New Inrix Traffic 4 - helps drivers avoid traffic congestion for free

When you live in US (and recently Europe;) and you check your morning traffic info you don't really think about where is this data coming from... Well there is big chance that it's coming from Inrix that is the leading-provider of traffic information, directions and driver services all over the world. The company that is usually behind the scenes of the biggest players including huge number of the hottest automotive brands  is now coming out. 

The company collects and analyzes traffic data points from nearly 100 million sources, and now it's putting that information to work with Inrix Traffic 4 for iOS. In addition to helping users avoid congestion brought on by road work, police activity, local events and traffic accidents, the app now provides drivers with optimal routes. 

This surely not the best navi app ever but it's for free and with the best traffic information available on the market, so it's definitely worth trying. 

source: Engaget, Inrixtraffic

Location, Location, Location - Infographic

Location, location, location - this is the most known marketing phrase ever, but it's as well the most true marketing phrase ever! Now in the era of location-aware devices and networks, where people, emotions and content is spatially identifiable it is even more true. Kissmetrics created nice infographic summarizing how one can use location for marketing purposes broadly describing it as geo-marketing. 

Well... I would argue if it's a correct definition of geo-marketing that is historically linked to advanced spatial analysis with GIS tools but lets forget about science and enjoy this cool infographic.

CLICK ON THE PIC TO SEE FULL INFOGRAPHIC

source: Kissmetrics

NY Mayor Bloomberg announces Made in New York Digital Map to showcase tech jobs

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg is often coming up with different ways to compete with west cost in terms of start-up engaging projects. This time the Mayor has introduced a new way for New Yorkers and others who plan on making the move to find jobs in the technology sector. The project is called 'Made in New York Digital Map', and it's an online map that shows off the city’s tech startups and job opportunities.

We can read on the project web site: 'The Made in NY Digital Map is a visual testament to the vibrant state of New York's digital industry - showing a powerful constellation of over 500 homegrown startups, investors and coworking spaces across the five boroughs. Browse by neighborhood, review job postings, or add your own startup to the digital landscape - the Made in NY Map is a living resource that reflects New York City's dynamic innovation ecosystem.'

The map shows the number of companies hiring (right now there are over 300 companies hiring), and invites more tech companies to submit themselves as well. It is nothing super innovative but it's great that Bloomberg is trying to attract tech savy talents to The Big Apple.

source: engaget, Made in NY Digital Map

Apple's mapping puzzles

What will Apple do with its $97.6bn reserves? Maybe they're own mapping solution... From couple of years Apple started collecting
pieces of a perfect mapping puzzle. 

First piece

First in mid 2009 Cupertino quietly acquired Placebase - Maps API company. Then, founder and CEO of Placebase, Jaron Waldman, started working at Apple on a new “Geo Team”, presumably helping to integrate Placebase mapping technologies into future Apple products. At the time, there was a growing rift between Apple and Google due to Android, resulting in then-CEO Eric Schmidt resigning from Apple's board. It was believed at the time that PlaceBase might serve as some substitute for Google mapping data used in iOS's Maps app. Well... it didn't but Placebase Geo Team worked on something new and in August 2011 they've filed a patent of so called 'schematic maps' which is a technology of smart generalization of map data. 

Second piece

A year later, Apple acquired another mapping company - Poly9, a Canadian start-up that specialized in connecting mapping data with other data sources to create unique map-based visualizations. Poly9 was mostly known from it's Poly9 Globe project which was JavaScript-based 3D globe similar to Google Earth but available on web browsers. Media immediately started to speculate about Apple Earth of Google Earth killer but we didn't heard nothing about Poly9 from that time.

Third piece

In October 2011 Apple has acquired a third mapping company C3 Technologies - which specializes in spectacular 3D mapping based on SAAB's military technology - you can read more about it >>here<<. In generally it gives different experience than Google Earth because it's all generated from photorealistic aircraft images and it gives Cupertino data and technology to create something truly mind-blowing (at least from Apple worshipers perspective). This was as well a sign to Nokia and Windows Phone as the Finnish giant is using C3 maps in they're 3D web maps. 

Where is it all going?

How and when Apple will put this technology into iOS users' hands is still a mystery. But it's clear that Apple intends to put the pieces of technology it has acquired so far together to do for mapping what it has done for voice control with Siri. Meanwhile despite all rumors, iOS 5 launched in October 2011 is still be default equipped with Google's mapping service and Apple had recently extended its agreement with Google.

source: Ars Technica, Mashable, 9to5mac, iMore

To pay or not to pay - Google Maps dilemma

Back in 2010 when we were playing with friends doing some mapping mash-ups, I've asked one of them "Why are you using Open Street Maps when you have Google Maps for free?", and he said "What if one day Google starts charging for its Maps...", I thought - impossible... until October 2011 when Google announced that starting from January 2012 they will start charging for usage of they're mapping service. 

How much?

Sites were offered Google Maps Premium - a paid for service starting from $10,000 a year, which also offers branded maps and custom uses of Google Maps. If they opt not to pay for this, fees are $4 per 1,000 page loads over the 25,000 per day - or  $10 per Street View load over the 10,000 per day.

'Google Maps will remain free for most users. Only the top 0.35% of sites will be affected by the new pricing structure if they continue to exceed the usage limit of 25,000 map loads per day' said Google spokesman Sean Carlson. But James Fee Chief Evangelist for WeoGeo don't agree with that: “Google says it will affect a very small number of users, but I have heard it will touch 30 or 40 percent of people who really depend on maps for their business. It could cost you tens of thousands of dollars a month.” 

Who will gain on this change?

Since this announcement starting from the beginning of 2012 many services ditched Google Maps for other products. This can in fact be good for other mapping solutions providers. According to comScore, Google Maps had 65 million users in February 2012, a 16 percent increase from the year before. MapQuest had 35 million hits, a 13 percent decrease. Microsoft’s Bing Maps came in third with 9 million users, an 18 percent increase. OpenStreetMaps didn't generate much web traffic, but it seems that it's going to change soon.

Time to say goodbye! 

Starting from February 2012 Foursquare said to give up Google Maps and switched to OpenStreetMap. Apple’s iOS version of iPhoto also gave up Google Maps, turned to the OpenStreetMap. In March Wikipedia has dropped Google Maps for OpenStreetMaps as well. The pricing was "significantly higher than I think anyone anticipated," said Russell Cook founder and CEO of AllTrails - a big social network for outdoors enthusiasts, that partnered with National Geographic Maps and started moving away from Google. In March TripAdvisor quietly switched from Google Maps to Bing Maps, that also charges for using it's API but probably it managed to undercut Google by a sufficient margin to make it worth changing.

Give a thing, and take a thing, to wear the Devil's gold ring.

"Deep down I think the developer community knew that at some point the Google APIs they were using would stop being free," Russell Cook said, "but I don't think they ever expected the price gouging. My personal opinion is that Google has every right to charge for the services they are providing, but their recent actions have been very short sighted". In fact Google was one of few mapping services that offered usage if their data for free. It's not the only service Google charges for - using Google's office services at a corporate level is already a paid-for service - but it's among the first times the site has offered something for nothing then gone back.

The Google Maps API product manager, Thor Mitchell, commented on the change: "We understand that the introduction of these limits may be concerning," he stated. "However, with continued growth in adoption of the Maps API, we need to secure its long-term future by ensuring that even when used by the highest volume for-profit sites, the service remains viable."

Conclusions

In fact for most of us it doesn't change much. For regular users Google Maps will be for free. Now Google has a difficult task to inspire a new class of Maps apps whose businesses aren't dependent on free data, that might be beneficial for the end-user. Meanwhile the competition on the market will surely work for the favor of all of us... and especially for OpenStreetMaps, whose  founder - Steve Coast has recently landed a job at Microsoft, that is already supporting the OSM project with map data and other resources.


sources:
ReadWriteWeb, TechSpot,

!Waytag - different concept of location

What else can be done with location? There are hundreds of GPS navigation brands and location-based services that are adding value to users based on their geographic position. According to web and mobile standards when we want to find a particular location we need to type in address or geographic coordinates, which might be very inconvenient on the small screen of a mobile device.

!Waytag? What is it all about?

South African start-up !Waytag come across this problem and proposed a simple solution similar to web domain concept. The coordinates of world wide web are IP addresses but in order to do it more user friendly industry introduced domain names, so for that you don't need to type into your browser for example 173.194.67.147 but www.google.com. !Waytag applies the same concept to geo-location position assigning a user a chosen, unique ‘Waytag’ to a specific coordinates or address creating a permanent location identifier that moves with an end-users wherever they are. The user creates it, names it, updates it, manages it, can delete it and chooses who to share their !waytag with. The idea is that the user is always in complete control of the information associated with their !waytag. Take a look at this video to get a better picture of what !Waytag is:

Good concept but how to use it?

The idea is that your !waytag moves wherever you go. So when you order a pizza you don't need to give your current address, you just give your updated !waytag and it's gonna be delivered right where you are. Possibilities especially for e-commerce seems to be endless but will anybody use it? Apparently yes! Over two years the number of !waytags exceeded 17,5 million in 100 countries. It seems that they've as well found a way to monetize their idea as just 3 weeks ago they've signed a four year agreement with TomTom, to use their map data, POIs and geocoding in 205 countries. 

"The location-based service industry is exploding with innovative new applications like Waytag," said Nuno Campos, Vice President of Sales and Marketing for TomTom Licensing. "TomTom is excited to partner with a location-based services pioneer making it much easier for consumers to share and enjoy services based on their location information."

Bright future?

Most of us may not have ever considered questioning the usability and efficiency of street addresses or geographic coordinates. !Waytag might change it. To do it they obviously need scale and partners. TomTom  makes them one step closer to the goal but what !Waytag really needs is working API (coming soon) so that their product could be implemented in wide variety of LBS solutions. In my opinion the company, that currently has a staff of six and is funded by the initial shareholders and a few business angels, has no profitable business model and is waiting to be acquired by one of industry leaders like Instagram 2 weeks ago. Nonetheless the idea has a really big potential to became the industry standard. 

source:

GPSbusinessnews, Memeburn, TomTom

The Location Business Summit Europe, Amsterdam - May 2012

I'm glad to say that Geo-awesomeness blog became a media partner of The Location Business Summit Europe 2012. It's the must attend conference for the location and mobile marketing industry in Europe! 


It is a fact that many companies are struggling to monetize their Location-Based Services and this might be the answer to many problems due to exchange of knowledge and networking with top Mobile/Geo/LBS professionals. 

Speakers from companies including Google, Starbucks, Heineken, PayPal, Vodafone, Nokia and Living Social among others seem to be enough to encourage you to join. 


Additionally quote GEOAWESOME and get €100 off any ticket price.

Spy satellite images expose 8,000 years of civilization

When on the hunt for ancient civilizations, it's not about being Indiana Jones. It is known that archaeologists use for example Google Earth for their studies but now they went a step further and have developed a method of spotting smaller human settlements by combining spy-satellite photos obtained in the 1960s with modern multispectral images and digital maps of Earth's surface. The approach was used to map some 14,000 settlement sites spanning eight millennia in 23,000 square kilometres of northeastern Syria. 

The Scientists from Harvard University in Cambridge trained an algorithm to detect 'anthrosol', a type of soil formed by long-term human activity, from multi-spectral satellite images. Containing a higher levels of organic matter, anthrosols impart a different texture and appearance to untouched soil, giving it a distinct visual signature. It this process automation was key, “You could do this with the naked eye using Google Earth to look for sites, but this method takes the subjectivity out of it by defining spectral characteristics that bounce off of archaeological sites,” says Jason Ur - anthropologist who specializes in early urbanism and cultural landscapes in the ancient Near East.

Scientists as well used digital elevation data collected in 2000 by the space shuttle as part of NASA's Shuttle Radar Topography Mission (SRTM). This information enabled them to estimate the volume of the larger sites for the first time — and to use this volume as a proxy for a site’s longevity. The bigger the mound, the longer the settlement survived which is a way to quantify a site’s long-term attractiveness to human populations.

source: Nature

Location-Based Gaming

Traditional open-air (location-based) games like Hide-and-seek or Capture the flag brought hours of fun to many of us when we were kids. Then consoles and computer games came along and suddenly the only location you played in was the living room. Today integration of smartphones and geo-location is about to change it and combine the real and virtual worlds. Although Mobile Location-Based Gaming is an area where developers have just begun to scratch the surface in terms of what’s possible, it is one of the fastest growing and interesting trends among LBS.

What is it?

Mobile Location-Based Gaming  is linking elements of traditional open-air field games (e.g. Hide-and-seek, Paper Chase) with new technologies available on mobile devices including positioning technologies, wireless fast speed internet, image recognition and augmented reality among others. In the era of integrating everything with everything is hard to say which location-based service is still a game and which is just using elements of gamification. For example Foursquare is build around the idea that users receive points and badges after broadcasting their location to a social network, but it is rather Location Sharing Service than what we usually call a game. The other Location-Based Social Network SCVNGR works by directing players/customers to certain areas/venue and ask to perform a certain task e.g. to take a picture, record a video and upload it to the game platform in order compete with other players.  Even the popular Angry Birds has begun to introduce location-based elements, allowing the option for players to compete with one another on a unique leader board tied to location. 


What is there on the market?

There are however platforms with which we won't have problems to clearly define as Location-Based Games. Among games available on the market I categorised them in the following way:

• Treasure hunts (e.g.  Geocaching)
• Territory defense and claiming (e.g. Please Stay Calm, Shadow Cities, Fleck, MyTown, GeoWars, Life is Crime)
• Scavenger hunts (e.g. City Secrets,  SCVNGR, Bounty Island, iSpy)
• Role playing game (e.g. GeoHunters)
• Mixed themes (e.g. Parallel Kingdom)

MyTown, for example, has much over 4 million active users. Most users of the Monopoly-style game spend on average more than an hour on the app a day. Rather than just check in at a place, a player can “buy” the venue and collect rent from other players who check into the same place. Booyah is trying to get players more involved with new features like in-game purchasing, where players can buy power-ups, and all this seems to be working.


The other popular type of Location-Based Gaming are scavenger hunts. It is the best way of tying a game in with a real-world experience is what location-based games are all about for Greg Gerber, founder of iSpy. His iPhone game is based on the children’s game of “I spy”. A player takes a picture of a real world object, say, a statue in a city and uploads it to the game. Then, other players take on the task of finding that statue (they get an approximate location of the geotagged photo—a circle is projected onto a map, and it contains the object within a radius of a few city blocks). When they do find it, they take a picture of it with the cell phone’s camera and upload it, thus “solving” the game. 


Where is it all going?


It is surely interesting field with a huge potential but all depends on profitable business models. Foursquare for example although rapidly growing is struggling to monetize the user database. Justin Beck - one of the founders of Parallel Kingdom says that in-app purchases and the fact that user spend on average fairly long time playing everyday creates profitable revenue source. We'll see soon where it is all going. 

Location-Based Services - Industry Standards

This is one those boring however necessary posts. Location-Based Services are a convergence of heterogeneous technologies, built from several separate components. In order to sustain operability, interoperability and reliability of all those systems, which highly important from user point of view the industry introduced several standards.The organizations that play significant roles in the development of LBS standards are the Open Mobile Alliance (OMA) and Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC). In addition to these, there are several other organizations that provide important components of the LBS standards infrastructure.  

Open Mobile Alliance

The most important specification that OMA has come up with is MLP (Mobile Location Protocol). MLP enables LBS applications to interoperate with wireless network regardless of its interfaces (GSM, CDMA etc.) and positioning methods. MLP defines a common interface that facilitates exchange of location information between the LBS application and location servers in wireless networks. It also supports the privacy of user providing access to location information only to those who are authorized users. Hence OMA is the key enabler of mobile service specification standards that support the creation of interoperable end-to-end mobile services.

Open Geospatial Consortium
The Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) is an international standards organization responsible for the development of standards for geospatial- and location-based services. To complement Location Interoperability Forum’s (LIF) advanced MLP services, OGC has come up with OpenLS Services that addresses the geospatial interoperability issues. Key services handled by OpenLS specification are:

• coordinate transformation, 
• Web Mapping, 
• Geography Markup Language (GML), 
• geoprocessing and 
• Web integration. 

The OpenLS platform provides open interfaces to LBS core services such as route determination, directory, location utility (geocoder that obtains x, y co-ordinates from address, and reverse geocoder that obtains address from x,y co-ordinates), presentation (display showing map, point of interest), and gateway (find position of mobile terminal ‘from the network’). 

OpenLS Abstract Data Types (ADTs) are the basic information constructs used by these core services. ADTs are ‘application schemas’ of well-known data types and structures for location information encoded in OGC’s XML for Location Services (XLS). These schemas encode location information, for example, route summary and route geometry, route instructions, location, area of interest, and point of interest and address. The specifications of OpenGIS are geared toward the development of interoperable solutions that “geo-enable” the Web, wireless, and locationbased services. These specifications enable developers to make complex spatial information accessible to help deploy various services and useful applications.

In order to make spatial standards interoperable with communication standards, such as, to integrate LBS into Internet, Web and wireless, OGC coordinates its activities with several organizations including OMA, IETF, W3C, OASIS, ISO, Parlay. Parlay is a consortium that develops open APIs based on their Open Systems Architecture (OSA) for mobile networks that provides functionality for authentication, authorization, and access to network services. APIs for OSA/Parlay enable service implementations within existing fixed and mobile telecommunications networks. This architecture/framework complements the GeoMobility Server, described here.

The GeoMobility server
The GeoMobility server provides the basic functionalities on which location-based applications are built (the OpenLS Core Services). It provides subscribers with various location-based application services and content. By using open interfaces to access network location information, this server allows applications to access a set of core services known as the OpenLS Core Services. To summarize, the GeoMobility server provides:

• The Core Services and their OpenLS interfaces along with the OpenLS Information Model, consisting of Abstract Data Types (ADTs).
• A set of applications build upon the Core Services and accessing them through OpenLS interfaces.
• Content such as map data, points of interest, routes, and so on used by the Core Services; this content can also be hosted on other servers and accessed through the Internet.
• Various supporting functions for personalization, context management, billing, and logging.

Best practices for LBS privacy

There is however lack of established user privacy standards. In 2010 CTIA Wireless Association published “CTIA’s Best Practices and Guidelines for Location Based Services” but the document is not legally valid. The guidelines emphasize user notice and consent since it is the LBS user whose privacy is at risk if location information is misused or disclosed without authorization. Per the guidelines, LBS providers must inform mobile users on how their location data will be used, disclosed and protected for each user to decide whether or not to use the LBS service or authorize disclosure. More information on the CTIA's "Best Practices and Guidelines for Location-Based Services" is available at http://www.ctia.org/business_resources/wic/index.cfm/AID/11300.

source: Subhankar Dhar and Upkar Varshney "Challenges and Business Models for Mobile Location-based Services and Advertising" Communications of the acm, May 2011, vol. 54, no. 5, CTIA’s Best Practices and Guidelines for Location Based Services, OGC