Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
approaches tend to be associated with measurement records derived from LiDAR (Light
Detection and Ranging) products, raster approaches are regularly implemented on a vari-
ety of datasets originating from different sources such as radar.
15.4.2 i
iteratiVe
M
odel
B
uilding
in
the
f
field
Being in the field is important to understanding aspects of some disciplines; geography, in particu-
lar, is considered by many to be
field based
(Clark, 1996). A major issue with field work, especially
if time for primary data collection is limited, which it often is, is the finality of the data acquired.
It is usually impossible or impractical to return to a field site after a study has been completed,
and even if it is possible, it is likely that without in-field information about what has been col-
lected, previously, the new dataset would also be flawed. LBGC, of course, is not perfect, but it is,
nevertheless, perhaps a good step in the right direction. It remains subject to many other issues in
computational geography that still trouble the wider community, such as sensor accuracy, underly-
ing data inadequacy and environmental conditions. LBGC does, however, provide an opportunity
to carry out data collection and analysis in the field, allowing the research team to reflect upon their
field activities and then rectify and amend if necessary. Also, through the app creation process, as
mentioned at the beginning of this chapter, one can control for geospatial semantics by tagging
additional data to what has been captured, such as a photograph, or data quality reported as data
assumptions (Pundt, 2002) such as the position of a raster data cell on a landscape compared to its
real-world counterpart.
Indicative to being in the field is the concept of temporality. Data performed in computational
analysis are usually out of date. The data collection opportunities of LBGC offer the user the ability
to collect data that are up to the minute. This in turn allows the informed user to come to make judg-
ments, draw conclusions and, if necessary, capture or create new data in the field to replace data that
are no longer relevant. Additionally, temporal analysis of areas can be made easier to accomplish
through the use of LBGC technologies.
15.4.3 S
ingle
M
oBile
d
eVice
Physical geography field study areas can be in out of the way places without network access. This
is particularly apparent in the study of rivers, lakes, volcanoes and glaciers, which may not have 3G
coverage. It means that in order for an app to be robust, it cannot rely on Internet connectivity, which
in turn requires careful planning before embarking on the field portion of any study. Processing on
a single mobile device has been made possible by the ever-increasing amounts of storage memory
and RAM that can be found on the latest mobile devices, and it is common to find devices with
interchangeable SD cards of up to 64 GB.
Having a single mobile device as the platform of choice in field conditions has its advantages,
but this is not to say that intercommunication between devices is ignored or not possible. Mobile
devices can encourage collaboration in the field; it just cannot be solely reliant on infrastructure
such as network coverage. We believe that mobile device computing power will increase in tandem
with network coverage and speed perhaps offering advantages in combining on-board computing
power and access to a remote server.
15.4.4 a
ffordanceS
and
P
roPertieS
of
M
oBile
d
eViceS
So what is different about using mobile devices in the field to do LBGC compared to simply taking
a high-powered laptop, sitting down in a forest or on the edge of a cliff and behaving as if you were
in an office? Taking advantage of being mobile, of being in the field and of the devices themselves
is crucial to our vision of LBGC. Previous studies involved researchers customising laptops, taking
them into the field and subsequently using such equipment to perform on-site calculations using
