Identifying and Enriching GPS Signal Gaps on a Global Walk using ArcGIS Pro
Date and Time
Location
Title: Identifying and Enriching GPS Signal Gaps on a Global Walk using ArcGIS Pro
Presentation given by Zach Sherman at the 2024 Esri International Users Conference
Abstract: The National Geographic Society’s Out of Eden Walk follows the first human’s migration patterns from Africa to the Americas. Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Salopek is walking 24,000 miles while interviewing, photographing, and recording locals as a decade long experiment in slow journalism continues. Paul uses GPS to track his location for historic recording and map creation. However, GPS signal loss can occur when walking through environments with dense tree cover or steep canyon walls. We used ArcGIS Pro to identify over 60 locations between Ethiopia and northern China where Paul’s GPS failed him, labelled as “gaps”. Gaps were identified using both manual inspection and scripting, and locations in the gaps were interpolated to complete a point based record of the journey allowing for data enrichment and subsequentially a clearer understanding of this project.