GPS route encoding by mobile application

Abstract

The following dissertation is based around Microsoft products, namely the Windows Phone 7, which is quite a new operating system together with Bing Maps, that is, the maps developed by Microsoft. The HTC HD7 was used to test the application. A mobile application to record GPS coordinates of the track in an unmapped area was developed. This application has the possibility of overlaying another map on the available satellite map to give more detail than the existing Bing Maps. The use of the application allows any person to find their way by following a mapped track. This application allows the user to define the track that he wants to follow, save the defined track and load an existing track. Together with these features, there is also the possibility of comparing the actual track with the track that is being followed and if the user deviates a few metres from the actual track, a change in the colour of the path will occur to notify the user that he is walking away from the specified path and he can move back towards the actual track that he should be taking. The study shows how a GPS works and how to get the required information from a mobile device together with how to access a satellite map on a mobile device. Apart from these a study on how to impose a static map on top of a satellite map was also carried out. The GPS coordinates have to be saved somehow to be accessed later, thus a persistent file comes into place.