2D Geofencing
Simply put, geofencing is like subscribing to changes on a map. If something on the map changes, you receive a notification—similar to getting an alert when a train ticket or a pair of sneakers you’ve been eyeing becomes available.
When can this be useful in the context of maps?
- 🏠 Housing search → if a new apartment becomes available in your desired area. Just like with sneakers, someone else might rent your dream apartment if you miss the notification.
- 📅 Location-based calendar reminders → if you are within 300 meters of a store you need to visit. Timely reminders are crucial before you move too far away.
- 🚕 Taxi arrivals → notify you when your taxi is approaching your current location.
- 📢 GeoAdvertising → if you pass by a coffee shop, you get a notification about their latest offer.
- ♻️ Useful Points of Interest (POI) → for instance, a Telegram bot that sends notifications when a new recycling container appears near your home.
- 🎉 Nearby events → notifications about upcoming events in your area.
- 🧑⚕️ Tracking dementia patients → ensuring patients do not wander off from the hospital premises.
However, these are all examples involving 2D zones. We are now working on a project where terrain must also be considered.
3D Geofencing: Mining SAFETY MONITORING
In mineral extraction, it’s crucial that operations are conducted within designated boundaries, which are three-dimensional and feature complex terrains. In coal mining, this involves an open-pit mine with many terraces.
Generated with the help of ChatGPT and DALL-E
Our monitoring system tracks:
- 🏔️ 3D factor → ensuring machinery digs or dumps waste only within the designated boundaries.
- ⏱️ Spatio-temporal factor → monitoring if people or machinery enter explosive zones during designated time intervals.
We automatically monitor these activities and notify dispatchers if operations occur outside these boundaries, allowing for prompt response.
Key points in 3D geofencing:
- 🔍 Visual challenges → it’s difficult to solve this issue visually. Analytical solutions are essential because the terrain’s complex geometry requires performance monitoring. Dispatchers don’t need a 3D interface for 24/7 viewing—it’s too complex to interpret continuously.
- 📐 Geopositioning and coordinate systems → machinery and monitored areas have different coordinate systems, so it's vital to account for potential reprojection errors.
- ⚠️ Topological errors → these are harder to detect in 3D, and undetected errors can lead to false alerts.
Developing this service, which seems straightforward in 2D, involves integrating data from different sources and visualizing it on a web map:
- Surveyings
- CAD drawings
- GPS receivers
- Aerial imagery
The challenge is to avoid overwhelming dispatchers while providing sufficient information for decision-making.
Summary
This use case demonstrates how geofencing can be applied to monitor zones, including 3D environments. If you need to track any geographical area, geofencing could be the solution to your problem.
