{"id":1009,"date":"2014-07-01T02:06:10","date_gmt":"2014-07-01T02:06:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/192.168.3.4\/?p=1009"},"modified":"2018-01-09T06:49:37","modified_gmt":"2018-01-09T14:49:37","slug":"mapping-data-open-standards-and-transparency-are-key","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/?p=1009","title":{"rendered":"Mapping Data – Open standards and transparency are key to value"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have been using GPS to record my biking for a few years now.\u00a0 It started when I found Google’s MyTracks <\/a>app in 2010, in preparation for my first STP ride.\u00a0 The app was simple to use and I liked the fact that I could export track data.\u00a0 This prompted me to use another program called TopoFusion<\/a>.\u00a0 The limits of the MyTracks app didn’t mater, because TopoFusion offered more features.\u00a0 TopoFusion gave me a way to compare my rides and get a better visual of routes I planned.\u00a0 The one feature that I never tapped into, but was available was measuring heart rate.\u00a0 Both MyTracks and TopoFusion support heart rate and cadence data through a limited third party hardware base.\u00a0 This limitation is less noticeable with TopoFusion, since the table data can be modified.<\/p>\n

Early last Fall, a coworker recommended a phone app called Strava<\/a>.\u00a0 The remarkable quality of this app was the ability to compare tracks with other riders.\u00a0 I also found the elevation profiling better presented.\u00a0 I haven’t used the program to the same extent I have as MyTracks.\u00a0 The main reason for this is I haven’t done as many rides as I would like.\u00a0 Secondly, I’ve been testing other logging apps.\u00a0 Even with the limited experience I have with Strava, I will say the best feature is how the data is structured and presented.<\/p>\n

This turns out to be a solid observation with the recent news about Strava<\/a> being a particapant in the Open Trails System Specification, or more commonly known as OpenTrails<\/a>.\u00a0 The focus of the OpenTrails project is to make data structure transparent to app developers.\u00a0 This is key because data structure that is proprietary requires massaging.\u00a0 The transparency makes sure that a report that works with one source will work with another.\u00a0 It also means aggregate data is possible using third party sources that follow the open standard.\u00a0 This was proven by TriMet’s IT Manager of GIS, Bibiana McHugh<\/a>.\u00a0 She opened the data to developers.\u00a0 By doing so, they were rewarded with apps that present that data in ways never imagined, minus the cost of hiring in house developers.<\/p>\n

The amount of data being collected by organizations like TriMet and Strava is staggering.\u00a0 Having this data available to the public will be the only means to quantify its value.\u00a0 It still isn’t clear how developers will tap into this raw resource and refine it into a commodity that is in demand.\u00a0 But it is clear that any hindering of development will hinder any value of the data. \u00a0This just brings up a bunch of questions.<\/p>\n

How will sensor development fit into this?\u00a0 What significance is a complex sensor array on a single platform compared to that of a dispersed sensor cloud on mobile devices.\u00a0 Where should the effort be, data storage, collection, structuring, processing, or reporting?\u00a0 Is it too late to get in on the game at some or all of these levels?<\/p>\n

I don’t thinks it’s too late. \u00a0But\u00a0waiting to see what happens next and having the comfort of hindsight equates to no front seat tickets. \u00a0There is a common theme that most of these systems offer, and it is the API. \u00a0Strava<\/a> and MyTracks<\/a> offer API’s. \u00a0TopoFusion does not, but the layers featured use API’s, one example is OpenStreetmap<\/a>. \u00a0Having these API’s available means the game isn’t over. \u00a0The potential for logging custom sensors and combining the results from data already gathered has never been greater, and it show no sign of tapering\u00a0out soon. \u00a0As a matter of fact, Garmin is making headway into extensible sensor logging by expanding on the GPX format. \u00a0Garmin<\/a> offers several API options for developers to elaborate on.<\/p>\n

Having this resource available for anyone with the wherewithal to refine it, is tantamount to the changes made by those that took sulfur smelling tar from the ground.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have been using GPS to record my biking for a few years now.\u00a0 It started when I found Google’s MyTracks app in 2010, in preparation for my first STP ride.\u00a0 The app was simple to use and I liked the fact that I could export track data.\u00a0 This prompted me to use another program called TopoFusion.\u00a0 The limits of the MyTracks app didn’t mater, because TopoFusion offered more features.\u00a0 TopoFusion gave me a way to compare my rides and…<\/p>\n

Read More Read More<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,2,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1009","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-android","category-bike-rides","category-rd"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1009"}],"version-history":[{"count":14,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1024,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1009\/revisions\/1024"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1009"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1009"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.cloudacm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1009"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}