What is an API?
APIs, or application programming interfaces are mechanisms
that allow two software components to communicate with each other
using a set of definitions and protocols.
Some Types of APIs:
Public APIs: Open and available for use by any outside developer or business.
Partner APIs: Only available to specifically selected and authorized outside developers or API consumers.
Internal APIs: Or private APIs are intended only for use within an enterprise to connect systems and data within the business. An
example of an internal API might connect an organization's payroll
and HR systems.
APIs make it easier for developers to integrate various services and
functionalities into their own applications and websites without
having to recreate everything from scratch.
A Web API is an application processing interface between a web
server and web browser. All web services are APIs but not all APIs
are web services.
What is Geolocation?
Geolocation is an API that has the ability to track a device's
whereabouts using GPS, cell phone towers, WiFi, or a combination of
these. Using positioning systems, geolocation can track a devices
whereabouts down to latitude and longitude coordinates. This can be
used by both mobile and desktop devices.
What does it do?
The Geolocation API is a service that accepts an HTTPS request with
the cell tower and WiFi access points that a mobile client can
detect. It returns latitude/longitude coordinates and a radius
indicating the accuracy of the result for each valid input. This API
is a web-based tool that enables a webpage or web application to
access the geographical location data of a user's device. This data
is typically gathered through the device's GPS, Wi-Fi, or cellular
network connection. The API offers a straightforward interface for
developers to request the user's location and receive a response
that includes latitude and longitude coordinates, along with an
accuracy estimate in meters.
This API is a component of the W3C Geolocation API Specification,
which establishes a standard method for web browsers to retrieve
location information from a user's device. It is compatible with
most contemporary web browsers, such as Chrome, Firefox, Safari, and
Edge.
Why would you use it?
Geolocation serves in a multitude of contexts. The government and
police use it for security purposes, such as unmanned aerial
vehicles (UAVs) or ankle bracelets, which — when you think about the
fact that neither type of data collection is precise — raises some
unsettling implications. But, on the lighter side, some companies
use it to change the way we play games by combining it with
augmented reality (interacting with virtual elements based on
geolocation), like Ingress and Pokémon Go. It opens up the
possibility for reviving Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego,
Where’s Waldo, or even The Oregon Trail.
We use geolocation to plot courses, track elevation changes, see
location history, find nearby tire shops, tag images on social
media, check in to places, get the local weather, etc. We also use
it every day to make our lives easier, to interact with other
people, to solve problems, to set goals, to track anything.
Geolocation is so much a part of our lives already, and companies
are sure to keep harnessing it to improve our online experiences:
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A delivery food chain could use it for potential expansion by
seeing how many people from a city or region visit its website.
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A hospital network could provide its closest emergency room to
website visitors based on their locations.
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A global company could redirect all country-specific website
visitors to country-specific pages.
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A city tourism organization could display location-based content
depending on where website visitors are in the city.
Whatever the purpose, companies will continue to use geolocation to
improve their websites or marketing. As technology improves, the
visitor engagement can only increase, making each visit more
meaningful and effective than the last, simply based on a little
thing like location.
Where would you use it?
Anywhere people want to play
In 2016, many people may have never heard the term geolocation,
but geolocated games burst onto the scene with the explosive
popularity of Pokemon GO.
Geolocation allows people to embark upon virtual treasures hunts
searching for characters that are in placed in the user's
location.
Most, if not all, of these types of games rely on the use of
mobile phones, and make use of geotagged locations (or features
for which geographical identification metadata has been added).
These geotagged locations and then placed inside a map interface
with which the player interacts.
Other games that take advantage of geolocation APIs include
Pikmin Bloom, Catan: World Explorers, Minecraft Earth, and Let's
Hunt Monsters.
Anywhere a package needs to be delivered
It is no secret that since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in
2020, delivery services have become an integral part of most
peoples' lives.
Geolocation is leveraged heavily in the delivery of all sorts of
packages. An armada of Amazon, UPS, FedEx vehicles are engaged
in a race against time to deliver all sorts of goods as quickly,
safely, and efficiently as possible.
Geolocation data is used to determine the most efficient routes,
and enable drivers to avoid potentially dangerous traffic
situations. Geolocation APIs also allow fleet services to
collect a wide selection of diagnostics such as mileage, speed,
and engine health, thereby limiting downtime per vehicle.
Anywhere crowds gather
Governments and organisations have long sought to develop tools
that prevent and manage emergency situations.
Crowd rushes, such as the Itaewon disaster in Seoul or the
Kanjuruhan Stadium disaster in Indonesia, both in 2022, are a
massive concern anytime large crowds gather. Geolocation tools
can help identify where crowd numbers are a concern before
reaching dangerous levels.
And in those cases where emergencies are unavoidable,
geolocation can be used by first responders to accurately
determine the location of incidents and calculate the best
routes to save time and lives.
Geolocation can also be utilised by police to identify patterns
and locate hot spots of criminal activity, thereby distributing
limited resources more efficiently.
Pros
Many of the pros of geolocation have been identified in the
sections above. Geolocation can be used in a wide variety of
contexts to deliver valuable, potentially lifesaving,
information quickly and efficiently. Further benefits of
geolocation include:
Ease of Implementation
Anyone can take advantage of geolocation since it only requires
that the user setup an HTTP call to an API endpoint.
Affordability
Many geolocation APIs do come with a fee. However, there are
also APIs that leverage open data, with OpenStreetMap,
OpenWeather, and Mapbox allowing users to make a pre-determined
number of free calls to the API after which charges kick in.
Flexibility
Geolocation APIs can be accessed on smartphones, PCs, a wide
variety of Apple products, and IoT devices. Most modern devices
that connect to the internet can take advantage of the benefits
of geolocation.
Cons
As with any technology, benefits must be weighed against
potential downsides. Many of geolocation's benefits can become
disadvantages if the technology is used by the wrong people and
proper safeguards have not been enacted. The cons of geolocation
need to be carefully considered before developers implement its
use. Some of the most notable concerns include:
Privacy concerns
Many smartphone users have no idea how much of their location
information is available. Many less sophisticated users may be
unaware that they are being tracked at all.
But location data can reveal sensitive information. Providing
useful information all while staying safely within the bounds of
legality can be a big challenge.
Data breaches
Closely related to privacy concerns is the threat of data
breaches. With so much information being collected about so many
users, any large data breach runs the risk of harming large
numbers of unsuspecting uses.
Unwanted tracking
There have been instances where users' location data have been
used by stalkers and other malicious actors to locate
individuals who may not wish to have been found.. Users may
inadvertently be sharing data that makes them less safe, not
moreso.
Cost
While it may be cheap to implement a geolocation tool that calls
the API a limited number of times, for applications that will be
making a large number of calls, the fees can quickly add up.
Even those APIs that offer free services will start to require
subscriptions once calls start to exceed its minimum threshold.
If developers are creating an application that will be heavily
used, this potential expense should be considered.