ipad investigation - field mapping on an ipad 2 - geospatial technologies in education

7/29/2019 iPad Investigation - Field Mapping on an iPad 2 - Geospatial Technologies in Education

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This blog is maintained by Meg Stewart and Alex Chaucer.

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iPad Investigation - Field Mapping on an iPad 2

In June 2011 I had access to an iPad 2 with 3G connectivity. I used it on a summer project with a

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student to investigate whether the iPad 2 could be used to collect geographic and geologic field data.The student was making a geologic map of a summer camp and the idea was to do a head-to-headtest using the new iPad 2 and a tablet PC while he mapped. Prior to the project, in January 2011, I putout a call on a GIS list and on Twitterto see what was being done with iPads and mapping. Not all thatmuch. But keep us posted. Long overdue, here is some of what I found out.

To make a long story short, the student and I decided to forgo the match-up investigation and just mapusing the tried-and-true tablet PC. It just works and there was limited time to do the mapping.

First, let me state that the goal of using an iPad 2 for field mapping is to 1) create new data on thedevice, those data can be points, lines or polygons; 2) locate ourselves fairlyaccurately from withinthe app (using the 3G); 3) load maps (shapefiles, KML/KMZ and/or raster maps) that we want to useas a basemap; 4) export our points, lines or polygons as shapefiles or KML/KMZ; and 5) use a pen(aftermarket purchase) to tap and draw points, line and polygons.

Now, for what we did find out about using an iPad for field mapping. The work is on-going, by the way.But we are giving a poster at the northeast GSA on what we did find out, geologically if nottechnologically.

Purchased (or free) apps that have GIS/geospatial capabilities orpotentiallyso:ArcGIS - A visual aid, nothing more. This make no sense to me. I cannot make or create any new data

on this app. Why, ESRI? Or is that Esri? If Im wrond, please let me know. (free)Avenza PDF Map - Has potential to allow for data creation. Dropbox integration. Easily export andimport maps and waypoints to and from Dropbox. I would like this to work. (free)EarthObserver- Good for educational purposes. ($0.99)Google Earth - A visual aid, nothing more. Can there be a Google Earth Pro app some day? Please?(free)GISRoam - A GIS that I couldnt get to work. This app is free, but to make your GIS data available youneed to purchase a subscription on their server (free app - subscription is about $20, I think)GPSNote - Add a note in geospace. Not all that useful. (free)KMZ Loader- Loads Google Earth KMZ files for use in other apps. Couldnt figure out the usefulnessof this one. (free)

QuakeWatch - Good for educational purposes. Real-time EQ information. ($0.99)Terrapad Lite - Free, but has ads. Terrapad gives you the flexibility to enter, query, modify and exportyour geographic data This app has potential but kept crashing. (free)Terrapad Pro - The pro version is also more feature-packed allowing Shapefile import and export,GPS tracking, raster map imagery, spatial queries, detailed information about geometries and a host of


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other features. All extensions are free in Terrapad Pro. Sounds good, right? This was very crashy.Please send information on how to use it! ($49.99)

Geology NY - It was recommended that I get this one because I live in New York and the mapping wasto be done in NY. It was not all that informative but might be useful for educational purposes. (iPhoneapp only $9.99)Star walk - Love this! But its not a mapping app. Never mind that, if youve got 3G on your iPad, take itout in the evening and look to the sky! Very fun and certainly educational. ($4.99)Strike and Dip - Works great. Forget your Brunton Compass and take your iPad (or iPhone (this is aniPhone app) Save outcrop fieldnotes to the app and send them to yourself or to someone else on themapping team. ($4.99)Strike Line - Also works great for getting a strike and dip, or trend and plunge, minus the note-taking

feature. (free)

Download full size (34 KB)

Compass HD - This is a compass. (free)Emerald Observer- Im not recalling why I bought this app. I dont see it listed on the iTunes storeanymore but I paid $0.99. It may have been replaced by the Emerald Chronometer HD. A watch onyour iPad. ($4.99)Coordinates - Coordinates makes it a snap to convert between the three formats for latitude andlongitude: decimal degrees, degrees and decimal minutes, and degrees-minutes-seconds. So useful!($0.99)iCMTGIS - This is a real GIS. And it really worked. It was not elegant to use but it did do mapping. And

the cost cannot be beat. Here was a nice tutorial showing how to iCMTGIS provided by John VanHoesen, a professor at Green Mtn College. (free)iGIS for iPad - iGIS represents a new era in mobile GIS solutions by enabling users to load, view,investigate, create and export their own data over a background of Google maps satellite imagery. Icouldnt get this to work. Would love to have some help on this. (free for a limited time(?))MotionX GPS Drive - Useful for replacing your in-car navigation system. ($2.99)MotionX GPS HD - Same as above? Not sure the difference. Sorry about that. ($1.99)MapBox - This is a GIS. MapBox has a suite of open source map-making tools. Use this app to takeyour maps offline and on the go. I want this to work. Cant figure out how to do that. (free)iSeismograph - An educational tool for showing students how earthquakes are measured using theinternal G-Force Sensor. ($0.99)

Theodolite HD - This app allows you to take photos that encode the direction that you are viewing,levels out the shot, which is really useful for field work. Theodolite is a multi-function augmented realityapp that serves as a compass, GPS, map, zoom camera, rangefinder, and two-axis inclinometer.Their words, not mine. I like using this app. Example below. ($3.99)


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Keep in mind that, if youre using an iPad for field work, you should buy a case, ideally a rugged one.Check out this one. I saw these for sale at Best Buy. Also, you need a 3G data plan and the minimumcost per month for that is $20.

One very unfortunate aspect of using an iPad for field mapping is the tie you must have to a desktop(or laptop) machine. The apps are housed on your office Mac or Windows PC and so are your data. Ifyou want to upload more data (or download them) you have to go back to that computer. If Im wrongabout that, please let me know because I found that to be a total hassle. I did not have my homecomputer (where I downloaded the apps to) out in the field with me.

I will continue to hone in on how to use the iPad for mapping, but for now, this is the update.

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Posted by Meg Stewart

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ipad investigation - field mapping on an ipad 2 - geospatial technologies in education

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