Locator – Geotagged Image & Info
The Locator application is a specialized field-documentation tool designed to archive the cultural legacy of small ethnic communities. By integrating an interactive Leaflet map with Google Satellite imagery, the app allows users to precisely record geographic coordinates and site descriptions. To ensure data integrity in remote areas, it features a robust offline-first architecture using IndexedDB alongside Firebase cloud services. This professional-grade utility bridges the gap between traditional heritage and digital preservation, ensuring ancestral landmarks are mapped and protected for future generations.
Salient Features:
- Interactive Satellite Mapping
- One-Touch Geolocation
- Integrated Street View
- Multimedia Field Capture
- Automated Image Optimization
- Offline Data Persistence
- Secure Cloud Syncing
* Developed under BhoomiTech Hritage & Development Foundation patronage
About Locator
The Locator application is a purpose-built tool for archiving the unique cultural and geographical heritage of small ethnic communities. By utilizing an interactive map powered by Leaflet and Google Satellite imagery, the app allows users to precisely pin locations of historical or cultural significance. Field workers can record essential data—including the name of the site or contributor, a WhatsApp contact for follow-up, and a detailed description—while using the device’s camera to capture and automatically resize images for efficient storage. This streamlined process ensures that the traditions and landmarks of marginalized groups are digitally preserved with high geographic accuracy.
From a technical standpoint, the application is designed for resilience in the field through a robust offline-ready architecture. While the core submission process integrates with Firebase Firestore and Storage for real-time cloud management, the inclusion of a dedicated IndexedDB script (db.js) provides the foundation for local data persistence. This ensures that even when researchers are in remote areas with limited connectivity, their documentation is not lost. Additionally, features like a custom “Street View” control and automated coordinate validation make it a professional-grade utility for grassroots heritage mapping.
Geospatial & Mapping Features
- Interactive Leaflet Map: Uses the Leaflet library to render an interactive map centered on India by default.
- Satellite Imagery: Integrates Google Satellite tiles (
lyrs=y) to provide high-resolution visual context for field researchers. - One-Touch Geolocation: Includes a “Get Current Location” feature that uses the browser’s Geolocation API to instantly pin the user’s coordinates.
- Manual Coordinate Input: Allows users to manually type or adjust Latitude and Longitude values to fine-tune data accuracy.
- Visual Markers: Automatically places or moves a map marker when coordinates are updated, providing immediate visual feedback.
Heritage Data Collection
- Multimedia Integration: Supports direct camera access (
capture="environment") to take photos of heritage sites in the field. - Automated Image Optimization: Includes a
resizeImagefunction that uses a canvas to downscale photos to a maximum width of 300px, ensuring fast uploads and efficient storage. - Standardized Field Inputs: Captures structured data including the contributor’s Name, WhatsApp Number for follow-up, and a detailed Description of the site.
- Smart Form Validation: The “Submit” button remains disabled until the minimum required information (Name, Lat, and Lng) is provided, preventing incomplete entries.
Cloud Integration & Street View
- Firebase Firestore Database: Uses a NoSQL cloud database to store textual metadata and spatial coordinates.
- Firebase Storage: Securely hosts resized images uploaded from the field.
- Google Street View Shortcut: Features a custom-built “Pegman” control on the map that opens the current coordinates in Google Street View to cross-reference the site with historical street-level imagery.
- Server-Side Timestamps: Automatically attaches a
serverTimestamp()to every submission to track when the heritage data was recorded.
Offline Resilience (PWA Foundations)
- IndexedDB Local Storage: Uses a local database (
BhoomiTechOfflineDB) to store submissions directly on the device. - Transaction Management: Includes pre-configured logic to save (
put), retrieve (getAll), and delete records locally within the browser. - PWA Readiness: Includes a web manifest and favicon, allowing the application to be installed on a mobile home screen like a native app.
Highlights
The application empowers field researchers to capture high-precision heritage data by merging real-time GPS tracking with visual verification tools. Through the integration of Leaflet and Google Satellite imagery, users can either use their device’s live location or manually interact with the map to drop markers on specific cultural landmarks. A standout feature is the custom-built Street View control, which allows users to instantly cross-reference their selected coordinates with Google’s street-level imagery in a new window. This dual-layer approach ensures that every entry—from the location of an ethnic shrine to a community meeting spot—is verified against global geospatial data before it is recorded.
Recognizing that ethnic heritage sites are often located in remote areas with unstable internet, the application is built with a dedicated offline storage layer. While the primary system targets Firebase Firestore and Storage for cloud-based preservation, the inclusion of db.js establishes an IndexedDB instance named BhoomiTechOfflineDB directly within the user’s browser. This local database allows the application to save, retrieve, and manage submission records locally, ensuring that data loss is prevented even when a network connection is unavailable. This structural redundancy makes the app a reliable tool for long-term field expeditions where constant connectivity cannot be guaranteed.
How To & FAQ
Locator is an application developed and distributed for FREE for sustainable development projects for any community. Its under public license from BhoomiTech Foundation.
USB Web Server: To run some of our applications or some functions to run, you might require a web server installed in your pc. Here is a lightweight third party FREE web server that supports Apache, PHP (v8) and MySQL perfect for our apps.
