Infrastructure and Asset Management using Mobile Technology
Casio, has been improved over time to their Jupiter technology and the release of the Handheld
PC Professional device. This Windows CE device has more of a sub-light notebook form factor,
with some vendors like Vadem going to a convertible notebooldslate form factor. These sub-
$1OOOdevices allow somereasonable high-end functionalityto reach the field.
Other field technologies have become evident in niche markets, such as manufacturing and
maintenance that hold some promise for the future. A new breed of system called a wearable
computer, which are battery-operated devices that can be worn on a person's body on a vest or
belt. The companies that manufacture this type of technology, such as ViA Computers and
Xybemaut Corporation, incorporate such interfaces as head mounted or PDA-type displays,
voice activation or arm mounted keyboards. Because of the advances being made in circuit board
design and component miniaturization, it is possible to deploy field systems that sport Pentium
class processors and high-resolution screen technology. This type of solution would be very
appropriate for field workers that require a high degree of mobility and computing power, but are
unable to carry a unit 100°/0 of the time.
Speech Input
The use of speech input has long been viewed by many in the computing industry (like
Microsoft's Bill Gates, among others) as potentially the most natural of computer interfaces.
The ability to navigate through programs and utilize voice as an input tool is functionality
offered by several vendors, such as IBM's ViaVoice and Dragon Systems's Naturally-Speaking
products. Many of the continuous speech recognition engines still require a significant amount
of setup and configuration and a fairly robust operating environment (usually Pentium MMX
class machines). These applications are used primarily as dictation tools for business executives
(usually the most frequent early-adopters) who develop a significant amount of correspondence
and reports. Both of the vendors listed above offer development tools that allow software
programmers to embed voice capabilities into custom applications.
Software companies have developed applications for field automation that utilize voice as a data
input tool. Datria Systems, Inc. has an application called VoCarta that combines speech input
and mapping with a variety of other input devices, such as GPS and digital imaging. Best
utilized as a mass data collection tool, the user utilizes a pre-defined set of objects and modifiers,
called VoCabs, to populate data sets. By using pre-defined sets of objects rather than a 10,000
word vocabulary, the accuracy increases from about 90°/0 with most voice applications to close
to 100'Yo.Designed as a field application, it is also ideal for paper to digital data conversions.
Digital Imaging
The use of digital cameras as a mainstream business tool for photographs and video has become
a reality. As with all emerging technologies, a larger user base and reductions in manufacturing
costs has caused the level of innovation to increase and the prices to come down. Once relegated
to photojournalists requiring instant processing and transmission of images, digital cameras are
now being marketed to the Nintendo GameBoy and Barbie generation. The negatives of digital
imaging, file size and image resolution are being mitigated with image compression software
algorithms and better CCD sensor technology. Vendors who made names for themselves in
traditional film technology, such as Kodak, Olympus and Fuji, are also the leaders in digital
imaging. New innovations have included the ability to capture voice notes along with the digital
images, to annotate photos with notes with a pen stylus and combining still images and motion
video on the same devices. Cameras are available in the sub-$1000 range that generate
photographs that are comparable to an 8" x 10" photograph. Other innovations include the wide
availability of digital memory storage devices, such as ATA and Compact Flash Cards, and the
affordable CD recorders that are available.
Another issue with digital imaging as compared to film photography has been the quality of the
output. Several vendors have developed ink-jet and dye-sublimation printers that closely
approximate film photography. However, where a software application focuses on image
retrieval through a database, the use of digital cameras makes the process a lot more streamlined.
Global Positioning Svstems/Geo~raPhic Information Systems
Global positioning systems (GPS), a product of the US Department of defense, has finally
become a commercial way of capturing positional data. A variety of off the shelf mapping
applications, such as those developed by DeLorme, utilize GPS as a navigation tool. In-vehicle
navigation devices have become the "must have" option in many upscale automobiles.
Recreational hikers and fisherman have begun to rely on GPS for enhancing their activities,
enabling them to store their favorite "spots" and navigate back to them at a later time.
Unfortunately, it seems that this commercialization of GPS technology has done little to educate
the public on such issues as accuracy and precision, as well as some of the practical limitations
of GPS, such as its limits on use in urban cities.
Much of the data being utilized and managed by corporate America relies on its location.
Making coordinate information part of the database enables the data to be utilized within
mapping applications, such as GIS. Many decisions are based on the proximity of pieces of data
to other pieces of data. The installations of new utility appurtenances are usually based on where
existing ones are located. The removal of older systems must take into account where other
systems are located, so that they are not darnaged in the construction process.
The use of GIS in automated mapping and facility management is a topic onto itself, but
advances in software tools has allowed often voluminous GIS and CADD data to be segmented
and published to field units utilizing Web browsers. ESRI and Intergraph, among other vendors
have developed browser and HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) technologies that will
allow the market to go towards "thin client" type system architectures. Web based publishing
allows users at remote sites access to GIS based databases. GIS data can now be distributed to
all users, those in the office and the field.
Wireless Data Communication
In the past few years, there has been tremendous growth in the area of wireless communications.
Cell towers have been erected all over the place, low orbit satellites have been launched, and a
variety of firmware products have been developed to data-enable software applications. The
maturation of this technology has enabled utility companies to take advantage of mission critical
applications, such as emergency vehicle dispatch and routing. The major limitations to the
widespread use of the technology are the cost for the hardware and subscription services, and the
sometimes-limited bandwidth. Many of the available services charge by the size of the
transmission, or packet, versus per minute charges like cellular phones. The bandwidth and
transmission transfer rates make all but simple text transmissions problematic. This limits the
use of wireless data, and currently the sending of digital images and mapping files is largely
limited to private networks where traffic and bandwidth are less of a problem.
