Count me in.

Sam, how to build web apps for varying device sizes and capabilities is a big topic. But here are some starter resources:

http://www.alistapart.com/articles/responsive-web-design/ (This is really the seminal must-read article)
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?933
http://www.lukew.com/ff/entry.asp?1436 (Excellent list of resources at the end of this post)
http://futurefriend.ly/
http://marcdrummond.com/responsive-web-design/2011/05/21/responsive-design-and-drupal-jeremiah-davis-drupal-camp-twin-cities
http://denver2012.drupal.org/program/sessions/responsive-web-design-past-present-and-future
http://groups.drupal.org/node/175234
http://responsivetheme.org/

Also probably worth exploring:

http://foundation.zurb.com/
http://drupal.org/sandbox/ishmaelsanchez/1332338

http://twitter.github.com/bootstrap/
http://drupal.org/project/twitter_bootstrap

http://mediaqueri.es/

Hi all,

I'm one of the developers at Bristol working on the mobile app integration with Indicia. I just thought I'd pop into this forum and say hello.

We're currently in the final stages of testing and adding finishing touches to the app. We hope to go live at the end of this month. I'll be happy to share our approach, code and experiences with anyone interested.

Regards,
Chris.

Hi Andrea,

Thank you for the links. The first site has an international version at http://observado.org which I am a little familiar with, having heard a talk by the developers. Their philosophy is to have private code and open access to data where Indica is almost the opposite with open-source code and the option to keep your data private (although the Biological Records Centre strongly encourages the sharing of data for the greater benefit of science and conservation).

Indicia is a system to allow you to build your own online recording survey, tailored to your exact needs, not a finished website like Observado. However, we are currently developing a website based on Indicia that does what Observado does, providing a single place where any (UK) observation of any species may be recorded and then shared with the organisations that have an interest. To achieve this Indicia has received a lot of additional development and a new release is imminent.

We hope that the mobile application code developed for Indicia will also allow the easy construction of diverse applications. One example of something similar that I have looked at a lot is http://www.epicollect.net/.

I'm very much looking forward to the launch of the work at Bristol.

Jim Bacon.

Hi Andrea,

Sorry for a slow reply. I was on holiday when you posted your last message.

We have upgraded our servers to version 0.8.1 now for final testing. This remains a branch in the code repository and has not been tagged and packaged for easy download yet. The new version will upgrade an existing installation but will, when released, replace the previous version for new installs.

Back on the mobile application topic, I spotted that Chris Bailey had blogged about his current work at http://planttracker.naturelocator.org/blog and this makes interesting reading.

Jim Bacon.

Any new on this subject?

I think that it will be a crucial aspect in the very close future!

Andrea

I originally posted a version of this email to General Discussion. Comments mentioned Adit, which I don't believe adequately fills this technology gap:

At the PTES we need a simple app or software that can be used for public participation and survey work across a range of habitats and species. Following a discussion with John van Breda, he suggested I come here and register my interest. John first expressed an interest in developing this resource on this forum two years ago! Can all interested parties state their position with regards to finally getting the development underway?

This technology is being developed by a number of companies that wish to charge a premium for its use, which is out of reach for many NGOs and small consultancy firms.

We all need an application or software that can be used on smart phones for field data entry of species and habitat data - we agree about that bit right?

Ideally the software will:

- be based on Indicia technology

- automatically record most of the relevant data for the user's purpose and to the standard of an NBN record, such as GPS location, time, date, species etc., but also images if required.

- allow a simple data export for each organisation

- be easy to develop a bespoke survey from a template. If this is on Drupal, that shouldn't be too much of a drag.

- be developed for use on Android AND iPhones (and MS?)

- fulfill a much needed requirement in the biodiversity recording community and remove the need for many organisations to develop their own applications, saving money and duplication of effort as witnessed already in this thread

- spread the cost among the community

- encourage public participation

- automatically submit records to NBN in a format that can be easily verified and assimilated without the need for a separate data submission process, which is often not a priority for organisations

If there's enough interest now, how about a meeting, or at least a new post to collate ideas and get the ball rolling? The PTES have some funds available to contribute. Does anyone else? We can provide a free meeting room in any location you want... as long as it's London.

Kind regards,

Steve Oram

hi Steve

Thanks for your post.  I'd support joining up our efforts (and funding resources) to develop Apps - i.e. in the ethos of an open-source collaborative project such as Indicia.  We have just secured some funding to develop a ladybird recording App linked to Indicia which I hope will establish a more generic approach for others to develop Apps that link into existing data flow and verification systems.  We (CEH) would be interested in putting more resources into App development along the lines you propose and I am happy to discuss further.

all the best
David