I am interested in this new feature from Apple’s WWDC, with app clips you can use nfc or QR codes to instantly give acess to a app’s payment screen or other interactive material. I think that this would be great for project sites, by reducing the steps needed to have visitors be able to connect with the app. It would be great if I scanned an iNaturalist sign at my local park or trail and every picture i took within the geo fenced area for the day would be uploaded to the iNaturalist database.
This would require an update to the app, coordination with land managers to delineate the areas, as well as production of these signs. I think that there is potential though to bring in more of the public with this feature.
By limiting the barriers of entry between getting people outside then having them download an app then having them make the observations it can drive more observations out in the field as well as maybe get more people to buy into the app and contribute more!
I dont know if this is possible yet but it was something that inspired me from the conference!
Link to what I am talking about [Apple IOS update]
I love this sort of innovative thinking. This particular suggestion has some problems, most notably that most of the photos people take in parks and on trails are of themselves and their companions, not nature observations. But looking for ways to make iNaturalist seamlessly integrated into other apps is a nice idea.
Thanks for the response! I think that if there was proper signage/ basic education of the app we can drive more observers. Especially young people who are glued to their phones!
This seems like your specific feature request here, so you might want to update the title to explicitly address that so people scanning the proposals have some idea what you’re proposing. FWIW, the equivalent Android feature is called Google Play Instant.
Personally, I don’t think this proposal would work. In addition to Janet’s qualms about uploading irrelevant content, actually posting novel observations to iNat requires sign up, both for purposes of consent about licensing and distribution of photos and data and because we want an ongoing relationship between observers, their data, and the people they interact with on iNat. I’m pretty sure App Clips and Instant apps are meant for lighter experiences.
However, I do think there might be other applications of these technologies. Almost all of Seek would be pretty cool like this, since it’s anonymous by default. The iNat Explore view would be a good fit too, e.g. viewing a sign about a saguaro and you scan the code to view observations in the park of cactus species.
i think it would be fun/interesting to have sort of a geocaching version of iNaturalist. people could get a numbered nfc tag and/or qr code, which could be attached to, say, a tree or some sort of fixture near a particular organism. you could associate the tag/code that with a particular project in iNaturalist. scanning the tag code would open up the applet which would give you the project description, and then you would be directed to take a photo of the particular organism at that spot, which could be loaded to that project. so then you could get multiple observations of the same organism at the same spot over time, and you could also get data about how accurate the coordinates recorded by different devices is, since they should all be at roughly the same spot when they interact with the tag/code.
This is the sticker: the user must have an account to do this, and if they’ve already cleared that high hurdle, they probably already have the app installed.
yes, i would expect someone to already have an account for what i’m thinking about. i think it would be relatively easy to create a geocaching version of the app, but i think the hard part would be getting enough tags out there to create enough to do with such an app. but if there were enough tags out in the wild, it would be a fun extension of the app, and it might even create opportunities to meet other out in the wild, if multiple people happen to visit the same tag at the same time.
you might need a special project type defined in iNaturalist, too, to do what i’m thinking about.