Results of Tablet Computer Field Entry Pilot Tests Michael Banach and Greg Wilke Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources THANKS! • Idaho Department of Fish and • Oregon Department of Fish • Washington Department of • Pacific States Marine Fisheries Game ─ Aaryn Smith and Wildlife Fish and Wildlife Commission ─ Bart Butterfield ─ Adam Storch ─ Ethan Crawford ─ Brett Holycross ─ Bonnie Ricord ─ Christopher Horn ─ Jerry Dedloff ─ Van Hare ─ Bre Anderson ─ Chris Gratton ─ Christopher Tiffany ─ Joe Bumgarner ─ Bill Kinney ─ Chris Harrington ─ Curt Beyer ─ Mike Herr ─ Bruce Schmidt ─ Cody Melchior ─ Dean Brown ─ Todd Miller ─ Chris Wheaton ─ Eric Malone ─ Ethan Kalinowski ─ Hilary Griffin ─ Evan Brown ─ Jim Ruzycki ─ Jonas Smith ─ Jonathan LaTour ─ Jordan Messner ─ Kim Apperson ─ Kasey Bliesner • Bonneville Power ─ Lance Hebdon ─ Kevin Rybacki Administration ─ Matt Lyon ─ Lance Clarke • US Fish and Wildlife Service ─ Matt Pumfrey ─ Russell Scranton ─ Matthew Amick ─ Matt Gardner ─ Steve Lazzini ─ Mike Raymondi ─ Matt Wyatt ─ Steve Pastor ─ Randy Walsh ─ Mike Flesher ─ Rebecca Fritz • Also ... ─ Ron Roberts ─ Phil Simpson ─ Tiffani Marsh, NMFS ─ Samuel Romans ─ Shelley Tattam ─ Scott Putnam ─ Brian Jonasson, ODFW ─ Sean Fitzmaurice ─ Tim Copeland ─ Will Glaeser ─ Yvonne Rericha 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 2 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Origin of this work 2012. BPA interested in tablet computers. ─ Potential positives MORE convenient than clipboard Efficient data acquisition Improved data quality Speed data sharing 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 3 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Origin of this work 2012. BPA interested in tablet computers. ─ Potential negatives LESS convenient than clipboard Significant data loss possible Slow data entry Cost : benefit ratio may be high 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 4 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Our questions 2012. BPA interested in tablet computers. ─ Can we automate target database updates? ─ Can it be easy? 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 5 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources METHODS 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 6 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources What we tested: the forest • 4 tablet computers ─ 2 Apple iPads 1 standard size 1 “mini” Both in ruggedized / waterproof case ─ 2 Android Neither in a case One natively rugged and waterproof One waterproof, not rugged Both roughly the size of standard iPad • All waterproof November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 7 What we tested: the trees Sony Panasonic Xperia 1 Toughpad FZ-A1 Bad Elf BE-GPS-2200 • Google Android OS Apple Apple iPad • GPS iPad 4 Mini 2 • Camera • Google Android OS • Feather-weight, thin • Rugged and waterproof • Waterproof construction • Big screen • GPS • Not rugged • Camera • Heavy, bulky • Pricey • Apple iOS • In optional rugged and waterproof case • Apple iOS • Camera • In optional rugged • Light, small and waterproof case • Small screen Anker Astro ES external battery November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR • Camera & 14W solar recharger • Heavy, bulky Slide 8 We ... • researched ways to minimize development and maintenance costs. ─ Hardware is relatively inexpensive ─ Chose “Fulcrum” mobile data collection platform www.fulcrumapp.com; spatialnetworks.com › Potential for small team to rapidly deploy & manage multiple data systems One of many options 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 9 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources We ... • recruited fisheries workers to test during real field work. • created a data entry system for each project. • created a data delivery system for each project. ─ Directly into Access ─ Downloading spreadsheets is also available. IDFG chose that method. Cut/paste. 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 10 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources We ... • had the fisheries workers test the several hardware options. • created questionnaires regarding: ─ Hardware ─ User interface Real-world ─ Usability experiences tell if We evaluated the the technology is systems ─ Durability helpful, neutral, development side ─ Reliability or a detriment. ─ Data delivery 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 11 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources RESULTS 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 12 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Fulcrum Apps Capabilities • Various data types • Parent-child relationships • Read-only fields • Hidden fields • Calculated fields • QC and interface functions 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 13 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Fulcrum Apps Capabilities • But not: ─ Wide variety of controls (programming sense) ─ Event-driven programming ─ No convenient development environment to test updates before deployment ─ OS other than Android or iOS (i.e., Windows) • Tablet computer limitations ─ Touchscreen is convenient but ..... 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 14 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Our experience programming Design and create forms ~ 8 hours / form Create back end database in SQL Server at PSMFC ~ 4 hours Code to fetch data from Fulcrum server ~ 4 hours MS Access VBA code to let end user call web service and fetch data ~ 8 hours Oh, Code for web service to that’s a send data to end user big table! ~ 8 hours 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 15 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience: questionnaire results • Generally positive to neutral • Zero “Very good” 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 16 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • 90% said was easy 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 17 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • Trouble holding all day. • Xperia’s weight and slimness helped 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 18 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • Xperia’s lack of rugged construction made testers nervous • Nobody actually had trouble with it. 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 19 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • Few bad reactions ─ We did emulate their existing systems / data sheets ─ Parent / child tables easy, but not elegant 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 20 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience: KEY QUESTION • Zero “Very good”, few “Good” • Data entry tedious and inefficient • Finding previously-entered record was difficult and slow 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 21 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • Significantly worse than without sunglasses • Some units had polarized screens, which prevented holding unit in one direction while wearing polarized glasses. 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 22 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • 70% said “Good” or “Very good” • Toughpad got lowest rating 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 23 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • This seemed best to most people 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 24 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • Few problems encountered • iPad Mini and Sony Xperia stood out 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 25 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience: KEY QUESTION • 10% of iPad users ─ Causes 85F caused shutdowns Operator error • 20% of Toughpad users ─ Causes Operator error Slowness of data entry Data not syncing with server correctly 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 26 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience: KEY QUESTION • 18% of iPad users ─ Causes 85F caused shutdowns • 0% of Toughpad users ─ (Reported incorrectly by tester) 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 27 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • No problems encountered • Widespread use of smartphones confirms this 5th Field Technology Conference for Data Collection in November 18-19, 2015 Portland, OR Slide 28 Forestry, Fisheries, and Natural Resources Users’ experience • Little difficulty encountered • Xperia had most trouble 5th Field Technology Conference for Data