps in their coverage.

Also, if a beacon doesn’t have a built-in navigation receiver, the NOAA satellite won’t be able to locate it since the beacon can’t encode and transmit its position.

Additionally, these low-Earth orbit satellites may also be blocked from detecting a signal when it’s transmitted in difficult terrain.

What’s the answer?

What are rescue services doing to improve the current COSPAS-SARSAT system to make it more reliable and more responsive? In next week’s post we discuss in detail the next generation of emergency rescue services, utilizing the most up-to-date GPS technology. Subscribe to our feed to make sure you don’t miss it!

When faced with the job of purchasing a GPS system, most people would turn to Google. But what starts as a simple Google search to find the right GPS system can quickly become a nightmarish exercise in wading through pages of detail, reviews, product specifications and technical jargon.

How can you simplify the process of finding the right GPS system?

Here are 5 simple steps to finding the right device.

1 – Write down your requirements

Before you go anywhere near the internet, first sit down and list what your needs are. Is it for a fleet of vehicles? Then maybe fleet management software is the best option. What are the major benefits you want from a GPS unit – efficient driving around town, driving interstate or knowing where your nearest Starbucks is? Is screen size important? Do you only need turn-by-turn directions or are you after advanced features such as vehicle tracking, real-time alerts, which are common requests for parents of teenage children who use the family car? Will you be using it for your work, perhaps with multiple stops throughout the day? Then maybe a work order management tool like Telogis® Mobile™ is a more productive option.

Another thing to consider is usability. Because GPS devices are often used whilst driving, they need to be extremely intuitive and easy to use. It might actually be a good idea to sacrifice unnecessary features in favor of a device that is less frustrating to use. Check a popular GPS review site for feedback from existing users to learn more about a device’s usability.

2 – Know your price range

What you can spend on GPS devices can vary wildly, not only between retailers but also brands. However don’t fall into the trap of buying on purchase price only, for two important reasons. Firstly, a one-off purchase price may only be the tip of the iceberg. Your GPS device may require you to purchase map downloads or updates, or there may be monthly charges for connected devices that offer advanced features such as kid tracking or breakdown alerts. Secondly, GPS devices should be viewed as an investment, a tool that can actually save you money, helping you drive more economically. In fact, fleet managers can use ROI calculators to work out to a relatively accurate degree, how much they can actually save by purchasing GPS fleet tracking.

3 – Find the best price

One way you can use the internet to your advantage when shopping for a GPS device is by making sure you get the best deal. Several websites offer price comparison services on different types of GPS units, with other sites, like Comet, offering online shoppers voucher discounts on a huge range of products.

4 – Ask questions

If you can speak to a salesperson about the product, make sure you take the time to double-check that the device matches your list of requirements. Sometimes your own internet research may have relied on faulty information, or you’ve failed to overlook something important, like if the device can be used in your part of the world. Most countries have consumer laws that require if you specify a particular requirement and it turns out the device is not fit for that need, then you are entitled to return the device.

5 – Get to know your device

After you’ve purchased your GPS device, take the time to read the manual and learn the best way to operate it, and how to take advantage of any special features it has. Unfortunately many users don’t do this, complaining about missing features that unbeknown to them actually did exist in the product! Be prepared to adapt your driving habits, perhaps taking the time to set your GPS device before taking off on a journey rather than trying to configure it while driving. Find out if the manufacturer has a user’s forum where you can learn from others and share your experiences, including discovering hints and tips on getting the most from your new GPS system.

Buying a GPS device can initially appear overwhelming, and even complicated, but by following these five simple steps you can make sure you get the right device at the right price.

Map layers - Bringing maps into the 21st century

For people who think a GPS device is really just an on-screen map, then they may not know about map layers, the secret to making GPS systems highly functional and useful to a huge range of industries and professions.

When you think of a paper map, you imagine a two-dimensional map that offers basic road or topographic information. A paper map is static, never changing and can quickly become outdated, not to mention difficult to fold.

In contrast, a GPS device uses electronic maps as the basis for its location services. Electronic maps are regularly updated and delivered to a user via a website (e.g. Google Maps) or a mobile device (e.g. TomTom, Garmin etc.). Electronic maps are flexible, allowing users to zoom in or out to automatically change the scale and detail of the map. Because they are delivered electronically, they are portable, convenient and can be used in a huge variety of different ways – both for work and play.

Map Tiles – The foundation data for GPS systems

The electronic map data is generally provided by a third-party supplier such as NAVTEQ or Tele Atlas. These companies collect, store and deliver map data to other businesses such as Telogis. Telogis then bundle this with their geospatial mapping engine, Telogis GeoBase.

Of course, for someone using a mapping application over the internet it would be impractical to deliver the entire map as a single file, in much the same way that having a map of the entire world in your car would help you find a street in a nearby neighborhood. For a paper map you will generally have a map that covers a smaller area, large enough for you to see and use but small enough so it can be carried around or stored in your car door pocket or glove box. Similarly, electronic maps are delivered in pieces, otherwise known as tiles.

The map tiles that are delivered, let’s say for someone using it over the internet, are supplied on an ‘as needed’ basis to make sure loading times are as short as possible. If the route you are taking extending beyond the current tile you are viewing, the next, adjacent map tile will be loaded. The process of tile loading is as seamless as possible, with images loading in the background, to ensure you as the user, barely notice it’s happening.

In some instances, all the map data may be delivered in one go rather than being sent as map tiles. Telogis GeoBase users are provided with the whole map file whereas an online application such as Telogis Fleet, uses the GeoStream feature of GeoBase, which streams the map data as tiles to the end user to the improve the speed and usability of the software.

Map Layers – Custom map data is the key to useful GPS systems

An electronic map that provides the same information as a basic paper map doesn’t offer a lot of additional value to the user. Fortunately for us, electronic maps take cartography to the next level and offer levels of customization that make it a vital tool in business today.

And it’s all achieved with map layers.

Map layers are essentially custom map elements that are superimposed over the top of an existing topographical map. Sure superimposed map data isn’t new; John Snow was doing it in the 19th century to trace the source of a Cholera outbreak but the way it is being used in the current electronic age is making map layers an indispensable part of location-based technology.

There is no limit to the different types of map layers available, and some map layers are very specific to a particular industry. For example, a logging company may have maps covering their forests and superimpose over it a map layer showing all the private forestry tracks so they can navigate their vehicles in the area. Or a fire department may overlay a map layer detailing the location of all the fire hydrants in the town they service. Custom map data is also referred to as a geographic information system or GIS.

Map layers designed specifically for mobile workers may include information not usually found on a traditional paper map. Telogis GeoBase, which uses supplied map data, includes some built-in map layers to make sure that any applications built using it are functional, rich and engaging.

• Traffic data – Real-time, streamed traffic data can help drivers (or route planning software) to make intelligent decisions on the fastest route to take.
• Speed limits – Since posted speed limits vary depending on where a driver is, live map data using GPS location technology can keep whoever is behind the wheel informed on the current speed limit.
• Road restrictions – Different roads may restrict certain types of vehicles or different driving maneuvers such as left-hand turns. A road restrictions map layer can help a driver know which routes they can and can’t take.
• POI (Points of Interest) – POIs will differ depending on the driver as what might be of interest to one person (truck weigh station) may not interest another. POIs on a map can allow a driver to route directly to a destination even when they don’t know the address (e.g. take me to the nearest bank ATM).

As map technology grows and expands in the varied and detailed information it can provide users, you can expect that very soon, customized map layers will be an indispensable part of your day, either at work or at play.

Could a Taxibus system revolutionize public transport?

Technology is a powerful force in the world today, and like any power can be used for good or evil. A group of aspiring students, known as Team Phoenix, played their part in helping save the world using technology by developing a Taxibus system to promote more efficient and convenient city commuting.

Conveniently it was all part of the Imagine Cup held in France in 2008, promoted by Microsoft as an opportunity for young programmers to showcase ways technology can be used to help build sustainable environments.

The tag line on their homepage, “Imagine a world where technology enables a sustainable environment”, was testament to their keen desire to use the power of advancing GPS technology to promote environmental goals and the Imagine Cup provided the ideal vehicle (pun intended) to reach this objective.

Taxibus – Public transport for the 21st century

The Taxibus system was created to combine the environmental-friendliness of a bus with the convenience of a car. The car is dynamically routed to collect passengers in the most efficient way, based on their destination and current location.
The only GIS product that could visually simulate the dynamic routing that the Taxibus system needed, and do it in a “straightforward manner”, was Telogis GeoBase. GeoBase is a GIS mapping engine from Telogis, a software company that specializes in location intelligence.

Telogis GeoBase and Green Fleets – A perfect combination

Telogis GeoBase, as a route planning tool, is the perfect solution to minimizing miles covered, and thus promoting green fleets. The Taxibus idea was built on the concept of moving more people more efficiently and smart routing that could recalculate on the fly was pivotal to its success.

Green fleeting, or eco-trucking, is gaining popularity with smart, environmentally-conscious companies who realize their vehicle fleets are a large contributor to the growing problem of carbon emissions, and thus global warming. With growing public pressure and a need to reduce the dependence on finite fossil fuels, fleets are looking to technology to minimize the size of their carbon footprint.

Even fleets that drag their feet reluctantly are being pleasantly surprised when they discover that reducing their carbon footprint is being rewarded with another kind of green – real dollar savings. In fact, Telogis have found that, in most cases, users of their fleet management software, recover the cost of upgrading and optimizing their fleet within about 90 – 120 days.

Spreading the green message

There is no question that awareness of environmental issues is growing and is becoming a greater factor in decisions made by both individuals and corporate. Awareness is vital to promote change simply because, while many are keen to help save the planet, they don’t always know practical, workable ways to do that.

Campaigns to educate the wider public on green issues come in many forms, including a creative effort by Team Phoenix to advertise the ecological (and other!) benefits of a routing system like Taxibus. These campaigns are becoming the catalyst for change, and more corporate, non-profit organizations and government departments are realizing the need to operate in a way that is more sustainable, both economically and environmentally. In fact, awards are now given to government agencies around North America that are taking action to improve their efficiency.

Is it time to green your fleet?

If you’re a fleet owner, obviously you want to be running efficiently, but now you might be thinking that you should be considering ways you can help save the planet. Actually, the two goals are not mutually exclusive – you can do both. Telogis show clearly how using an effective fleet management solution can help you to become the next green fleet and save you green in the process.

GIS data mapping uses a GIS to create maps showing unique, customized information in a separate layer that sits on top (overlaid) of the original map.

Combined with GPS, a GIS can also become an LBS (Location-Based Service), which can make planning and routing much easier. For example, fire fighters may want to know the exact location of all the fire hydrants in the area, a trucking fleet may need to pinpoint all gas stations on a route that accept a specific type of fuel card, or even parents may want to track their child’s movements, something that has helped many an anxious parent rest easy!

How does GIS mapping work?

It might sound magical but there’s no mystery to how it works. Essentially it is spatial data displayed on a map. For example, a GIS could hold information on the location details (latitude and longitude) of all the fire hydrants in a particular location, stored in a database. This database may also include other, non-spatial data such as the pumping capacity or distance from the curb.

A GIS software program, such as GeoBase, allows a user to collect, store, edit and display this data in a format that is useful, for example a dispatch operator sending fire engines and advising personnel on the nearest hydrant.

Taking GIS a step further

Obviously creating a GIS without having a purpose for the data collected would be pointless. How can the GIS data collected solve real-life problems?

Telogis are an example of a company that uses a GIS program, in this case GeoBase, to solve the problems that fleet managers face on a daily basis – where are my fleet vehicles, when will they reach their delivery points, what vehicles will need servicing soon and are my vehicles taking the most optimized routes? Using the GIS data processed by GeoBase, Telogis Fleet can plot the movement of fleet vehicles on a web-based dashboard, giving fleet managers comprehensive insight into their fleet’s movements.

But it’s not just limited to standard mapping and navigation.

In what is a first for the fleet management software industry, Telogis Mobile users can import custom GIS vector data and layer it on to their mapping and route planning software. Now fleet managers can use their unique GIS data in a way never before used – routing to specific, customized GIS data points on a map.

This means routing no longer needs to be tied to globally-recognized points, roads or landmarks – you can route to something that is very specific and unique to your business.

Using the example above, the fire engine could automatically be guided to the hydrant using turn-by-turn GPS navigation, or a utility company could be easily directed to a specific power pole on the network. GIS map data can easily be created using GIS software, such as GeoBase, and fed into Telogis Mobile.

An example of creating GIS map data was a group of students in Bastrop, Texas, who, in 2008, mapped out the city’s fire hydrants using handheld GIS devices, information that was useful to fire departments, water departments, realtors, insurance companies, construction crews and county departments.

A GIS can sound technical but in reality GIS software and location-based services, such as Telogis Mobile, are making it a lot more accessible for businesses, governments and environmental agencies to easily use it to make better, more informed decisions and respond more quickly when there’s no time to waste.

GIS, which stands for Geographic Information System, is a huge topic, difficult to restrict to a simple or concise definition. It covers everything from a simple GPS handheld device that gives you your current location to tracking the growth of the Gobi desert. It is the science of translating geographical information into a format that can used to make informed decisions on anything from where to locate a new supermarket to finding the nearest gas station and everything in between.

The one thing that binds all these different things together is that they are related to geography, or location. Both spatial and non-spatial data (see the box Spatial vs Non-spatial) can be stored for analysis purposes to help us make sense of the world around us.

A GIS is made up of several parts including:

• Personnel – Staff trained in collecting and processing GIS data.
• Data – Data collected for the purpose of building a GIS system. Most of the work in creating a GIS is in collecting accurate data.
• Software – Software applications designed to help with the collection, recording, storage and retrieval. A popular GIS software application is GeoBase, which allows companies to develop customized mapping solutions.
• Hardware – This can include dedicated web servers for running web-based GIS applications (such as Google Maps) to handheld GIS data collection devices.

There are many different uses of a GIS and they are used by businesses, government departments, non-profit groups and even individuals to interpret and analyze geographical information.

Here’s an example to illustrate, in a basic way, how you might use a GIS. Say you wanted to setup an ice cream parlor in L.A. but you weren’t sure of the best location. Knowing that most of your customers will be young children with a sweet tooth, you use a mapping tool to show a map of the city overlaid with age data of the people living in different areas, using publicly available census information.

You can see from the illustration above that, as you would expect, there is a younger population close to available schools. If the GIS included attribute information on the type of school, you might be able to narrow it down to elementary schools targeting the children under 12. Based on this information, you choose a location for your ice cream parlor where there is the heaviest density of young people under 12, thus increasing your likelihood of making more sales. You’ve also just used a GIS to solve a real-world information need.

The great thing about a GIS is that they can be custom built to suit the individual’s needs, so there’s no limit to how it can be used in the real world. Its uses are as varied as the different companies, groups or individuals that use it. Anything from environmental analysis to crime mapping, urban planning and transport logistics can all use a GIS to solve real-world problems.

While GIS has no special problem-solving properties in itself, it provides a very helpful platform to empower decision-makers to more accurately analyze the real-world, and hopefully make better choices.

As mentioned at the outset of this article, it is very difficult to offer a definitive, all encompassing explanation of what GIS is, so hopefully this has at least given you a broad overview that goes someway to explaining the term. To help explain it further, we’ll consider a real-life use of a GIS in our next post.

In times past if you wanted to know your exact location or get navigation assistance you needed a dedicated GPS device, like a Garmin or a TomTom. These days most cell phones have GPS receivers built-in, particularly those manufactured since February 2005.

In 2005, the FCC required that, for the purpose of locating cell phone callers in an emergency, when a cell phone user rang 911 it should automatically transmit information on the caller’s location to the PSAP (Public Safety Answering Point). Cell phone manufacturers responded to the new requirements (known as E911) by building phones with GPS receivers built-in that could provide location information, pinpointing a caller’s position to within 6 meters.

When a caller dials 911, the GPS-enabled cell phone sends the latitude and longitude information it has received from the GPS network to their cell phone company using their cell phone network. The cell phone company releases that information to the PSAP receiving the call, so they can pinpoint the caller’s location. This is particularly useful if the person is unable to communicate their address or doesn’t know where they are.

Can I use my GPS cell phone to get turn-by-turn directions?

Just because your cell phone has GPS it doesn’t mean that it can necessarily be used as a navigation device. As an aside your cell phone may also have GPRS; don’t confuse this with GPS as the two systems are quite different (see the box ‘GPS or GPRS – What’s the difference?’).

For your cell phone to use the information received from GPS satellites it needs software that can understand the information it receives from a GPS satellite.

GeoBase is an example of a software application (or geospatial mapping engine) that can translate GPS satellite data, converting latitude and longitude information into a point on a map. Many software makers, such as Telogis, develop fleet management software programs using GeoBase to convert information from GPS satellites into usable navigation information.

More and more phones, such as the iPhone or the Sony Ericsson Satio, are coming out with GPS-enabled applications that provide turn-by-turn navigation, linking directly to sites such as Google Maps. In addition to getting directions, there are many other location-based applications that can provide you with information on nearby points of interest or communicate your current location to another person, such as an employer or parent.

Does a cell phone with GPS invade my privacy?

With it now being compulsory for all cell phone manufacturers to build phones with a built-in GPS receiver some have voiced concerns about this information being misused for government departments to track civilians. Are these concerns warranted?

The FCC addressed privacy issues when it introduced the new requirements by explicitly requiring that cell phone GPS only be used for E911 emergency calls only. For any other situations, consent would be needed from the cell phone owner or a court order obtained.

Cell phone GPS tracking has been denied by the courts in several cases presented by law enforcement agencies wanting to track suspects. If there is no actual evidence of criminal activity, then courts have not permitted cell phone companies to release any GPS tracking information.