When our family goes on road trips, there is always a fight over who gets to control the map. Everyone has different motivations for wanting the map, between directions and how much long we have to be in the car. My reason for map-hogging is that it can entertain me for hours. You can pick out places you’ve been, look at the oddest town names (Sandwich, Massachusetts), or make character names based on two cities in a state (Florence Peabody, thank you Kansas!). It provides an almost endless amount of activity.

This is why the evolution of GPS technology has been so fascinating to watch, it has given us many more reasons to play with maps. What started out as very minimal and basic mapping, done on individual hardware, has seen a massive growth and dynamic change. The different applications of GPS integration into mobile applications and software programs continues to astound. Here is some of the latest GPS technology brought to us by clever web application developers.

How has map technology changed?

Map technology and the integration into search engine technology, mobile apps and everything in between has been extremely influenced by social networking and the leveraging of tons of information input by users. This is known as crowd sourcing, where someone can apply a filter to information that they need, and leverage a social network to help them fill in the holes. The visual of this is really wonderful; it’s like an army of information soldiers, coming to the aid of a single cause. Power to the people.

We previously wrote a blog about this, and how a team at MIT used crowd sourcing and social networks to solve an almost impossible task. It is this humanizing and Web 2.0 interaction that really makes the Internet and technology so cool and dynamic.

Now let’s get to the good stuff, what is out there and how can the technology be used to solve your particular custom software development needs?

Layer Cake

The layers I have taken a look at below deal specifically with filters from Bing Maps. There are many filters on Google and Yahoo Maps (Traffic Cam, Street View, etc) but these ones break outside the box a bit.

A few weeks ago while browsing the blogs; I saw that Bing Maps had a Pirate Map overlay. I assumed this was a light-hearted treasure-looking pirate theme, very Jack Sparrow-y for geo-caching. Nope, this overlay is indeed an actual piracy map, of different individual incidences of actual pirates. How strange is it that this still happens; this is truly where old-world meets new-world. No doubt these pirates are probably using advanced technology and custom software to enhance their thievery. No more magically guided compasses and faith in the winds.

Roadside Attractions

For the summertime road tripper, this is really the layer for you. This layer applies user-supplied pictures of roadside attractions all over the world. If you want to find something off-beat to break up that twelve-hour day, then you can stop at a giant hot-dog shaped restaurant, or visit the miniature Eiffel Tower just outside of Paris.

Health Statistics

Layering can ad many different dimensions to existing maps and be rather general in nature or very specific. This is one that is an example of how specific the layer information can get. What I wouldn’t have given to have this technology when I was creating reports in high school. The Health Statics layer shows areas affected by many different kinds of health afflictions (Cancer, Birthrates, Obesity, etc). This one is not user driven; the information is brought by a reputable source, the Department of Health and Human Statistics.

The best part about these input-driven applications is that they only get better with more time and user input. This is really an amazing way to find out specific information, and not have to do it by hand. So how can someone in the software development market utilize this technology? How can it work for you?

Integration with other Technology

GPS integration is important to consider especially nowadays for mobile application development, or any sort of hardware. Users will want to input and find information wherever they are (or wherever they take their phone). An application with limited mobility will likely not last with fickle mobile app users.

Google and Yahoo map integration is a specialty of our application development team and we have seen over the years how it can make your application so much more powerful. Having business specific mapping information can make the difference between a success and a failure.

Here are some of the main reasons it is important to integrate GPS into your software project both tangible and intangible:

• The ability to give instant information to your users wherever they are

• Through this, have immediate and continual presence for your users

• Improve the flow of information for employees working remotely

• Make sure that people can find your storefront or business

• Capture geographic specific information regarding your target market

• Give users the peace of mind that they will have everything at their fingertips

Read one of our client testimonials from Crude International about how we used GPS technology and handheld hardware to give in-field oil rig operators up-to date information, improving information flow and efficiency.

Luckily, our software developers and marketing team can assist you in every step of this process. Like many of these mobile applications, we leverage the collective input of our team to help our customers look at the software development from end-to-end, and answer all of your critical questions. We’ll start with the design and requirements (What will my custom software do? Will I need a cloud database?), to development, to marketing considerations (How can I market my mobile application?), to 24/7 Support (How will I know my software application will always work?).

Feel free to contact our Business Development team about your individual and layered custom software development project.