GPS Visualisation in Processing

Over the last few weeks we have been kicking about with some books on 'Processing' the open source programming language and environment for people who want to program images, animation, and interactions. We have been reading them with a number of thoughts in mind, one of which is the visualisation of GPS tracks. The people behind Spatial Nodes have done some good work, the movie below shows the tracks of 8 people in Amsterdam:

Tracks in the void from Steven M. Ottens on Vimeo.  
UrbanTick has also started looking into the technique with their first clip based around the UrbanDiary project, recorded between April and August 2009:



If you want to do these yourself a good start is to take a look at http://www.learningprocessing.com/ Daniels book at the site is one of the best tutorial books we have read in a while.

Also, Visualizing Data by Ben Fry is a good second step, link this with an Arduino Unit and things begin to get interesting in terms of the possibilities for interaction and visualistion of the urban environment.

We will have more on linking Ardunio, Processing and general visualisation in future posts.

GPS Import into 3DMax

UrbanTick - a blog written just a few desks away from where we sit - is looking into the way a city lives and breathes. Part of the work is based on the visualisation of GPS tracks, so linking in with another project here at CASA, Richard Milton has written a script to import GPS tracks directly into 3D Studio Max. The script imports a gpx. file and creates a spline for the path, a marker object and time frames for each point.

UrbanTicks first example movie can be seen below:

3dsMaxGPStest from urbanTick on Vimeo.

We need to check the guidelines on the grant that was used to make the script but we think we should be able to release it, hopefully next week...

See http://urbantick.blogspot.com/ for full details on the research and more movies/maps.

GPS Visualisation: Urban Art and Urban Cycles

Urban cycle studies are the science of everyday life, they focus on the daily routine of the city with its habits and rhythms as they occur in most citizens' lifes. It is the power of the normal that brings stability and the routine that ensures security with the cycles dynamic flow and continuation that keeps the city ticking. This is from urbantick.blogspot.com who are looking into the life of the city.

As part of the research they are compiling a list of ways to visualise GPS data, complete with software links. Below is one such example, using GPS to create urban art:

GPS Art from gallo1 on Vimeo.

Head over to http://www.urbantick.blogspot.com/ for more examples and thoughts on using GPS to look at cycles in the city.

Experimental Indoor Positioning Service: Nokia Kamppi

Location is everything in terms of communicating data on our environment. GPS is all well and good but its not much use indoors or in urban canyons, as such the new experimental service by Nokia is interesting. The Nokia Kamppi trial is focused on about indoor positioning, and it is currently running at the Kamppi Shopping Center in Helsinki, Finland. Anyone inside the shopping center can access indoor maps, information and vouchers by going to kamppi.nokia.mobi using any mobile browser. The indoor positioning functionality, however, is only available on Nokia S60 devices equipped with Wireless LAN.

Key features:

* Unique indoor positioning capability for locating shops, restaurants and friends
* Option to share your location with friends by SMS (the SMS contains a link to the indoor map and details of your location)
* Ability to search for friends nearby and view their position on the map
* Easy access to Kamppi Shopping Center information and discount vouchers

Compatibility and system requirements

The actual trial takes place in Kamppi shopping center in Helsinki Finland, but anyone in the world can access the mobile site at kamppi.nokia.mobi.

Such experiments are beginning to make us feel connected to the city - see our previous post on Connected to the World but not the City - things are changing, escpecially in light of the launch of Layar on Android phones.

Garmin: 20 Years of Units - Rise of the Portable GPS

The movie above takes a look at 20 years of Garmin GPS hardware thanks to Frank, a long-time Garmin employee who “likes to collect history he can hold in his hands.” He started collecting antique radios in the mid-70s. Before he started his job in aviation engineering for Garmin in October 1995.

Of note is the 'portable unit' at 2.33 mins, with CTIA Wireless 2009 just kicking off in Las Vegas (they were setting up just as we were leaving) its really interesting to see how far technology has come in such a short period of time.

Clip picked up via http://www.gpslodge.com/.

SatNav Shoes: Navigate the City on Foot

Navigating the city on foot can be tricky, sure an iPhone may help but who wants to walk around with a shiny new phone in your hand just waiting to be stolen? How about a pair of shoes with GPS built in, complete with step by step guidance. The left shoe holds all the gadgetry: under the tongue you will find the control unit. Just enter your starting and destination postcodes and you're off.

There are two ways Sat Nav Shoes give you directions. An LED DNav Bubble on the front acts as a visual guide and you’ll hear a beep when you are heading in the wrong direction. The heel of the shoe is equipped with waterproof speakers or for those with wireless headsets, bluetooth.

It doesn't look like the shoes will track your trip (that would be a feature that would be like to see) but we still think its a great idea.

You can buy them now via Firebox.com for £129 - there is no word on availability beyond the UK at the moment.

iPhone 3G, InstaMapper App and Google Earth: Tracking the Thames Clipper

A year ago we ran a post on tracking a train using the Nokia N95 and Sports Tracker. The iPhone 3G is perhaps playing catchup but with a rash of new navigation orientated applications in the Apple Store it is now possible to add tracking capabilities to Apples phone. We took the free InstaMapper application for a spin on a Thames Clipper over the weekend to see how the iPhone 3G's GPS tracking shapes up.


InstaMapper stands out from the crowd as a free service that allows you to track a person or vehicle online in real time using a GPS-enabled cell phone. Simply install the app, tie it to your free account with InstaMapper and if you allow sharing anyone can see your location update via Google Maps in real-time.

The data sent to InstaMapper includes location (latitude, longitude, speed, etc.), a timestamp, and a randomly assigned id. By default the iPhone tries to transmit location data to InstaMapper every 5 seconds if you are moving 20 mph or faster and if someone is currently tracking you online. If you are not moving, the minimum update rate is 60 seconds, if are not being tracked online, the minimum update interval is 30 seconds.

The track can be download as either a KML or CSV file, we used the application to map our route on the Thames Clipper from Waterloo to Woolwich, London. The movie below illustrates the route exported to Google Earth using the timeline function:


InstaMapping for iPhone: Tracking a Thames Clipper from digitalurban on Vimeo.
With battery life coming in at around 4 hours, InstaMapper is an excellent application, let down slightly by the need of iPhone Apps to run in the foreground. The iPhone maybe playing catchup in terms of applications but it is perhaps the first dedicated GPS in a mass consumer device. As such, InstaMapper is, in our view, the iPhones first 'must have' app.

Of note InstaMapper also works with the old iPhone using cell triangulation or known Wifi locations. We will be taking a look at other navigation apps on the iPhone 3G over the coming weeks - notably one that allows integration with OpenStreetMap.

You can find out more details and a list of supported devices at http://www.instamapper.com/

iPhone GPS First Movie

Engadget have posted a movie of the new iPhones GPS in use. Embedded below it perhaps confirms the conceans of the small antenna and reduced accuracy/update times:



There have been rumors abound of why various companies were restricted from producing a turn by turn GPS application for the iPhone, the reason could be that the unit simply cant keep up with realtime locations?

If the iPhone is only capable of simpler location based services that would be big disappointment, looking at the applications now available in the iTunes stores the signs do not look good.

We would test it out ourselves but O2 in the UK has made such a botch of upgrading that it could be few weeks before we are able to get hold of a handset.

See Engadget for full 'unboxing' and a first look.