Mobile Solutions

VIASAT GeoTechnologies MobileCycle SOLUTIONS technology enables the rapid development of mobile GPS/GIS solutions.

Growing and reusing our MobileCycle SOLUTIONS technology lets us help our customers focus on their business needs and develop successful mobile solutions quickly, in sync with their business objectives.

Introduction

Over the years, we have been involved in a large number of mobile GPS/GIS projects and have learned the patterns of mobile software development and mobile operations that truly work in the real world.

We have built up strong technical skills at integrating mobile solutions for the Windows CE, Windows Mobile and Windows (98, 2000, XP) platforms. We have learned how to integrate Oracle Lite and SQL Server CE for full relational capability in the field, and how to integrate mobile synchronization workflows into GIS environments such as MapInfo and ESRI.

We partner with our customers to leverage their application domain skills and our technical skills to build solutions that bring value to their business at minimum cost and without risk. This is possible because we have packaged all our know-how and skills into a set of tools that, together, form our MobileCycle SOLUTIONS technology.

This paper describes some of the relevant components of the technology.

Foundation Products

MobileCycle SOLUTIONS is an enabling technology based on VIASAT GeoTechnologies' foundation products: EZTagCE™, EZSurv™ and GPS Engine.

Together, these products provide the GPS/GIS functionality today's GPS/GIS applications need to collect GPS/GIS data in the field (EZTagCE™) and to improve the accuracy of the collected GPS positions through GPS differential post-processing (EZSurv™). At the center of our product line is our GPS Engine for real-time and post-processing management of GPS data.

A mobile solution developed using our MobileCycle SOLUTIONS technology benefits from a mature set of core products, making it a non-issue when it comes to reliably collecting GPS/GIS data in the field and post-processing them in the office. Every product has been proven in the field for years and follows a regular upgrade path to include new features that are relevant to modern GPS/GIS applications.

Mobile Application Framework

MobileCycle SOLUTIONS technology includes our exclusive mobile application framework for desktops and portable devices (Windows CE and Windows Mobile). The framework enables the rapid development of mobile applications while providing full flexibility to customize the user interfaces. This is critical for both rapid time-to-operations development and for usability of field applications.

Usability is a critical factor in efficient mobile operations, and our mobile application framework is designed with usability in mind. For instance, many field data entry operations are best interfaced using graphics views and graphics input controls.

Managing data in various database formats (Oracle Lite, MapInfo, ESRI and others) is also key to the flexibility provided by our mobile application framework, whether the data model is a fully relational subset of the central database or a simple flat data model.

Our mobile application framework also makes it possible to collect point, polyline and polygon geometries with GPS receivers, ready for post-processing in any of the supported database formats.

Field Operations Manager

The reality of mobile operations usually includes the need for multiple operators in the field to track multiple jobs, as well as the need to transfer data between mobile computers and branch office computers and between branch office computers and a central information system.

MobileCycle SOLUTIONS technology includes the Field Operations Manager (FOM) that can easily handle these mobile operations management tasks.

The fully programmable FOM is customized to the specific needs of each solution. For instance, some organizations require that the data transfers between branch offices and the central office be performed via FTP, while other organizations have specific proprietary means for transferring data. Every point in the mobile operations management workflow can be scripted to tailor the solution to the organization's exact needs while retaining the benefits of both a user interface that is very simple to learn and use and a no-nonsense workflow pattern.

Mobile-to-Office Integration Technology

In the office, MobileCycle SOLUTIONS technology can seamlessly integrate the cycle of mobile operations into backend information systems, whether they involve an Oracle database or a GIS platform such as MapInfo.

Mobile-to-Office integration fully automates differential GPS post-processing and data synchronization (checkout and checkin)-with manual checkpoints (for instance, a quality assurance step) where they make sense within the workflow of a specific solution.