SOILx:Searchable Open Interactive Location-Based

experience

A VSSLR Project

To enhance soil science education through cooperation and innovative approaches to teaching and learning

Project Objectives

• Make VSSLR geographically accessible – Geo-locate and present the information of soil

study sites – Aggregate information from existing online VSSLR

modules and study sites

Current VSSLR Solutions

Soil Laboratories

Soil Processes

Land Use Impact

Parent Material

Soil Classification

Soil Biodiversity

Project Requirements

• Collaborative for soil scientists and educators

• Easy to use for end users• Easy to maintain for admins

Solution: SOILx

• End users perspective (UI & Usability)– teachers, – gardeners, – researchers, – etc.

• Aggregate information from existing tools • Web publishing, database, AR browser

Solution: SOILx

• SOILx presents data as:– Aggregate data: list/map/search results– Individual soil site data: text/multimedia– Augmented reality

Solution: SOILx

Solution: SOILx - Mapping

• Searchable• Relatable• Contextualizable

Solution: SOILx - Soil Site Pages

• Text description• Key facts• Videos and images• Expandable information• Links to VSSLR sites• animation

Solution: SOILx – Augmented Reality

• Real-world interaction with soil data

• Wikitude• Free AR tool• Supported on iOS,

Android, BlackBerry

Technology Stack

• Database: Google Fusion Tables• Platform: WordPress (@ UBC CMS)• Integration: SOILx Plugin

• Maps: Google Maps• Augmented Reality: Wikitude

Fusion Tables

Database: Fusion Tables

• Simple online data management

• Controllable access (especially for editing)

• Easy importing of data• Secure• Free*

Fusion Tables

*up to 25k requests and 250 Mb per day

Database: Fusion Tables

• Accessed like an online Excel sheet:

Database: Fusion Tables - Setup

• Requires Google Account

• Google Drive Document• Create Fusion Table• Define columns

Database: Fusion Tables - Data

• Adding data:• Importing from Excel• Manual adding/editing

• Data must be cleaned by importer!

• Data requirements

Data received

Data cleaned byAdministrator

Data loaded intoFusion Tables

Database: Fusion Tables - Extracting

• Data must be extracted for usability

• Address/key combofor security

• Fusion Tables APIfor instructions

Platform: WordPress

• Widely-used content management system

• Features:• Easy administration• Stable technology• Large community• Extendible• Secure

Databases(users, posts, settings, etc.)

Backend(easy administration)

Frontend(dynamic web pages)

User Experience(smooth administration, beautiful presentation)

Platform: WordPress

• Already used by UBC• Blogs: 23,000 members• Sites: 100s of sites for UBC

units and initiatives

• UBC already creates and manages other plugins

Platform: WordPress - Setup

• Requested a site hosted by UBC

• Associated “www.soilx.ca” address with UBC site

• Setting up on own is easy!• “Famous 5-minute Install”

@ WordPress.org

Platform: WordPress - Frontend

• What to look like?• Friendly and open• Customized

• Based on existing WordPress theme mutilated beyond recognition with CSS

Integration: SOILx Plugin - Backend

• Administration• Ability to define custom

search terms• Ability to specify which

Fusion Table to use• Documentation of plugin

and protocols

Integration: SOILx Plugin - Backend

• Data• SOILx Search = customized

Fusion Tables extraction• Plugin sends request to

Fusion Tables• Plugin turns response into

WordPress data

User search:POST request

Fusion Tables:sends data

WordPress:GET request

WordPress:makes page

Integration: SOILx Plugin – Soil Sites

• Individual soil site pages• Dynamically created from

complete Fusion Table row• Form of SOILx search• Plugin alters page content

based on data availability

Integration: SOILx Plugin - Aggregate

• Map/List/Search Results• Dynamically created from

Fusion Tables columns• Use Google Maps API to

create map, not Fusion Tables API

Integration: SOILx Plugin - AR

• Augmented reality• Requires data in ARML

format, an XML-like format• SOILx transforms Fusion

Tables data to ARML and sends to Wikitude

Integration: SOILx Plugin - Sharing

• Soil data publicly accessible in Fusion Tables

• Plugin open source and on github, a code repository

• Super easy to use, modify, and extend!

• Developer happy to help

Demo

• End users: Web, AR

• Adding new data (collaboration)

• Administering the site

Useful Links

• SOILx:www.soilx.ca

• WordPress: www.wordpress.org

• SOILx plugin code:https://github.com/nathansidles/soilweb

Credits

Saeed Dyanatkar

Dr. Nathan Basiliko

Chris Crowley

Dr. Angela Bedard-Haughen

Nathan Sidles

Kent Watson

Dr. Paul SanbornJulie Wilson

Dr. Maja Krzic

Shirley Ho

Thank You!

soilx.ca

Saeed Dyanatkar: saeed.dyanatkar@ubc.ca1-604-822-1816

Nathan Sidles: nsidles@gmail.com