Map Tools: Map Tiles

Feature Summary

Map tiles are the visual base layer of the GSatTrack map, showing roads, terrain, water, and landmarks as pre-rendered raster or vector images. They give tracking data a spatial context so users can navigate, analyze, and interact with their assets on the map.

Additional Information

How-To: Enable Map Tiles

1. Go to the Map Mode Indicator in the top right-hand corner of the portal and click on “Layers”

2. Click on “Map”

3. Select the desired map tile mode

4. Interact with the new map data

Default Map Tiles

• Map: The standard Map option displays a combination of data including roads and some topographic information, as well as identifying major points of importance like airports, hospitals, and parks.

• Map Light: The light-themed map is a black-and-white-themed version of the standard Map option. It is a decolorized low-contrast greyscale map whose greys skew white. Landmasses are lighter than bodies of water.

• Map Dark: The dark-themed map is a black-and-white themed version of the standard Map option. It is a decolorized low-contrast greyscale map whose greys skew black. Landmsses are darker than bodies of water.

• Satellite High Res: Satellite maps display actual satellite imagery of the areas on the map interface, properly colored to reflect the actual view. Satellite maps also overlay roadways unless toggled off by the user. When a user has a satellite map selected, the Map Tiles menu in the Map Tools bar has a check box at the bottom that says Labels. If there is a checkmark next to it, roadways will display on the Map. The high-resolution satellite map allows for more accurate zooming but requires more bandwidth and can be a factor in slow load times for larger data ecosystems.

• Satellite Low Res: Satellite maps display actual satellite imagery of the areas on the map interface, properly colored to reflect the actual view. Satellite maps also overlay roadways unless toggled off by the user. When a user has a satellite map selected, the Map Tiles menu in the Map Tools bar has a check box at the bottom that says Labels. If there is a checkmark next to it, roadways will display on the Map. The low-resolution satellite map requires significantly less bandwidth and can be a factor in eliminating slow load times for larger data ecosystems that still require a Satellite map view in the portal.

• Open Street Map: OpenStreetMap is an open-source service that displays a map similar to the standard Map option but with additional markings and indicators based on zoom level. The different sets of colored indicators and markings on the OpenStreetMap can be viewed on their website.

• Terrain: The terrain map tile shows a standard topographic map, along with colored lines to show water boundaries and flow paths.

Key Features

• Multiple map providers — Choose from providers such as Google Maps, OpenStreetMap, Bing Maps, and Mapbox.

• Customizable display — Adjust zoom level, map type (road, satellite, terrain), and overlays like weather radar and traffic.

• Offline support — Pre-download and cache map tiles for use in areas with limited or no connectivity.

• High-resolution imagery — Zoom into specific areas with detail for precise analysis of assets and spatial relationships.

• Fast and responsive — Pre-rendered images and vector graphics keep the map quick even with large datasets.

• Integration — Works with asset tracking, geofencing, and event management across the portal.

Use Cases

• Asset tracking — Visualize the real-time location and movement of vehicles, equipment, and personnel.

• Route planning — Plan and optimize routes using distance, terrain, traffic, and points of interest.

• Geofencing — Draw virtual boundaries on the map to trigger alerts based on asset movement.

• Event management — Overlay incident, emergency, or activity locations to coordinate response efforts.