New Apps Help Users Map Building Interiors and Crowdsource Maintenance Problems
Two
new
modules allow non-tech-savvy users to map the interiors of school
buildings
in a detail never before available and to use crowdsourcing to speed up
repairs
and building hazards on campuses.
Modo
Labs, a mobile app platform provider, introduced the two new
technologies at
the Educause conference this week in Orlando, FL.
The
company's
Indoor Maps module goes beyond simply providing a building's floor
directory and points of interest. It will allow non-technical users the
ability
to add and update indoor map content themselves from the company's
Kurogo
Mobile Campus app.
According
to
Modo Labs, administrators or even students can map the entire interior
of
a building with little or no training.
The
new
module lets users:
- Browse
and
search a campus, building or specific floor;
- Search
for
and identify different building features and amenities;
- Provide
rich
content like photos and videos describing buildings;
- Link
to other
modules; and
- Keep
sensitive
location information secure and out of the hands of third-party
databases such
as Google Maps.
"Indoor
mapping
is growing in importance with universities with sprawling campuses that
can sometimes have several hundred buildings," said Andrew Yu, founder
and
chief technical officer of Modo Labs.
The
second
technology Modo Labs introduced at Educause is a module that will allow
administrators to quickly identify and remedy problems around a school's
physical plant. With the Facilities module, users can report the
location of
problems and required maintenance for everything from heating and air
conditioning adjustments to repairing bathrooms or broken windows and
changing
light fixtures.
"Our
new
Facilities module serves as an omnipresent 'traffic cop' that allows any
problem or hazard on campus to be quickly reported to trigger a
dispatch," Yu
said.
About the Author
Michael Hart is a Los Angeles-based freelance writer and the former executive editor of THE Journal.