App 1 – the cell tower analysis tool
In this section, we introduce the first example that we will work on. A telecom
company wants to measure their user experience when it comes to cell phone signal
reception. The tool you will write will help the company decide whether to add more
towers, relocate, or upgrade existing towers to provide maximum signal coverage so
that users can experience uninterrupted reception while using their cell phone.
TelZaViBa is a telecom company that provides cell service for their customers.
Recently, some customers have been experiencing a weak signal on the Boulevard du
Montparnasse. To analyze the situation, TelZaViBa had to analyze their cell towers
in that area. So they asked us to write a tool on ArcGIS for Desktop that simulates
a person with a cell phone walking in the Boulevard du Montparnasse. The tool
should show the current signal strength at all time and record the weakest signal
spots by highlighting it on the map
TelZaViBA gave us a geodatabase with all their cell tower information on the
Boulevard du Montparnasse. Based on the tool's result, the telecom company can
then do what will be necessary, such as installing a stronger tower with a higher
range in the weak spot or relocating existing towers wherever it is feasible and
economical. What we have here is a geodatabase with information, and we need to
take this information to the next level by analyzing it.
This application will span into three chapters. Since this is the first example, we
will spend some time in Chapter 2, App 1 – the Cell Tower Analysis Tool, to get you
familiar with ArcGIS add-ins and the ArcObjects interfaces before we dive into the
development. We will prepare the ground by talking about layers, feature classes,
features, and geometry. We will then learn how to do some topological operations
on the geometry to draw the signal range buffer. Then we will draw the signal range
based on the radius value that is stored as an attribute in the tower feature class.
In Chapter 3, Mapping Signal Strength, we map the tower's signal strength, which
is basically how many bars a particular cell phone has when it is in range of a cell
tower. We will measure the signal strength in percentages for simplicity and then we
will convert it to bars. To do all that, we first need to add a point to the map and then
find a distance between that point and one of the towers using the proximity tools in
ArcGIS. We will then use this knowledge to find and highlight the closest tower to
the point we just drew. Finally, we will display the signal strength on the point using
ArcGIS graphics.
In Chapter 4, Real-time Maneuvering, we do the real-time maneuvering and things get
interesting. We will simulate a person walking along the boulevard with a cell phone
and then use the logic we wrote in Chapter 3, Mapping Signal Strength, to establish the
signal strength and the closest tower. We will simulate this by reading the previously
recorded text file Global Positioning System (GPS) points and load them into our
tool. With each step the signal will get updated with the new value based on our
signal calculation algorithm. The active connected tower will be blinking on the map
along with the cell phone.
In this section, we introduce the first example that we will work on. A telecom
company wants to measure their user experience when it comes to cell phone signal
reception. The tool you will write will help the company decide whether to add more
towers, relocate, or upgrade existing towers to provide maximum signal coverage so
that users can experience uninterrupted reception while using their cell phone.
TelZaViBa is a telecom company that provides cell service for their customers.
Recently, some customers have been experiencing a weak signal on the Boulevard du
Montparnasse. To analyze the situation, TelZaViBa had to analyze their cell towers
in that area. So they asked us to write a tool on ArcGIS for Desktop that simulates
a person with a cell phone walking in the Boulevard du Montparnasse. The tool
should show the current signal strength at all time and record the weakest signal
spots by highlighting it on the map
TelZaViBA gave us a geodatabase with all their cell tower information on the
Boulevard du Montparnasse. Based on the tool's result, the telecom company can
then do what will be necessary, such as installing a stronger tower with a higher
range in the weak spot or relocating existing towers wherever it is feasible and
economical. What we have here is a geodatabase with information, and we need to
take this information to the next level by analyzing it.
This application will span into three chapters. Since this is the first example, we
will spend some time in Chapter 2, App 1 – the Cell Tower Analysis Tool, to get you
familiar with ArcGIS add-ins and the ArcObjects interfaces before we dive into the
development. We will prepare the ground by talking about layers, feature classes,
features, and geometry. We will then learn how to do some topological operations
on the geometry to draw the signal range buffer. Then we will draw the signal range
based on the radius value that is stored as an attribute in the tower feature class.
In Chapter 3, Mapping Signal Strength, we map the tower's signal strength, which
is basically how many bars a particular cell phone has when it is in range of a cell
tower. We will measure the signal strength in percentages for simplicity and then we
will convert it to bars. To do all that, we first need to add a point to the map and then
find a distance between that point and one of the towers using the proximity tools in
ArcGIS. We will then use this knowledge to find and highlight the closest tower to
the point we just drew. Finally, we will display the signal strength on the point using
ArcGIS graphics.
In Chapter 4, Real-time Maneuvering, we do the real-time maneuvering and things get
interesting. We will simulate a person walking along the boulevard with a cell phone
and then use the logic we wrote in Chapter 3, Mapping Signal Strength, to establish the
signal strength and the closest tower. We will simulate this by reading the previously
recorded text file Global Positioning System (GPS) points and load them into our
tool. With each step the signal will get updated with the new value based on our
signal calculation algorithm. The active connected tower will be blinking on the map
along with the cell phone.
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