Motorola MC75 - Worldwide Enterprise Digital Assistant White Paper page 3

Barriers to the utilization of
images in enterprise mobility
applications
Bar code scanning has come to play a central role
in today's enterprise, eliminating manual processes
and bringing a new level of automation, productivity
and accuracy to a wide range of applications. But
in contrast, mobile image capture — photographs
and video — is not nearly as common in today's
enterprises. this low adoption rate is primarily due to
technology limitations:
Lower resolution cameras incorporated into
•
mobile devices and smart phones were incapable
of capturing the level of detail needed in
enterprise applications.
Existing long-range fixed focus technology posed
•
a challenge for the capture of photographs and
documents at close range — documents were
often illegible and photographs often lacked
clarity and detail.
the lower bandwidth of older cellular networks
•
resulted in lengthy transmission times for
large image files, often adding time and cost
to everyday processes.
additionally, most enterprise class mobile devices
previously required companies to choose between
a bar code scanner and a digital camera. Given the
fact that bar code scanning has become a "must
have" application, and image capture has been
to date a "nice to have" application, companies
typically opted for and deployed devices with the
more mission critical bar code scanning functionality.
and as a result, the incorporation of digital cameras
in enterprise mobile devices has been occasional
at best – and the potential value of image capture
in enterprise applications has remained primarily
unexplored.
the new role of imagery in
enterprise data collection
today, the emergence of new technology
capabilities is paving the way for the pervasive use
of image capture in the enterprise. a key enabler
for a new generation of image-based enterprise
applications, image capture can be utilized to achieve
further productivity, accountability and visibility
1 WHitE PaPEr: Leveraging the value of imaging in enterprise mobility applications
improvements for workers out in the field. a picture
truly is worth a thousand words — and in addition,
in the enterprise environment, a picture can also
protect the bottom line. For example, a detailed high-
resolution photo can provide:
indisputable proof that a large screen tv or other
•
expensive asset arrived at a customer's door in
pristine condition
Proof that a field service technician completed
•
a repair
Documentation of maintenance that is required
•
for an asset
Documentation of original condition to protect
•
against or prevent insurance fraud
an instant electronic record of a document,
•
such as a bill of lading
When GPs technology meets the high resolution
color camera, geostamping becomes a reality — the
ability to append photographs with a time stamp as
well as latitude and longitude data. Geostamping
offers a new level of efficiency and accountability for
field activities. the ability to augment photographs
with GPs information provides organizations with
undisputable confirmation that maintenance, service
and inspection activities were performed at the right
time and place — complete with a verifiable audit trail.
technology enablers for
imagery applications
the key technology advancements required to
enable enterprise-grade image capture out in the
field include:
Advanced camera technology
until today, the available cameras in mobile
devices were limited in resolution (typically under
2 megapixels) and offered only fixed focal ranges,
significantly limiting the amount of detail that could
be captured in a photo or document. Fixed focal
length cameras are preset for long-range focus and
lack the ability to capture detailed images on close-
up shots, but today's new 2 megapixel autofocus
cameras can capture details on images shot at close
as well as far range. as a result, workers can easily
capture the fine print on a full-sized document or the
detailed damage to a piece of equipment, right from
their mobile device.