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Municipal Services Boston to unveil iPhone application
Boston is close to introducing a novel use of mobile technology: a means by which users of Apple’s popular iPhone can swiftly alert city officials to the precise location of potholes, graffiti and other nuisances.
Rather than calling a complaint line, iPhone users will be able to send a photo of the site, as well as its specific location, thanks to the iPhone’s Global Positioning System software. Software developed for the city by the New Hampshire firm Connected Bits will direct the photo, the GPS coordinates and other information to the appropriate city department. The person filing the complaint will receive a tracking number, making it possible to check on progress.
“There is also a human touch,” said Christopher Loh, a press assistant in the office of Mayor Thomas Menino, “in that we’ll read the notes [sent by the iPhone user] and make sure everything is going where it should.”
In August, the city was in the process of recruiting up to 100 people between the ages of 25 and 45 to test the process, Loh said.
“I see this as an application that you build to actively engage the younger generation,” said Loh, who assisted mayoral aide Nigel Jacobs in developing the concept.
Menino, according to Loh, was quick to embrace the idea.
“I wasn’t surprised that when he looked at the technology, he said, ‘Yes, this is what we need.’”
Municipal Services Boston to unveil iPhone application
Boston to unveil iPhone application
Boston is close to introducing a novel use of mobile technology: a means by which users of Apple’s popular iPhone can swiftly alert city officials to the precise location of potholes, graffiti and other nuisances.
Rather than calling a complaint line, iPhone users will be able to send a photo of the site, as well as its specific location, thanks to the iPhone’s Global Positioning System software. Software developed for the city by the New Hampshire firm Connected Bits will direct the photo, the GPS coordinates and other information to the appropriate city department. The person filing the complaint will receive a tracking number, making it possible to check on progress.
“There is also a human touch,” said Christopher Loh, a press assistant in the office of Mayor Thomas Menino, “in that we’ll read the notes [sent by the iPhone user] and make sure everything is going where it should.”
In August, the city was in the process of recruiting up to 100 people between the ages of 25 and 45 to test the process, Loh said.
“I see this as an application that you build to actively engage the younger generation,” said Loh, who assisted mayoral aide Nigel Jacobs in developing the concept.
Menino, according to Loh, was quick to embrace the idea.
“I wasn’t surprised that when he looked at the technology, he said, ‘Yes, this is what we need.’”
Written by MMA Associate Editor Mitch Evich
