Setting Up Pocket Panorama (Experimental--expect to need help)

A recent collaborative project with two students from the Ecole navale, France, led to the development of Pocket Panorama.

Guth, P.L, Olaf Oertel, Guillaume Bénard, and Rémy Thibaud, 2003, Pocket Panorama: 3D GIS on a handheld device: in Bertolotto, M., ed., Proceedings of the Third International Workshop on Web and Wireless Geographical Information Systems  (W²GIS 2003),  Dec 13, 2003, Rome, p 92-96.

Slides from presentation in Rome.

You will need the following files:

• gpsdata.pl, a Perl script for reading the GPS data coming from the Pocket PC and directing it to MICRODEM. This must go into the cgi-bin directory of your web server.
• Pocket_Pan.exe, a CGI program.  This must go into the cgi-bin directory of your web server.
• gps_read.exe, a  program that must be installed on your PocketPC.
• MICRODEM.EXE.  You need a full install dated after 10 Dec 2003.

Setting up a server

• Install server software (e.g. http://www.sambar.com/)
• Insure that you configure the server to run cgi scripts and programs.  In SAMBAR:
  • When you start, your web browser comes up.
  • Pick the System Administration link.
  • Pick the "Configuration" option on the left side panel.
  • Insure the CGI directory is set (should be /cgi-bin/).
• Start the server running
• Get the server's IP address from its information window.

Setting up MICRODEM:

• On the options form, web tab, set the two directories to "c:\temp".  This location is currently hard-wired in Pocket_Pan.exe.  Make sure the directory exists on the server PC.
• On the file menu, pick the "Pocket Panorama server" option.
• Open the DEM for the area, and optionally an image for draping on the 3D views.
• To test the MICRODEM installation, try the test buttons on the second row of the Web control window.  You must first load a lat/long (which will be in the center of the DEM).  You should see the selected graphics load.  If this works you can attempt to access the server over the internet.

Setting a viewer location must be done in one of the following ways:

• Via GPS from the PocketPC.
• From the control window in MICRODEM on the server PC.
• Using the lat/long controls in the web browser on the client PC.

Testing the setup

	Start Sambar. Bring up the control window from the Icons tray. Note the IP address on the upper left side of the window.
	Open your web browser. Connect the IP address from the server control window. If this page appears, the Server is running.
	Connect your web browser to "cgi-bin/pocket_pan.exe".  You can just add that to the address already present. You should get this page. If you do not get this page, either Pocket_pan.exe is not present or Sambar is not set up for CGI scripts. Start MICRODEM, and on the file menu, pick the "Pocket Panorama server" option. Open the DEM for the area, and optionally an image for draping on the 3D views. Set the location. Using the controls on this form. Using the button on the PC server. Now try selecting one of the options on this page. If you do not get a response, MICRODEM is not correctly set up. If you get a response, everything is correctly working and you can try connecting via the PocketPC.

OpenGL Option:

• The server PC must have the OpenGL window on top. The screen capture method used to get the image captures the entire screen, and not just the correct window. If the OpenGL window is covered, you will get the covering.

Maps

• The size of the maps is set in the defaults in MICRODEM, both for the lat/long extent and the size of the window in pixels.

Problems and Questions

• Please report any issues.
• This documentation is very preliminary.
• The programs may need additional error-trapping.
• The program currently may not behave well with multiple client requests coming in over a short period of time.
• Code will be available shortly for:
  • Pocket_Pan. This requires one of the higher-end versions Delphi for the web options.
  • The web interface module of MICRODEM, which will show you what is happening but will not let you recreate a working program.  If you want to modify the GIS map server, you must contact pguth@usna.edu about collaborative efforts.

Last revision 12/18/2003