MOBILE AND WEB GIS APPLICATION FOR MAPPING AND MONITORING LAND FEATURES

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1 MOBILE AND WEB GIS APPLICATION FOR MAPPING AND MONITORING LAND FEATURES Michelle V. Japitana*, Melbert R. Bonotan, Roel G. Damalerio 1 Assoc. Professor College of Engineering & Information Techonology and Phil.-LiDAR2, Project Leader, 2 Sr. SRS and 3 Research Associates I of Phil-LiDAR 2 Project michelle.japitana@gmail.com ABSTRACT: This paper describes the method employed in developing Mobile GIS application that extends to Web mapping. The Mobile application developed to capture data and map land features and Web Mapping for monitoring and reporting where both applications were used as tools for Phil-LiDAR 2.B.14 Project of Caraga State University. This is to validate agricultural and coastal resources within the CARAGA region which is comprised of five provinces. The application was built to improve and make field validation done efficiently, through utilizing mobile and GIS technology that will help in capturing, storing and mapping of land features. The convenience in using this application does not only cut-short the manual recording and inputting of data on field data sheets, but also becomes an effective means for reporting and monitoring the progress of the field data collection team of CSU Phil-LiDAR 2. This application provides high portability as it provides electronic form using Android application with integration of image capturing which is stored to the local mobile database using SQLite. This development further improved the way spatial database are updated and being accessed by end-users. The Web Mapping interface of the android application was generated using JSon, Apache Cordova and Google Maps Plugin while the web mapping utilities used for this development were: PostgreSQl and PostGIS for the database server; and Yii Framework and XAMPP for the application Server and Web Server, respectively. KEY WORDS: Mobile Application, Web Mapping, Android GIS Application, Land Features 1. INTRODUCTION Android is now not just the globe s most popular Smartphone operating system but the most popular operating system of any kind. More than a billion Android devices were sold in 2014, according to the research firm Gartner. That s about five times the number of Apple ios devices sold, and about three times the number of Windows machines sold (Farhad, M., 2015). This only implies the high trend of Android Technology, and increasing amount of developers and programmers who get attracted in using android operating system. This is to create applications that may give additional features and updates, for a more sophisticated environment and applications for Smartphones. And indeed, Android Technology, as it grows rapidly, many of mapping technologies and IS development software has version that also supports mobile operating system like android. And given its high portability, it can be hosted in mobile devices or Smartphones, this offers a great pool of opportunities for the development of applications that involve mapping and geospatial information. Caraga State University Phil-LiDAR 2.B.14 a project funded by DOST-PCIEERD whose primary objective was to generate maps for high value crops by employing remote sensing and data mining methods using LiDAR technologies. One of the project s components, is the Field Data Collection Component (FDCC) which is tasked to acquire field points and conduct field survey to gather data and perform validation of the actual land use and land cover. These validation datasets are used to evaluate the accuracy assessment of the detailed resource maps generated from processing LiDAR data. Moreover, field survey and validation is not only risky in the part of the survey team, as it is sometimes performed in remote places and coastal areas. At times, there are instances when gathering of data are challenging affecting the performance of the FDCC in ensuring adequate and quality data, especially when the recording of data is through the traditional pen and paper manner. Hence, this study aims to take advantage of the android technology in order to develop an application for data capturing and mapping land features and at the same time provide a monitoring tool for the project team. The study particularly aims to address the conventional method of data gathering and recording of the FDCC by providing a new method and interface that can foster data quality and security. 2. METHODOLOGY 2.1 Methodological Framework This study employs Rapid Application Development (RAD), shown in Figure 1, to cope up with the allotted time to develop and implement the system, considering its very high necessity in the on-going FDCC validation

2 surveys. The system should also remain flexible, thus the design of the software to be used will be changed from time to time as needs arises. 3.1 Data Used 3. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Field Data Sheet Form used for the acquisition and inputting of the captured data including the picture number generated by the camera used in capturing images of the site is shown in Figure 4 Figure 2 Rapid Application Development (RAD) 2.2 Conceptual Framework The conceptual framework of the system is shown in Figure 3. The system will be fed with data using shapefile or CSV format file that will be generated by the FDCC component. It is a point shapefile taken randomly with the area to be conducted with field validation and survey. Shapefile will be loaded to the spatial database using the PostGIS postgresql extension, and CSV file format will be imported using web services to store in the database. Using the Android application to be developed, the data will be downloaded from the database server to the local database of the smartphone, and FDCC can now perform validation and acquisition of data of the points using the application, store the acquired data in the SQLite Database, and upload the acquired data back to the database server for web mapping to be used for monitoring. The Web Map will showcase the points with its status and information if the point/s was already validated. This way, the FDCC will be monitored using the web mapping application. This will also help identify and visualize the updates of validated area of the project. The application also integrated with tracking system for monitoring where the field validation route will be map in the web. The mapping will be done through sending of GPS location using the mobile/smartphone use during the validation. Points will be send using internet/sms, where SMS gateway is provided as receiver and the medium that will stored the location in the server and update in the web. Figure 4 Field Data Sheet Form Figure 5 is the point shapefile generated by the Field Data Collection Component (FDCC). Where this file will be imported in the database server using DBF loader shown in figure 7 in Loading of Data section. As discussed in figure 1 this file contains location information like point code, province, municipality, latitude and longitude. Where latitude and longitude are the information needed in plotting the points in the web map. Figure 5 DFB File of Point Shapefile After the loading of the data, points will then be displayed in the web as shown in figure 6. Currently 2194 point are already loaded, 717 submitted or validated and 1477 are not. Figure 6 Mapping of Points Loaded in the Server 3.2 Loading of Data Figure 3 Android Application Conceptual Framework Figure 7 is the DBF or shapefile loader, this is the interface provided by the PostgreSQL in importing shapefile into database. Imported Shapefile will then be translated into table, and for the system created since

3 points are stored in one table SQL scripts are created to map new imported data into the Point table. DBF loader is a feature added when installing POSTGIS component in PostgreSQL. Figure 10 Option for Downloading Points 3.3 Android Application Figure 7 DBF Loader Figure 11 shows the interface of the Navigator, in this interface all validation points downloaded in the server can be viewed. The interface also shows the current position of the user in the map. Users can also filter points to be viewed or displayed in the map. Figure 8 shows the main interface of the land use android application which provides 3 options; Upload data, Download Points, and Navigator. Figure 11 Navigator View Figure 8 Main Interface Figure 9 is the interface for importing points. This is the main interface that will allow user to specify what area or points to download from the server. Then after inputting the desired points based on the filter attributes specified in the interface, the user can click the search button to display all points based on the filter attributes provided. The reset button is for clearing the text box provided for ease of correction or inputting of new filter attributes. Upon clicking the Search Button the user will be redirected to the options and list of points as shown in Figure 10. Figure 12 shows the points result of the filter option done as mentioned in figure 11 discussion, where you can click tool-tip to launch camera application to capture image and input validation form as shown Figure 13. Figure 12 Downloaded Point View/Display Figure 13 shows the interface for inputting gathered data or information upon validation. The data specified in the Field Data Sheet are well represented in this interface. After inputting, Save Validation button is provided to store the inputted data to the database and update the point s status. Automatic uploading is done in background task. The application triggers the upload function data asynchronous if internet connection found. Figure 9 Importing Points interface Figure 10 is an interface for downloading points, where user can specify by checking points to download or simply check the Check All button provided to download all points available for validation. Figure 13 Validation Form

4 Figure 14 is an interface for inputting crop cycle. This is to gather database on the seasonal variations of crops within the area. Figure 17 Report Generation in CSV & KML Format Figure 14 Adding Crop Cycle Interface Figure 15 shows web map interface with the points in different colors. The color depicts the status of points in which the green represents validated or surveyed points while red are those points not yet validated. Through this delineation the FDCC accomplishments can be monitored. Figure 18 shows the newly added functionality of land use web mapping where FDCC route will be monitored and mapped using the mobile application. Mapping and updating of points was made real time with the use of Node.js technology. Figure 18 Tracking and Route Mapping 4. CONCLUSION Figure 15 Validated Points 3.4 Web Mapping and Tracking Shown in Figure 16 is the sample Web Map output as a result of gathering and uploading of data using the android application. Points are being overlaid in OpenstreetMap, and when clicked, an information bubble is display. This web map is not only can be accessed through desktop computer but also in smartphones since the GUI are responsive using Bootstrap template in Yii Framework. The advent of the android application has significantly changed the conduct of field validation and data collection of FDCC. The manpower needed with the conduct and effort are lessen as parallel operation are integrated and automated using the application. The high portability of a smartphone along with a user friendly application make it a handy tool for the conduct of field validation and field data gathering. With the cutting-edge technology of smartphone development in which some smartphones are now water-proof and shock resistant, gathering of field data and the data itself can now be safer and more secure than doing it manually with the aid of a pen and paper. Also, because most Smartphone have direct access to mobile internet, the monitoring and updating of field information of the FDCC is near real time. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Figure 16 Web Point Mapping with Popup Information All information gathered can be exported in Comma Separated Values (CSV) and Keyhole Markup Language (KML) for report generation as shown in Figure 17. The authors are grateful for the support of the Department of Science and Technology through the DOST-GIA and the Philippine Council for Industry, Energy, and Emerging Technology Research and Development (DOST-PCIEERD). LiDAR data was obtained from the UP DREAM-LiDAR Program.

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