MCFE FieldNotes

MCFE FieldNote

The MCFE FieldNote concept builds on many of the ideas presented in the Background and Stick-e Note sections.

FieldNote Architecture

The main components of this architecture are:

• Tracker modules: these are used to monitor sensor devicess. Typically, these sensors are connected to the hand-held computer via a serial, infra-red or PC card interface, and a separate tracker module is required for each type of external device. More than one tracker module may be active at any time, monitoring different aspects of the user's environment. The main purpose of the tracker modules is to provide a common programming interface to contextual information across a wide range of sensors. Each tracker module has a user interface for configuration and display of current values, but normally runs as a background task providing services to the NoteTrigger module and FieldNote applications.
  Several classes of tracker have been defined, including:
• LocationTracker: used with a GPS receiver or other locating device.
• AttitudeTracker: used with devices such as electronic compasses, inclinometers and range-finders to provide the user's or computer's azimuth and elevation angles and ranges to distant objects.
• EnvironmentTracker: used to monitor a range of sensors providing information about current conditions in the immediate vicinity of the computer. Typical sensors might measure variables such as temperature, humidity, wind speed, etc.
• PseudoTracker: used to track logical contexts. Here, the user might register interest in particular subjects or notes authored by a particular person.
• TrackerManager: an optional component that may be used to organise a number of trackers on a single machine. The manager is used to select the default tracker module for each registered class of tracker (location, attitude, etc.). For example, several GPS trackers may be present, one for each of several communication protocols (NMEA, Trimble or CMC binary). By selecting the appropriate tracker for the currently connected receiver, the user avoids the need to set the tracker separately within each dependent application.
• NoteTrigger: this provides an optional context-aware triggering capability. It enables the user to define search criteria as a set of contexts of interest. It then runs in the background attempting to match notes with the current context. When a match is found, the note can be displayed, edited or executed using an appropriate application. The NoteTrigger module may monitor internal 'sensors', such as the system clock, external sensors via one or more tracker modules, or 'pretend' contexts using internally maintained lists.

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