Location Apps Popular in Japan Quake’s Wake
April 1, 2011 By: Tracy Cozzens GPS World
Esri’s map includes links to news reports as well as Tweets, YouTube videos, and Flickr photos. It also gives people the ability to view streets, satellite imagery, and topographic maps as part of the map overlay.
In the wake of the devastating earthquake and tsunami in Japan on March 11, several companies are offering location-based products and applications.
Esri is offering for free an interactive social media map that pulls in social media related to the recent events in Japan. In the Social Media box, users can change the search term for YouTube and Flickr by hovering over the name of the feed, and then typing a new word into the displayed box.
Google has released a Japanese-language Person Finder to help families and friends locate one another. As of mid-March, 329,000 people were registered in the free database. Google also offers a Japan earthquake crisis map with links to evacuation areas, shelters, and affected areas.
QuakeWatch for the iPhone, written right after the quake, is designed to track and send warnings for earthquakes based on U.S. Geological Survey data and other feeds. The app uses the smartphone’s GPS to calculate the user’s distance to the epicenter. Users can share this information with their social network on Facebook or Twitter, right from within the app.
Existing emergency applications for smartphones are also getting a second look, especially those that can provide others with a user’s loction. The iPhone app Silent Bodyguard features a panic button that sends a distress signal with GPS coordinates to potential rescuers without alerting onlookers.
Here I Am can send SMS or e-mail with the user’s coordinates and link to Google Maps. This link also opens in Maps application on Android and iPhone, and can be used as an endpoint for driving directions. The app can use both GPS and Network location providers, but GPS has priority because it is more accurate.
RSS
Become a Fan
Join our Network
Follow Us
Please send any technical comments or questions to our webmaster.