Limitations of real-time data
The term real-time data typically means near-real-time. Some tracking devices capture real-time data and may update as often as several times a second. However, the limitations of the infrastructure that broadcasts that data may constrain the output to every 10 seconds or longer. Weather radar is a perfect example. A Doppler Weather Radar (DWR) sweeps continuously but data is typically available online every 5 minutes. But given the contrast with traditional geospatial data updates, a refresh of a few minutes is real-time enough. Its limitations can be summarized as follows:
- Network bandwidth limitations restricting data size
- Network latency limiting the data update frequency
- Availability of the data source due to restrictions such as battery life
- Lack of quality control due to data being instantly available to consumers
- Security vulnerabilities due to the rapid ingestion of unverified data
Real-time data opens up additional...
