Kevin Benedict is a TCS futurist and lecturer focused on the signals and foresight that emerge as society, geopolitics, economies, science, technology, environment, and philosophy converge.
Digital Images and Annotations on Handheld PDAs
I have seen this request from companies doing job estimates on handheld computers. They want to take a digital photo and highlight the problem areas. This information gets sent back to the office where a supervisor can review before delivering a final job bid.
Mobile Solutions for Government & Public Works
Washington State Mobile Technology Conference - Dec. 1st
For more details on this upcoming Mobile Technology conference please follow this link.
- 8:30 am - Registration and continental breakfast
- 9:00 am - Opening Remarks - Kevin Benedict
- 9:15 am - Keynote Presentation - Enterprise Mobility - Mission Critical Brent Felker Americas VP, Mobile Solutions,Psion Teklogix
- 10:00 am - Panel Session 1 - What is Field Mobility? Who is Mobilizing? Where is the ROI?Panelist - Microsoft, MobileDataforce, Palm, iAnywhere, Psion Teklogix
- 11:00 am - Break - Exhibitor Demos
- 11:15 am - Latest Developments in Enterprise Mobile Software Solutions
- 11:45 pm - Microsoft on Mobility
- 12:15 pm - Lunch (Provided) - Exhibitor Demos
- 1:00 pm - Government Mobility Projects - Asset Management, Inspections and Work Orders
- 1:30 pm - Panel Session 2 - Enterprise Mobile Projects, Design, Development, Deployment and Choosing the Right Hardware and Connectivity SolutionsPanelists - Psion Teklogix, MobileDataforce, iAnywhere, Palm, PrintekMobile
- 2:30 pm - Latest Developments in Ruggedized in Handheld Computers and Accessories
- 3:00 pm - Latest Developments in Mobile PDA Phones - Palm Treos, Windows Mobile 5.0 and more
- 3:30 pm - Closing Remarks
Data Collection & Data Integrity
Paper based data collection processes have problems. One of the biggest is the inability of a paper process to ensure that the data collected is relevant, accurate and appropriate. Recently I spoke with a person involved in a data collection project that consisted of 17 data collectors. At the end of the project they reviewed the data on the paper forms and much of it was missing, inaccurate or irrelevant. The project was a complete failure.
The screen shot above shows an example of a data collection application with pick lists and database queries. The data collector is limited to selecting pre-designated service categories. Once the category is selected, then a database query is performed that presents only the services related to that category.
There are many techniques for ensuring the validity of the data collected, but this example shows how you can limit the selection to at least relevant answers.
The other problem the failed data collection project experienced was their inability to review the collected data on a timely basis. The project was over and the data collectors dismissed before the collected data was reviewed and analyzed for accuracy. With a data collection solution on a handheld computer that includes integration to a database server, the data can be reviewed as often as needed and with immediate visibility and analysis.
The Automobile Whisperer - Handheld PDAs Communicating with Vehicles
His name is Tom Booker. His voice can calm wild horses, his touch can heal broken spirits. That is from the back cover of the book, The Horse Whisperer. I can't do that, but we can talk to cars, trucks and vans and they can talk back to us.
We have had the opportunity to work with a company in Vancouver BC, that I have written about in an earlier blog article, that had a requirement to communicate with the vehicle's engine computer. The image to the right shows a cable connection, but we have also connected to the vehicle's engine via bluetooth.
What was the purpose of this project? Our customer was converting conventional delivery vans to "hybrid" vans. So during and following the conversion the company was using handheld computers to monitor the engine diagnostics. The mechanics and engineers now can walk up to a car and survey its vitals without lifting the hood. Analysis software on the handhelds can use the data to make recommendations to improve performance and/or configurations.
Think about all the mobile handheld computer applications that are now associated with automobiles:
- Engine analysis
- Automotive repair estimates
- Work orders for automotive repair
- Automobile tracking/Automated Vehicle Tracking using GPS
- Automobile Lease Returns
All of these mobile software applications for handheld computers used MobileDataforce's PointSync Mobility Platform for design, development and deployment.
Interviews with Kevin Benedict
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Futurist David Espindola’s new book has just been released, "Soulful: You in the Future of Artificial Intelligence." Alex Whittin...
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I had a great time participating in the filming and development of a 10 minute film on digital twins recently. Last week was its premier at...
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In this deep dive with Munich Re (Groups) cybersecurity expert Bob Parisi, we learn how the insurance and reinsurance industry develops poli...