Reading the World through Location Information

More than 110,000 cats reside in the Walla Team's data repository. Cats with half-closed eyes comfortably sit nearby, while others stretch out sideways or occasionally cross the street with a leisurely gait.

But what's even more astonishing than the number 110,000 is that the Walla Team not only knows the existence of cute faces cats but also where their habitants is located. This is because the photos have location information attached.

The Walla Team has amassed a wealth of cat data, thanks to the inclusion of location data recording fields. With just one click of the button, survey respondents can input their current location, which is stored as latitude and longitude coordinates with pinpoint accuracy akin to the arrow indicating one's location on Google Maps. This treasure trove of abandon cat data serves multiple purposes, from pinpointing target areas for neutering operations to evaluating locations for installing feeding stations.

Walla is gathering a wealth of unstructured data through its location recording field. Let's switch the focus from "cat" to "lying-down electric scooter". While a reclining cat may be adorable, a toppled scooter poses potential hazards! If survey respondents snap photos of improperly parked scooters and forward them to Walla, the relevant company can promptly track the scooter's location in real-time and intervene. Remarkably, Walla has amassed over 80,000 photos of fallen scooters!

Walla is Everywhere Data is Needed!

But the more intriguing tale unfolds now: Walla has adeptly managed not only cat and scooter data but also crow and cherry blossom data.

In 2021, the Ministry of Environment embarked on a research endeavor aimed at crafting a predictive map of crow sightings in Suwon City. The objective of this project? To pinpoint the favored habitats of crows, considered problematic wildlife, and to propose or manage alternative habitats accordingly. During this initiative, Walla's cutting-edge location data collection technology played a pivotal role in gathering crucial crow location information categorized by time zones. Over approximately four months, more than 4,000 meaningful data points were amassed, empowering the Seoul National University Graduate School of Environmental Studies, the driving force behind the research, to discern which environmental factors influence crow habitat preferences 😮. Notably, the research findings revealed a significant decrease in the likelihood of crow sightings in areas devoid of power lines! The real-time crow occurrence map resulting from this effort was promptly furnished to officials at Suwon City Hall to aid in their crow control endeavors.

Walla, renowned for its capability to simultaneously record images and location data, played a pivotal role in confirming the blooming status of cherry blossoms nationwide. While weather information companies like K-Weather leverage cutting-edge technologies such as big data and artificial intelligence to forecast cherry blossom blooming periods, validating these predictions in specific regions presents a distinct challenge. Enter the Ecological Sensing AI Lab at Seoul National University, which harnessed Walla's capabilities to precisely assess the blooming status of cherry blossoms. With an impressive collection of over 60,000 cherry blossom images paired with location data sourced from various locales including Busan, Jeju Island, and even Ulleungdo Island, Walla provided invaluable insights into the blossoming phenomenon.

Form Builders that Go Beyond Expectation

For too long, we've simply viewed Google Forms as mere "surveys," often overlooking the potential to collect diverse data types such as photos, videos, and locations. The possibilities with survey data are truly endless. While maintaining the familiar ease and intuitiveness of popular form builders, we are diligently incorporating key features to enhance work efficiency. We're striving to create a form builder of the future that not only excites businesses but goes beyond expectations. Stay tuned for the future that Walla will make for everyone to collect their data more creatively!