GPS tracking through MapPoint
Gurjy
Are there any add ins for Map Point to allow it to track GPS signals real
time (or on a 1 hour refresh rate).
I'm looking to track GPS locations to profile movement, locations
frequented, etc of an independent team of people. Manage there locations as
close to real time as possible and produce a monthly heat map report.
Many Thanks in advance for any assistance offered.
DickGrier
A GPS signal is a serial data stream that is generated by a GPS receiver.
It is output locally.
What you would need is a software application that receives that signal,
interprets it, and sends the interpreted data (probably via an Internet
connection, perhaps GPRS or equivalent) to a server application. That
server application then could generate the reports using MapPoint or other
tools for display and archiving (there may be licensing considerations, on
the server). The client application might run on a notebook, a Windows
Mobile PPC, a Smartphone, or even client hardware that is designed
specifically for this purpose; there are a number of devices that do just
this sort of thing.
This all is practical, and has been done many times, I'm sure (MapPoint,
Bing Maps, Google Maps, etc.). However, there isn't anything built-into
MapPoint to support this sort of thing directly. You'd need to write code,
or purchase an already developed application.
Dick
--
Richard Grier, Consultant, Hard & Software 12962 West Louisiana Avenue
Lakewood, CO 80228 303-986-2179 (voice) Homepage: www.hardandsoftware.net
Author of Visual Basic Programmer's Guide to Serial Communications, 4th
Edition ISBN 1-890422-28-2 (391 pages) published July 2004, Revised July
2006.