Web Mapping Distance Approximation Using Cached Sub-Area Points
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current field service software relies heavily on human intervention for assigning technicians and planning routes, which becomes inefficient for organizations with dozens or hundreds of technicians, as it requires manual decision-making and is prone to errors.
Innovation Solution
A web-based field service schedule optimizer that approximates distances between locations using previously cached determinations, reducing the number of communications requests to web mapping services by partitioning geographical space into sub-areas and using representative points for distance calculations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If field service software uses human operators to determine technician assignments and travel routes, then decisions can be made with human judgment, but the process becomes inefficient and error-prone for organizations with dozens or hundreds of technicians
Solution Approach 1:
The system enables automated technician assignment and route optimization through algorithms that independently process work order data, technician locations, and traffic conditions without requiring human operators to manually create schedules or calculate optimal routes
Solution Approach 2:
Manual human decision-making processes are replaced with automated computational algorithms that calculate technician assignments and travel routes based on real-time data, eliminating the need for human operators to manually plan schedules
2Measurement precision
If the system calculates exact distances between all technician locations using web mapping services, then accurate route determination is achieved, but the number of communication requests increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple individual distance calculation requests to web mapping services are merged into a single bulk request that retrieves distance data for multiple location pairs simultaneously, reducing the total number of communication requests while maintaining calculation accuracy
Solution Approach 2:
The system pre-calculates and stores distance matrices between locations before they are needed for technician assignment, performing the computationally intensive distance calculations in advance rather than on-demand during the scheduling process
Data Source
AI summary
The example embodiments are directed to a system and method which can reduce the number of requests to a web mapping service. In an example, the method may include receiving a processing request from a field service software application for a route distance between a source field service location and a target field service location, identifying a sub-area of the web map in which the source field service location is located and a sub-area of the web map in which the target field service location is located, approximating the route distance between the source field service location and the target field service location based on a previously determined distance between a representative point of the sub-area which includes the source field service location and a representative point of the sub-area which includes the target field service location, and outputting route guidance based on the approximate route distance.