MGRS for Global Maps (M4GM)

About MGRS for Global Maps (M4GM)

The MGRS for Global Maps (M4GM) app for Android enables making and sharing tactical plans and observations on a global map: the app provides tools for drawing layers of tactical markers, lines, arrows, and areas, and helps calculating and visualizing distances and relative headings between places.

The M4GM app is based on the online Google Maps Services. The app natively supports the commonly used Google Maps decimal coordinates (WGS84) and Military Grid Reference System (MGRS). The app can display information in meters or miles, and supports arbitrary angular mills units.

The M4GM app is suitable for tactical planning and training for small organizations, but must not be used in critical operations. In a nutshell, THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND: the M4GM app might suddenly stop working due to errors or unexpected changes in the Google Maps terms of service. If using the app might put the user or his/her organization at risk or jeopardize completing the main tasks, the app must not be used.

The M4GM app itself doesn’t collect user data and no data is shared with third parties by the M4GM app directly. However, since the M4GM app is based on the online Google Maps Services, users are bound by the Google's Terms of Service (see https://policies.google.com/terms and https://maps.google.com/help/terms_maps/) and the Google Privacy Policy (see https://policies.google.com/privacy). In addition to the Google libraries, the M4GM app utilizes the MGRS-Java and Grid-Java libraries (Copyright (c) National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) in collaboration with BIT Systems, MIT License).

A typical M4GM app single user use case: the user analyzes the normal, the terrain, and the satellite map in a training exercise, and adds custom tactical markers, line arrows, and areas for personal use. With the help of GPS positioning, the user then navigates the area, and adds custom markers and observations with notes. When needed, the user can temporarily switch from the M4GM app to the Google Maps app, to access more detailed information about places and to get driving instructions. The user can also share dropped Google Maps pins back to the M4GM app, to add more markers and areas. To keep his or her data organized, the user can organize his or her M4GM markers on multiple layers with descriptive names. Information about different exercises can be further organized in different files, which makes it easy to switch map context when necessary.

A typical M4GM small organization use case adds sharing: The users agree upon teams and roles for an exercise. One user adds the target areas for each team, and shares this information with team members, making the areas visible in their maps. Two designated teams scout the area perimeter and add and share information about their raw observations to the map. This raw information is then refined by the organization leaders into a meaningful estimation about target area activities. In the meantime, the remaining squads have planned base defenses, established sentinel posts, and shared suitable map markers accordingly. Depending on the security level of the exercise, some secure global messaging app, or simply Nearby sharing is used for sharing M4GM markers.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED “AS IS”, WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

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Tavuhaka is a small, independent developer from Finland, Northern Europe.