My Site: Mobile | Embedded | Wireless | Defence | PNG | Data Integration | Africa
Google Maps | HERE Maps | OpenStreetMap | Transport Consulting | State Rail Authority of New South Wales (RailCorp) | Supply Chain Management | Africa Open Data | IMIA AP Brisbane Meeting | ESRI ArcGIS | Qld Dept of Resources Open Data | Conferences | Google Transit | Opal card | myki card | Apps4NSW 2014
We program Google Maps using Lat/Long to enable wireless hotspots, construction layout and roads to be built using mashups of mapping data and overlays. We built a wireless portal for Orange NSW which was never used but which we have used to program using XML to geocode points the world over! This includes PNG, Indonesia and Australia and will cover more and more of the planet including India, the Middle East, Asia, Europe and North and South America.
The maps include street, satellite and terrain maps.
There is no charge for freely available maps but there is a charge for the custom programming and configuration on the server as can be expected for this kind of programming. Our code is not open source though relies on open source or freely licensed subsystems to operate over the Web or mobile phone network.
We developed two mobile apps as location-based services in transport journey planner for events and water Salt Table Helper. See our mobile and Web mapping apps.
We will extend our software into these very large countries off our shores via the mobile phone networks which are growing at a rapid rate in these emerging economies like BRIC (Brazil, Russia, India and China).
In June 2008, we were working with a Queensland Spatial Information Council (QSIC) Workgroup to define baseline spatial data. Queensland seems to have a huge number of spatial developers compared to other states may be because of its huge size!
In August 2008, there was another expression of interest in developing a Windows API for programming Google Maps on a PC. We could develop this as we are software engineers. We will use native Google Maps API. Why develop a Windows API for Google Maps? Javascript and PHP do just fine for mashups. Web services which is platform independent is a better way to go - more open and not locked into one operating system like Windows, Linux or Mac OS X. This is challenging for developers used to writing for Windows but we have always been Web-based and are used to writing to protocols, not to a certain binary application.
One recent expression of interest in Sydney, September 2008, was for a courier to run a mobile Web services application to map their vehicle locations using Google Maps. We have experience with Google Maps mashups using MySQL, PHP and Javascript which we developed whilst developing our own custom wireless database originally for Orange but now worldwide. We will build our own inhouse software to do this job.
In September 2008, we started porting the mapping software to Nokia phones (S60) but swapped to a networking program using Python for S60 which is not finished as need Windows for a S60 emulator.
In 2011, we still have not ported our Google Maps wifi hotspot software to Nokia HERE Maps. This will use HTML5 now as it is cross-platform.
In March 2012, Nokia said it would differentiate itself by being "where" using mapping and high quality images in its smartphones. It also swapped from Linux MeeGo Harmattan to Windows Phone 7.
In November 2013, I went to Microsoft Cre8 Developer Intensives in Brisbane and wrote prototype Windows Phone application for Translink Web services. Before I wrote a version in PHP and MySQL using Google Maps but intend to use HERE maps with Windows Phone using Translink polylines.
In September 2018, I am using a Nokia Lumia 820 Windows Phone 8.1 with HERE Drive and HERE Transit. No speech is possible due to lack of updates when Microsoft ended support of Windows Phone in July 2017 so the phone is partially crippled.
In 2015, NOKIA sold HERE to Mercedes, BMW and Audi so have used it for auto navigation as well as supply chain integration for last mile or digital twin construction with live car data.
Links with Microsoft were severed acrimoniously due to huge loss for Microsoft so all of the below are no longer relevant. HERE has its own SDKS for developers and does not rely on Microsoft any more.
This is a crowd-sourced alternative map to Google Maps or Here maps that is sometimes more accurate than them. People map roads or buildings or damage.
OpenStreetMap was used to tag many features including buildings, roads and disease vectors for aid workers using dozens of presets in
OpenStreetMap is updated and used via Web browser and smart phones (Android, iOS etc) adding agility to disaster response to impoverished nations in Africa etc.
We worked in SRA of NSW (TAHE ex RailCorp) in 1989 as a systems programmer of Novell and UNIX systems for smooth running of passenger and freight lines in New South Wales.
We are able to do transportation consulting for government or private sectors.
In 2015-2016 and 2018-2020, we also are trained via MIT MOOC in supply chain management for which we got very high marks and achieved MicroMasters in Supply Chain Management from MIT in March 2020. This includes transport management in shipping and intermodal transport optimisation.
In November 2017, I briefly dealt with Africa Open Data Collaboratives online Meetup in order to see if I could adapt my water open data app to help farmers in Africa cope with salt levels and improve the economy of Africa but it proved too difficult to get accurate data.
In April 2016, I attended IMIA (International Map Industry Assocation) AP Brisbane Meeting at DNRM Landcentre Woolloongabba including GDA2020, drones, Gruntify and Esri Story Maps.
In October 2017, IMIA Meetup Brisbane Meetup group disappeared and IMIA site moved to Facebook.
ESRI ArcGIS views Shapefiles. These were used in the Brisbane Floods in January 2011. We plan on developing 3rd party plugins or Web tools to manipulate Shapefiles for Web browsers and mobile applications.
In April 2016, I joined ArcGIS for Local Government Meetup Group and watched webinar on An Overview of the Blight Remediation and Neighborhood Revitalization Solutions at 4am local time. Moreton Bay Regional Council use ArcGIS for their mapping on their Website.
We attended a briefing of Queensland Dept of Natural Resources and Mines (ex DERM now Dept of Resources) Open Data Strategy including Web services for delivering GIS data to agencies to satisfy the drastic need to repair damage. We will use opensource GIS tools to manipulate the data.
See Dept of Resources land and mineral data including:
Dept of Resources also have FloodCheck Map (ArcGIS) for 2010-11 Brisbane floods.
I visited Spatial@Gov Exhibition 15/11/2011 in National Convention Centre, Canberra and attended OSGeo meetup breakfast on 17/11/11. I learnt heaps about geospatial data and companies including Web services and Land Information New Zealand's standards.
In 27/8/13, GeoRabble had a QGIS developer Nathan Woodrow speak about opensource Qt GIS software. I then imported AEC SHP file into QGIS to find electoral boundaries for upcoming 7/9/13 federal election.
GeoRabble 17/4/12 is a community GIS event in Brisbane I was lucky enough to be there for since I was visiting from Moree 150th anniversary earlier.
GeoRabble Brisbane restarted in 14 November 2017.
5 bands GIS receiver from UNSW.
Associate Professor Andrew Dempster talks with Dr Craig Roberts about the latest research to design a 'system of systems' GPS or GNSS receiver.
From 2010 the Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) and Regional Navigation Satellite Systems (RNSS) era begins, with expected finalisation of the GLONASS constellation (Russia) and the launch of satellites from Japan and India. The COMPASS (China) RNSS is due to be deployed in 2012, with the Galileo European Union GNSS due in 2014 and the COMPASS (China) GNSS in 2020. Associate Professor Andrew Dempster talks about his latest research to design a 'system of systems' receiver that will be able to communicate with this rapidly expanding number of positioning satellites.