The Maps feature in Zoho IOT assists with both the static placement and real-time tracking of any managed entity such as devices, assets, and locations, providing clear visibility into their current placement and movements. By knowing the exact placement, you can plan new allotments, and streamline logistics efficiently. Any placement of a managed entity on the map is determined using the geolocation property, which includes the latitude and longitude values of a location. This geolocation property is configured for all devices and assets that must be placed on a map.
Zoho IOT uses Zoho Maps by default, to use Google Maps, you need to integrate the
Google Maps API.
Understanding Geolocations
For example, consider the scenario where you have Zylker Diesel Generator Service Company with multiple branches in Bangalore(city) and Chennai(city) across India(county) with multiple Diesel Generators (DGs) and a gateway distributed in the two cities. Now, Zylker wants to create a map view "Bangalore - All Assets" and "Chennai - All Assets" to view all the assets and devices placed in Bangalore and Chennai, respectively.
To achieve this, first ensure that all the assets in Bangalore and Chennai that need to be displayed in the
map are updated with the geolocation property. This latitude and longitude values of the geolocation must point to the exact location on the map.
Any asset without geolocation will not be displayed on the map.
Image: Bangalore -All Assets and Chennai-All Assets mapping
Image: All Diesel Generators map view
Map Types
There are two types of maps: Static map and Live Tracking map.
Static Location Map
To place static components managed entities on a map, you need to configure the geolocation property. This property value places the managed entity in the configured location. This can be set in the Details page of the managed entity. In the above scenario DG 1, DG 2, GW 1, and so on are static components of a map.
Refer to the
Working with Maps document for a step by step procedure to configure geolocation.
Image: Geolocation property in a location
Live Tracking Map
For live tracking, you need to configure the following in addition to configuring the geolocation.
- Create a Location datapoint with GPS property enabled.
- Enable the Live Tracking feature during map creation.
Geolocation will place the managed entity in a specific location, and the properties location datapoint, GPS property, and live tracking helps in defining its movement.
Image: Data Type Location and GPS Type settings for live tracking
In the above scenario, VAN 1, which is associated with Bangalore, is the moving asset. To live-track VAN 1 on the map, you must create a location datapoint with the parameter that determines the movement of VAN 1.
The movement of VAN 1 will be updated in the map whenever the Location datapoint value is received for VAN 1.
Image: Live Tracking enabling and Map Marker icon setting in the map
See Also