After a discussion with two of my brothers around the problems they face as mobile workers (electrician and mechanic), we got thinking about an app that might help them.
After much experimentation with Android and the (awesome) Estimote beacons, I have developed a simple Tracking application yesterday. It’s amazing what you can achieve when you have some clear and simple goals
By placing an Estimote beacon in their vans, their phones will track when they enter and exit. Combine this with their GPS location and you have a simple way of knowing when and where they leave their van.
A simple notification pops up when their enter their van asking them to complete the job details.
The biggest challenge here has been learning who Android finds locations. I finally settled on the FusedLocationAPI provider, but even this proved difficult to use. I wish Android would sort out it’s documentation or provider more up-to-date best practices!
Anyway, I have the Estimote SDK integrated, but the current challenge is making it work when the app has been killed. Simple in iOS. Not so simple in Android. In fact, I have yet to find any code samples on how I’m supposed to do it!
More to do, but this is coming together nicely!
Tomas McGuinness 