MalaysiaGIS.com

Source: In-Tech, The Star (page 52)

On May 1, 2000, former US President Bill Clinton removed the 100-metre accuracy restriction for commercial and civilian users. Observers believe that the wider coverage available now could spur the growth of GPS applications.

"There's been a lot of hype about GPS over the last five years, but little has happened mainly because of this accuracy restriction, but I expect GPS to start taking off here now," said Firdhaus Akber, Rimman VM chief executive officer.

Using 24 Navstar satellites circling the earth around various axes at a height of 20,200km, GPS was originally developed and used by the United States Defence Department to provide navigation for the US military.

With the launch of the last of these satellites on March 9, 1994, it was made available for commercial and civilian use - from hikers and jungle trekkers to anyone who needed to know where they were when far from any kind of signage or landmark.

GPS receivers mounted on cars, lorries, boats, ships and planes, as well as handheld receivers, use codes transmitted from four satellites above to determine their positions and height. The receivers finetune their locations with the aid of "GPS time", which is measured by atomic clocks with an accuracy of billionth of a second. GPS time is also used as a reference.

However, until Clinton's directive was implemented, commercial and civilian users could only determine their positions to within 20 metres or even 10 metres in some cases.

GPS on a Phone
Rimman VM is a joint venture between Singapore-based Virtual Map(S) Pte Ltd - which owns 40% and Rimman International Sdn Bhd, which owns the rest.

Rimman International publishes the Kuala Lumpur and Klang Valley Street Directory.

The joint venture provides various types of raw map data to GPS device makers and customers using the Arc/Info and MapInfo GPS software.

The Singapore-based Virtual Map has offices in Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Taiwan and Australia.

The company provides GPS-based tracking and navigation solutions to transport fleet operators, car rental companies and even police forces to keep track of the location and movement of their vehicles.

For instance, Taiwanese police uses its tracking system to locate and dispatch the nearest available car to the scene of an emergency or crime.

"Three basic types of GPS 'trip recorders' (or tracking devices) are used in vehicles," said Firdhaus, who also is chief executive officer of Virtual Map.

"The first type merely records the movement of a vehicle -say a lorry - and if the fleet control centre needs access to the data, it will have to download it to a PC via a directly-connected cable at the depot."

The second type includes an integrated GSM (Global System for Mobile communications) cellphone complete with SIM (Subscriber Identification Module) card. It lets the PC at the control centre - also equipped with a GSM communications device - to request information on the lorry's latest location by sending it an SMS (Short Messaging Service) query over the GSM network. The lorry's recorder replies with the requested data via SMS.

The PC at the control centre will also have software that tracks the lorries - where they have stopped, for how long, and whether any of them have diverted from their scheduled routes, which could suggest the lorry has been hijacked.

The third type of tracking device goes further. This device, attached to the vehicle's engine and doors, is used by car rental companies in Singapore to keep track of their cars' movements. It automatically disables the car should its driver try and drive it over the causeway into Malaysia, since insurance rates are cheaper in Singapore.

Malaysian Potential
Rimman VM is talking with local automotive manufacturers to install GPS tracking and navigation systems in their cars. These systems include specially made LCD displays that can show maps and route information to help drivers avoid traffic jams.

The traffic information is based on studies of typical traffic patterns at different times of the day, but the system can't take into account exceptional traffic conditions caused by unforeseen circumstances, Firdhaus acknowledged. That can be managed however with real-time data and monitoring cameras.

"There are cheaper alternatives to specialised displays," he said.

For instance, in Taiwan, Virtual Map uses PDAs (personal digital assistants) which dock to a port in the cars as the display devices. These work in tandem with normal WAP (Wireless Applications Protocol) phones.

Rimman VM and its Malaysian partner - WAP solutions developer WAP Portal Sdn Bhd - are working with local mobile telecommunications companies to offer tracking and navigation services.

"We are also currently working with Finnova Corporation Sdn Bhd - the local Benefon distributor - to provide local GPS map data on the GPS-enabled Benefon ESC GSM mobile phone, which Finnova expects to launch here in two months," Firdhaus said.

GIS for the rest of us
Meanwhile, Firdhaus said he expects the recent availability of less sophisticated, less complex and much cheaper "raster-based" geographic information system (GIS) maps - compared to the traditional vector-based ones - to open up opportunities.

For example, sales and marketing companies can use raster maps to plan their campaigns or identify a suitable site for a new outlet.

Vector GIS maps contain embedded information on the topography of the ground, type of mineral deposits below it, the density, age and type of trees in a forest, the density and types of fish in the sea, the presence of pipes and wiring below the ground, and demographic details of different areas.

Such maps even let users drill down to, say, an oil pumping station for information on pumps and other equipment inside it. If the GIS is integrated with monitoring systems, you can also get details on their temperature, pressure readings and any indications of impending problems.

Raster maps contain only a subset of the information above, and are thus much cheaper. For instance, Rimman VM charges around RM20,000 for a raster map of the city of Kuala Lumpur, compared to the hefty RM500,000 it charges for a vector GIS map.

"Raster-based maps look like typical graphic images, have a pleasing appearance, and are fairly easy to understand and interpret, so they're preferred by sales and marketing companies which will not pay the price for a vector map anyway," said Firdhaus.

"While vector maps are far more powerful, sophisticated and information-rich than raster maps, they're not particularly attractive, require highly trained personnel to use and interpret the data therein.

"They are thus mainly used by large industries such as mining, fisheries and forestry, which have the money and human resources to acquire and use them," he added.

Moreover, GPS maps are also raster-based, which can help drive demand for raster-based GIS applications.

Spreading knowledge
Rimman VM also provides consultancy services. It claims to have helped a local fast food chain study the strength of its stores' presence based upon a combination of field surveys, analyses of the relevant areas's demographic pattern, and the results of studies by experts and consultants across the world.

"For instance, studies have found that fast food outlets located near four-star hotels get more business that those elsewhere," said Firdhaus.

The company also provides consultancy in real estate planning, traffic management, urban planning, waste management, transport management and information systems.

It is talking with local universities and colleges to provide them with Internet-based campus/facilities maps. Anyone, including students of course, can access these maps online to locate the institution's buildings, faculties, facilities, bus stops and the routes to reach these places.

Virtual Map has provided such campus maps to universities and colleges in Singapore and Australia, as well as for the Singapore General Hospital.

Rimman VM's other Internet-based map services include VM Maplite, which lets companies and organisations provide their customers with directions on how to get to their office by car or public transport. Current users include the Ausway Group and the Bukit Panjang Primary School in Singapore.

Another is VM Retail Locator which banks and companies can use to provide the public with information on the exact location of their outlets and directions to reach them by public transport or on foot.

A major Virtual Map customer is MasterCard International, which commissioned the company to develop a system that would allow members of the public to search for the locations of MasterCard ATMs in cities throughput Asia Pacific.

Searches can be done via Virtual Map's Streetdirectory.com portal at www.streetdirectory.com/mastercard_kl/search.html; MasterCard ATMs throughout Malaysia can be found through the Worldwide ATM Locator on MasterCard's website at global.mastercard.com/my/atm/.

Meanwhile, the map portal at www.streetdirectory.com allows users to find buildings and streets in Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, Thailand, Indonesia and Taiwan by keying in the building, street name, area and/or section.

Rimman VM can be reached at (03) 6201-9822; Virtual Map has a website at www.virtual-map.com.