Who’s Got 40% of GIS Marketshare in China?

The same company being touted as China's Apple. Beijing-based Uni-Strong Science & Technology Co Ltd. And, no I've not heard of it either.

UniStrong's geographic information system (GIS) services has about 40 percent of the marketshare in China, said an Orient Securities Company Ltd report. The company's automobile navigation products, known as the renwoyou series, are the best-selling brands in the country,according to an Economic Observer report on Aug 5.

It's China Position navgiation service launched on July 28 and the company plans to use the Chinese GNSS Beidou to support future products based on an "app model" like Apples.

- China Daily

Wikitude Drive - A Viable Baby Step for Augmented Reality

There's been lots of talk about Wikitude Drive (See the video), the augmented reality (AR) application that provides a "looking glass" approach to portable navigation. That is, as you look at the navigation screen, the PND's camera is used to give you a view of the road as well as the navigation information superimposed on it thereby giving the driver a "quasi-head-up" display. The driver still has to get used to looking at the PND and understanding that it's a "live" view of the road as well but it will eliminate some driver distraction issues.

I view this as a positive "baby step" for AR. I like that the camera is integrated with the app. But, while I think AR has lots of promise, I have a big problem with the form factor of PND's being much too small. And yet, I can't see tablet's as the answer either. But perhaps we should leave it to the automobile manufacturer's to come up with something more brilliant. Check out this video by Toyota that is using car windows themselves in AR. I'm holding out for technology that utilzes eye glasses.

Slightly Off Topic: Navigating the Vermont 100

First, let's get one thing straight I did not run the Vermont 100, a one hundred mile foot race, this year. I "paced" it. That is, I joined a friend for the final 30 miles, running from 10:30 pm Sat through Sunday morning at 7:30 am. (He finished with a 27:33 in is first 100 mile effort. Wow.)

At the pre-race meeting the organizers discussed navigation: "Don't use your GPS to get from one aid station to another." Runners can have crews who meet them at various points to support them with food, clothing, moral support, etc. The challenge is the event is in rural Vermont, where as the race director put it, "some streams used to be roads and are still marked on the map that way." Instead, crews were asked to use a detailed set of narrative navigation directions. For example:

#7. Stage Road - Retrace your route back the way you just came.  0.7 mi. back down to Pomfret Rd. Turn left. Reset.  (3.7 miles on Pomfret Road) to South Pomfret (the Teago Store). Go to the rt. of the store on Library Rd. and turn rt. onto Stage Rd.  Reset. You'll see Suicide 6 ski area at 0.2 mi. and at 1.5 mi. a couple of dilapidated barns on the left and then the aid station is at 1.65 mi. on the right.  Be careful because runners will be on the road coming at you and turning at those barns.   (Approx. driving time 20 minutes)  

Now, while that sounds painful to follow (it is and it's tiring!), these directions are spot on! I arrived at one aid station having not missed a single turn, even though many roads had hidden or no signage! That was during the day. I suspect those navigating at night may have faired ok, too, especially since the car traffic spreads out quite a bit as the runners spread out across the course through the day. 

How do the runners navigate? No maps, no GPS...just yellow plastic plates with arrows drawn on them during the day enhanced by glow sticks hanging from the trees at night. We ran 30 miles in the dark and did not miss a single turn.

The best data is local data!

Download Google Maps Data for Short Trip Navigation (with no Cell Service!)

While Google touts new features in Google Maps 5.7 for Android (beta) related to better navigation in public transport (and notification about reaching a public transit stop) a la TravelNapp), tech pubs are all over a much requested feature: the ability to download maps for when cell service is unavailable. Yep, it's in there.

This new version of Google Maps adds the ability to download maps to the phone for navigation on short trips into areas without web connectivity. Before heading into the no service zone simply download the map for the area. Downloaded maps can also be used for offline searches in addition to navigation. Being in areas without connectivity gets a lot more bearable with these downloaded maps.

- ZDNet

Haptic System for Navigation (and gaming?): LBS News

Buru-Navi, from NTT (Japan) is  a system that uses vibration to "guide" the device holder in the correct direction or as a feedback tool for gaming. The vision? Implementation in cell phones. I wonder if this will increase engagement with the environment rather than will the tiny map on the screen. It seems there's a military version in development, too! (New Scientist)

- C|net

The GPS-enabled enhaler may be available for purchase next year. Wisconsin's Asthmapolis plans to put it on the market.

"The best way to understand how people are managing their asthma is to record the time and place they're using their medications," Chief Technology Officer Greg Tracy told me.  "Doctors can determine if patients have problems at night or during the day, at work or at home."

The real question I think: will it be covered by insurance?

- TMJ4

Australians are using their own version of SeeClickFix called Snap Send Solve. It's from  Melbourne tech developer Outware Mobile. It's Iphone only now, but an Android version is coming. While SCF has ArcGIS Server at the back end, it's not clear what powers SSS.

- FutureGov

“World of Fourcraft” uses Foursquare and Google Maps APIs to turn New York City into a giant game of Risk. Users decide which team they are on by swearing allegiance to one of New York City’s five boroughs. Checking into a neighborhood on Foursquare is the online game’s equivalent to placing plastic man on a country in the board game. An algorithm decides who owns each neighborhood using the number of people who have checked into it on each team. There are currently about 100 players.

If I recall my Risk playing correctly, back in the day the square pieces were 1 army and the long ones 10 armies. I guess the writer played Risk after it changed over to plastic "men." Many geogeeks played the game in the 1970 and 80s as revealed on A Very Spatial Podcast this week in its discussion of "geoplay."

- Mashable