In a civilized urban cities, it is always challenging task to optimize our time to travel with in the city. However, visualization of reliable transit data on a map would be a best fit to address the need.
That’s exactly what Silicon Valley-based start-up called Urban Engines have come up with a mobile app. Initially, they built out software to help cities like Singapore and Sao Paulo manage their public transit systems. But now they’re moving forward with a consumer-mapping app that works quickly when you’re offline.
The very next question would be, why this, as there are plenty of mapping mobile apps in market with traffic data and offline maps.
Well, though there are many mapping apps with offline data, Urban Engines’ app doesn’t rely on mobile Internet while you are in transit and it also has better way of visualizing the geographical data in a intuitive way. It mainly offers offline data for 10 different cities in North America, including New York, Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, Seattle, Toronto, Vancouver and Washington, D.C.
There’s also an X-ray mode, which superimposes maps, bus or train routes and stops over the city as viewed by the camera. Unlike in other Maps, you don’t need to type locations: just drag the map to place your destination in the middle of the screen, and the app will come up with various routes for your commute.
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Location technology has definitely changed the way the society looks at many things. GPS and navigation have become so common that no one realizes there has been a tectonic shift in the way we used to navigate just a decade ago, paper maps look like history now. I cannot remember the last time, I didn’t need to use Google Maps to navigate in a new neighbourhood. Getting “lost” has never been more difficult.
Location is the new buzzword and rightly so. But is Location just about navigation and some cool applications like FourSquare? How else do we utilize location in our societies? Judith Bock at the Elmhurst College decided to lecture about this particular topic and thanks to internet, we are all invited to the class!
“Skills for the Digital Earth” is an educational MOOC that will explore the elementary question “How do societies utilize location?” besides engaging participants with more location technology information and practical exercises with online spatial software (JavaScript rocks! JavaScript for Geospatial). While most MOOCs on such topics end up being rather “basic” for Geo-People, this particular MOOC mentions that it is appropriate for those with no prior experience with geographic information systems (GIS) software all the way to advanced users.
As a big time Geospatial enthusiast, I am well aware of the fact that we can go on raving about how geospatial technology is changing the world and why Location is so important for future innovations. This MOOC is just another reason for us to indulge in some classroom activity and understand the academic thoughts behind Location technology, so see you all in the classroom 😉
The course begins on the 1st of March and is 4 weeks long (March 1st to 28, 2015). Here’s the link for you to register and here’s the link for detailed information regarding the course content and objectives.
