Wiki Navigation

MetPetDB iPhone Application

The aim of the iPhone and IPod Touch application is to provide mobile users access to the MetPetDB system. The application is intended for researchers and students who would like to learn about data available in the system as well as use it in field trips. This page explains the functionality of the system and its history.

MetPetDB is a database for metamorphic geochemistry that is being designed and built by a global community of metamorphic petrologists in collaboration with computer scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute as part of the National Cyberinfrastructure Initiative and supported by the National Science Foundation. It contains information about rock samples, thin sections obtained from the samples together with images and chemical analyses performed on the subsamples.

System Functionality, v.1

Version 1 of the system is released on October 13, 2009. This version allows users to query and view the public data in the system.

Main Page

Users are able to search data by location in one of three ways:

• Take the user's current location and a radius as input

• Take a specific lat/long location and a radius as input

• Take a geographic region name stored in the database as input

The user is then shown a list of samples satisfying the given spatial constraints on a map. The user then is able to further constrain the query by specifying additional conditions or view the details of the samples.

Map View

•If the user's location is selected or a coordinate is input, a search box is created based on the specified radius and the map displays all

the samples within the box.

•All the samples in the search region are displayed on the map.

•Green pins on the map represent samples, purple pins represent the corners of the search box, and the single red pin represents the user's

current location.

•If multiple samples are found at the same coordinate, they are grouped and can be viewed as a table.

•By pressing the "info button" in the upper right corner of the map view, the user can change the map type from street to hybrid or satellite.

Sample Info

•If one of the pins on the map is selected (or in the case or multiple samples at the same location, one of the rows of the sample table is selected,) a view with sample information will be displayed. Sample information includes:

•Owner, publication, coordinate, public/private status, minerals present, metamorphic grade, etc.

•All sample and subsample images can also be viewed, paged through, and enlarged.

•A summary of the subsamples and chemical analyses can also be obtained.

•All comments that have been made about a sample can also be viewed.

Refining the search criteria

•One or more of the following criteria can be specified and the search will be narrowed down so that only matching samples are displayed

•Criteria: rock type, metamorphic grade, minerals, public/private status, owner

Planned Enhancements

The following are new functionality that we are currently working and are to be incorporated into the future versions of the application.

•Login using the MetPetDB username and password, which allows you to view your own private samples as well as public samples and upload sample comments

•Grouping of samples in different regions in case too many samples are returned by a query

•Driving directions from the user’s current location to each of the samples.

•Adding sample images to a user's photo library

•Ability to take pictures of the samples and add them to the database.

If you have any comments about the system, please feel free to contact our development team.

Screen shots

The following are some screen shots from our system.

Attachments