The Magellan RoadMate RC9496T-LMB commercial navigator.
Magellan is integrating its RoadMate RC9496T-LMB fleet navigation device with Position Logic’s advanced GPS tracking software solution. The partnership allows Position Logic service providers to leverage all Magellan RoadMate RC9496T-LMB devices.
The RoadMate RC9496T-LMB, a 7-inch Android GPS fleet navigation device, is available now to current and prospective Magellan and Position Logic customers. Position Logic, a division of KORE, provides precision location-based services for business-to-business applications.
The Magellan and Position Logic integration delivers a powerful and seamless end-to-end communication and navigation solution for fleets, the companies said. The solution includes the RC9496T-LMB, an active mobile terminal, allowing real-time two-way communication between driver and dispatch when paired with Position Logic’s GPS tracking software. Users can send and receive important information to immediately identify driver status including route-receipt, in-route or on-scene, and deliver real-time messages to improve driver productivity. The solution delivers critical information for field service fleets, emergency services, roadside assistance and many more applications.
“Position Logic is an innovative technology leader in the location based services space. We are pleased to partner with them and offer the Magellan RC9496T-LMB to Position Logic customers,” said Stig Pedersen, associate vice president of product management for Magellan. “The combination of our two services delivers a highly efficient and flexible way for dispatchers to communicate with drivers in real-time, saving time, money and frustration.”
The RC9496T-LMB is also connected to Magellan’s SmartGPS Eco cloud, providing drivers and fleet managers with customizable time and money saving content such as: real-time fuel price information, weather and truck speed limit warnings.
“We are pleased to have the RoadMate RC9496T-LMB integrated. The Magellan integration further complements our Workflow/Dispatch module; improving communication between the dispatcher and driver and enhanced stop management,” said Felix Lluberes, executive vice president, advanced applications, KORE. “I am certain our service providers will be able to leverage the device and deliver more comprehensive services.”
The Magellan RoadMate RC9496T-LMB is available now. It has an MSRP of $399.
Hexagon Geospatial has introduced an early access program for technologies associated with the Hexagon Smart M.App experience. The two applications available in the early access program are M.App Chest and GeoApp.UAS.
M.App Chest provides a simple means to quickly upload, organize, and share imagery and point cloud data in the cloud. M.App Chest also provides optional compression capabilities along with streaming and delivery via web services.
“M.App Chest provides a better experience to easily upload, store and share geospatial data,” said Mladen Stojic, President of Hexagon Geospatial. “M.App Chest can standalone or compliment other Hexagon Smart M.Apps, providing a simple, cloud-based environment for managing imagery and point clouds.”
GeoApp.UAS was built by Hexagon Geospatial’s partner, Geosystems GmbH. GeoApp.UAS enables rapid processing of UAS data at the speed it is captured. With an intuitive workflow, GeoApp.UAS enables robust photogrammetric processing of UAS data on the cloud.
Interested individuals can register for the opportunity to participate in the early access program on the M.App Chest or GeoApp.UAS product pages. Hexagon Smart M.Apps will be launched at HxGN LIVE Hong Kong in November 2015.
Telit, a global enabler of the Internet of Things (IoT), has announced a new release of the Telit IoT Portal. The portal consolidates a suite of advanced connectivity management functions with the company’s deviceWISE IoT Application Enablement Platform.
The service enables companies to deploy, configure and manage end-to-end IoT deployments from a single, cloud-based portal, Telit said. The portal is designed to make it easy to “connect thing to apps” by seamlessly integrating any device, production asset or remote sensor with web-based and mobile apps and enterprise systems, across any wireless network.
The newly added connectivity management addresses all aspects of mobile communication provisioning, including seamless integration with Mobile Network Operators (MNO) and Connected Device Platforms (CDP). Users can activate or de-activate devices, manage SIM cards, analyze connection quality, and set all provisioning and data plan parameters. This platform function is especially useful in preventing data overage and overall data cost management. The advanced CDP integration feature aggregates federated data across multiple wireless networks — a valuable capability when operating IoT deployments in different countries and regions around the world.
From the same portal, users have continuous access to all the comprehensive functions of the deviceWISE IoT Platform, including device onboarding, edge-intelligence, data collection, data transport, data storage, data delivery and application integration. Developers can connect, collect and control anything with a single, standardized API set that is common across device integration, connectivity management and application development.
“The developer-friendly Telit IoT Portal provides instant and full access to the mature and comprehensive features and all the necessary tools and resources for your IoT project,” said Alon Segal, CTO, Telit IoT Services. “No upfront investment is required and companies can focus on developing compelling applications that help transform their business, not the engineering of underlying technology infrastructure.”
The Telit IoT Portal reduces risk, time-to-market, complexity and cost of deploying solutions for monitoring and control, industrial automation, asset tracking and field service operations across all industries and market segments around the world. Additionally, customers can enjoy professional maintenance and support and ongoing upgrades to new features and capabilities. Access a free trial of the Telit IoT Portal.
The new release of the Telit IoT Portal will be featured at Telit DevCon, Sept. 8 in Las Vegas, and live demonstrations of will be held at CTIA Super Mobility 2015, booth #5032, which takes place Sept. 9-11 in Las Vegas. Those attending Telit DevCon can learn how industry leaders use the IoT to create new markets, transform their business and achieve measurable return on investment.
Local ID has closed a $1.9 million seed round of funding led by Crosscut Ventures. Local ID is a local intelligence platform that provides multi-unit brands with the data, tools and process needed to maximize their local marketing efforts, according to the company.
Other investors in the round included Technicolor, TenOneTen, Baroda Ventures, Double M Partners, Tallwave, Wavemaker Partners and Queens Bridge Venture Partners.
Founded by a team with more than 60 years of collective retail experience, Local ID is a cloud-based platform that provides brands with visibility into each store’s trade area. For example, Local ID:
surfaces local events that present timely and contextual marketing opportunities;
identifies competitive intrusions;
provides proactive preparation for weather events; and
incorporates a wealth of other data on the hundreds of local marketing opportunities taking place each day within a store’s trade area.
With brick and mortar representing 94 percent of the $4.5 trillion retail sales market, according to eMarketer, Local ID gives multi-unit brands an edge in capturing a larger share of this vast but extremely competitive market, the company said.
“Local ID is the first local intelligence platform designed to solve at-scale local store marketing for large brick and mortar brands,” said Alex Nocifera, Founder & CEO of Local ID. “Our dynamic, enterprise platform will increase same store sales and traffic for our customers by systemizing the way they plan, execute and track their local marketing activities. This funding, along with the extensive outreach we’ve done over the last year with large brands, has validated the timeliness of our solution to solve brands’ decentralized, inefficient inability to execute and measure local marketing at scale. Overall, I could not be more excited about our team, the early market signals and the product we are taking to the market.”
Local ID is a single-source solution that will centralize all local store marketing programs, institutionalize market-specific knowledge and systemize best practices across the enterprise. The platform leverages Esri mapping software, integrates multiple data streams and then custom curates brand opportunities for every store in the system. The core pillars include:
Store Profiles–A dynamic database of every store in a brand’s system providing visibility into every location and activity
People Profiles–Details, activities and insights of all employees engaged in local marketing at any level
Relevant Opportunities–Custom curated, brand relevant opportunities in each market
Marketing Activities –An innovative and engaging task management tool for tracking and systemizing local marketing activities
The company will use the new funding to invest in product development, research and acquiring key talent. Nocifera previously served as founder and CEO of both Ripple TV and Circle Street, two venture-backed start-ups focused on helping big brands solve complex local challenges. Ripple TV was acquired by TargetCast Networks (now part of Brite Media Group). Circle Street was acquired by Valassis, the largest local advertising company for promotional media to retail and CPG brands.
“Local ID has the opportunity to be the Salesforce.com of the trillion dollar local marketing space by solving the conundrum large, multi-unit brands face in executing successful local store strategies at the enterprise level,”said Brian Garrett, co-founder and managing director of Crosscut Ventures. “It’s a massive, untapped market and one that the Local ID team, with deep experience in RetailTech, is perfectly situated to address.”
A new report by Visiongainexamines geospatial data analysis for defense and homeland security — a world market worth $9.7 billion in 2014. The report, “Governmental Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) Solutions Market 2014-2024: Digital Mapping, Geographic Information Systems (GIS), Cloud-Based Geo-Analytics & Geo-Data Exploitation for Defence & Homeland Security” is being offered by Reportbuyer.com.
Advances in technologies such as cloud and 3D modeling — together with increased availability of high-quality, high-accuracy geospatial data, especially from space-based remote sensing satellites — are propelling the market for governmental GEOINT solutions, Reportbuyer.com said.
“The coming decade will see governments around the world scrambling to acquire GEOINT capabilities on increasingly higher scales, to ensure they stay on top in the ‘information superiority’ race,” Reportbuyer.com said in a press release. “At the moment, outside the U.S. this is a relatively young market, at the very beginning of a period of large international expansion over the next ten years.”
According to Reportbuyer.com, geospatial information exploitation technology is one of the vital enablers and defining aspects of 21st century defense, intelligence and homeland security capabilities and operations. In a digital age where the vast majority of data has a location and time, GIS and GEOINT systems provide the means to reference it geographically.
“In this visual context, complex dynamics, patterns and relationships can be revealed, analyzed and understood in a completely new way,” Reportbuyer.com said. “This takes ‘situational awareness’ to an entirely different level, and enables an unprecedented and powerful new type of analysis: geospatial analysis. A key part of this overall capability is a new generation of tools for advanced digital mapping and modeling, which extend the applications of GIS beyond intelligence, C2 (command and control) and the achievement of information superiority into areas like resource management, mission simulation, and down to individual soldiers.”
The 300-page report provides market forecasts and analysis for GEOINT solutions, 2014-2024, and sales value projections of the market with essential information on the technologies, GEOINT organizations and competitors. The report is available at Reportbuyer.com.
IDV Solutions’ Visual Command Center is a physical security and risk visualization (PSRV) software that unites data from external sources, enterprise systems and internal devices into a real-time, common operating picture of risk and security.
IDV Solutions, a corporation that specializes in business intelligence, physical security and risk visualization software, has formed a technical partnership with Geofeedia, producer of a cloud-based social media monitoring platform. Through the partnership, Geofeedia’s location-based social media monitoring data will now be integrated into IDV Solutions’ Visual Command Center Enterprise Risk Visualization (ERV) software.
The companies say the combination of the two technologies enables security, supply chain and business continuity teams to gain instant intelligence from multiple social media networks for a myriad of risk events — from a political demonstration to a natural disaster. The location-based visualization filters out excess noise to show important social media posts in the context of locations of interest, such as facilities, employee locations, supply routes or traveling executives.
“Companies are looking for ways to efficiently gain actionable intelligence from social media,” said Ian Clemens, chief technology officer and co-founder of IDV Solutions. “The immediacy of social media combined with the alerting and locational context offered by Visual Command Center enables organizations to make more effective use of social media to protect employees, facilities and business continuity.”
The Visual Command Center provides a real-time, common operating picture of assets, personnel and operations in relation to potential threats to those assets. It unites information on global sources of risk — such as weather, terrorism and natural disasters — with data from internal data stores and physical security systems on an interactive map and timeline. When a risk is detected near an asset or employee location, the Visual Command Center automatically generates an alert and provides tools to assess whether the risk is a threat and take immediate action to mitigate the impact of the threat.
The Geofeedia integration complements the Visual Command Center’s Twitter Visualization and Alerting Module by providing information from more social media networks and visualizing all posts within a selected area.
Geofeedia enables organizations to filter and analyze social media content by location in real time across multiple sources. Users search for a city, address or location name, draw a virtual perimeter around the specific area of interest,and access geo-tagged social media content from within those boundaries.
“Location resolves the challenge of monitoring the massive amounts of cluttered data to identify meaningful, real-time on-the-ground intelligence when and where it matters most,” said Phil Harris, CEO and co-founder of Geofeedia. “We are thrilled to be able to help more organizations take advantage of our real-time, geotagged social media data to prevent, protect and respond to valuable intelligence.”
Eternix Ltd., provider of software for GIS visualization and editing in 3D, has released its first WAMI extension, enabling Blaze Terra users to access WAMI data through cloud-based services. WAMI — Wide Area Motion Imagery — is an advanced sensor-based technology that has been gaining popularity since its adoption by the Open Geospatial Consortium (OCG).
Blaze Terra’s advanced GIS environment allows real-time decision makers working with WAMI to yield optimal insights and results at comfort and speed. Instant overlay of WAMI data with digital elevation models (DEM) or any other geospatial data, such as 3D models, raster or shape files, ensures a comprehensive user experience. In addition, a set of WAMI specific features, such as playback control and feature tracking, use WAMI’s inherent video qualities.
“We believe that Blaze Terra’s high-end capabilities open a whole set of new opportunities for GIS professionals working with WAMI,” said Daniel Zeitlin, CTO at Eternix Ltd. “Vital application of WAMI occurs in areas where real-time decision making is key. Blaze Terra’s fast processing speed and holistic approach make it the ideal choice for such real-time applications.”
Trimble announced today Trimble ProjectSight, a cloud-based solution for construction field management that Trimble says simplifies the creation, access and sharing of project information between the field and the office. The new solution provides mobile workers with access to up-to-date project information and smart workflows for increased productivity and more informed decision making. Trimble ProjectSight allows contractors to lower software costs while enabling a wide team of collaborators to access the information they need.
Trimble ProjectSight is designed for contractors and construction managers who want an easy-to-use and cost-effective field management application. Accessible via a web browser or an iPad app, ProjectSight features a simple, intuitive user interface overlaying smart, project-based workflows to keep teams in sync. Access to centralized data provides users with up-to-date information related to material tracking, issues reporting, information requests and critical project drawings, models and documents. Fully functional offline capabilities allow information to remain available during unconnected sessions commonly encountered on construction sites.
ProjectSight joins other solutions in Trimble’s portfolio for managing construction project logistics, budgets, estimates, schedules, coordination and change in both 2D and 3D datasets. ProjectSight leverages the new Trimble Connect collaboration environment for design, engineering and construction firms. Trimble Connect enables teams to access and manage any data via a cloud platform and specifically allows ProjectSight users to access and share project management data with Trimble Connect users across the design-build-operate lifecycle.
“Effective project management is critical to the profitability of any construction project,” said Mark Sawyer, general manager of the General Contractor / Construction Manager Division of Trimble Buildings. “With Trimble ProjectSight, we now offer a solution that addresses the core functions of project management in a very easy-to-learn, easy-to-use and easy-to-deploy system. ProjectSight ensures workers have access to accurate, up-to-date information and it puts that information in the hands of highly distributed teams at very low cost.”
Data Mapper, an enterprise aerial data software by PrecisionHawk, will expand its cloud-based platform to process data collected by a wider network of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) providers. The application provides the ability to upload, store, process and share aerial imagery and is equipped for detailed, automated analysis.
Previously the company was known under the name PrecisionMapper, and the software could only be used when collecting aerial data with the PrecisionHawk UAV platform Lancaster HawkEye Mark III.
“As we began to collect data with the PrecisionHawk UAV across data intensive industries, we discovered a clear gap in the market for an end-to-end, enterprise level solution,”said Christopher Dean, CEO of Data Mapper. “The creation of Data Mapper was a way for us to ensure that what matters most to our customers, the ability to transform aerial data into actionable information, was available quickly and cost effectively.”
The platform is accessible on numerous devices and allows a user to see data in real time, long before a processed orthomosaic is available. Post processing is automated, and processed data can be shared across devices or analyzed using sophisticated algorithms. Data Mapper geospatial experts have been working closely with university partners across the nation to determine the most pressing algorithms for the agriculture industry such as plant height, weed detection, plant counting and canopy cover.
Because of its early integration with the PrecisionHawk platform, Data Mapper has a strong client base that includes Fortune 500 companies, global agriculture companies, education and research institutions and individual agricultural producers, PrecisionHawk said.
As the UAV industry quickly expands, data intensive markets such as agriculture can be equipped with a streamlined, information delivery structure that fits into an everyday workflow. Engineers have bootstrapped the technology to ensure seamless integration with workflows that rely heavily on accurate information to support business practices, PrecisionHawk said.
“UAVs are an extremely effective and efficient means for collecting data, but the value of this technology goes far beyond an aircraft,” said Andrew Slater, VP of software development for Data Mapper. “Data Mapper is a tool designed to close the gap between a service that UAVs provide and the value of that service, which isinformation delivery to the right person at the right time.”
The company has worked with data sets across a variety of industries including agriculture, oil and gas, emergency response, forestry and insurance, and will continue to extend its analysis capabilities to different markets. Data Mapper will significantly grow its employee base, hiring geospatial analysts, software engineers and embedded software engineers to work towards a generalized ingestion method for all UAV data in 2015.
Telit Wireless Solutions, a global provider of machine-to-machine (M2M) modules and services, has debuted its first m2mAIR Cloud-ready wireless modules, designed to simplify the development and deployment of comprehensive M2M and Internet of Things (IoT) applications using the m2mAIR Cloud service. Telit said this is an important step toward realizing the company’s vision of the Internet of Things made Plug & Play.
Telit Cloud-ready modules let developers connect and integrate things-to-cloud with just a few simple clicks in little time. Cloud-ready modules feature embedded APIs that are compatible with the well-known Telit on-board AppZone and Python environments and reduce hundreds of lines of code to 16 simple AT commands to move data automatically between remote devices in the field and relevant applications. All the necessary developer resources and support are included and an Evaluation Kit is available for rapid prototyping of custom m2m and IoT device solutions.
The m2mAIR Cloud Platform-as-a-Service, powered by deviceWISE, offers a simple “pay-as-you-grow” usage-based subscription plan — reducing risk, time-to-market, complexity and cost versus building your own point-solution. deviceWISE is an open, developer-friendly, carrier-grade platform, compatible with the TIA TR-50 standard. m2mAIR Cloud features comprehensive management and configuration capabilities to connect, collect, and control anything with bi-directional data transfers between remote devices and the Cloud — from basic entry-level solutions to full-scale enterprise-grade deployments across the globe.
Interested developers can register for a free trial of the m2mAIR Cloud service. According to Telit, the easy-to-use portal has all the necessary visualization tools and dashboards needed for most remote tracking, monitoring and control applications across all industries and markets, out of the box. m2mAIR Cloud also meets the stringent requirements of global organizations that rely on mission-critical reliability, security, scalability and enterprise-grade performance with built-in business system integration. Furthermore, it includesAPIs that lets developers create their own web-based and mobile applications and dashboards, from simple functions to big data analytics.
“When we acquired ILS Technology this time last year, we added the final element needed to become a true one stop shop for companies building IoT applications,” said Oozi Cats, CEO of Telit Wireless Solutions. “Today, we are pleased to have completed not only personnel and operational integration, but also the technology integration to realize our ONE STOP. ONE SHOP vision. Connecting your “things” to the cloud has never been easier. We fully intend to populate the Internet of Things with hundreds of millions of m2mAIR Cloud-ready modules in the coming years to drive innovation that makes businesses and industries operate more profitably, and will change the way people live, work and play.”
The click-to-Cloud simplicity of Cloud-ready Telit modules and the m2mAIR Cloud service will be on display this week in the M2M Zone at CTIA, booth #5628.
Topcon Tesla handheld controller combines the advantages of a PC tablet with the ruggedness of a fully equipped survey device.
An Oklahoma Survey Firm Is Increasing Productivity with Cloud-Based Solutions
By Larry Trojak
Until recently, the flow of real-time information and job-critical data between the office and personnel in the field for survey and construction has not kept pace with advances in onsite GNSS equipment. But enterprise software suites are closing the gap, producing across-the-board efficiencies, cost reductions, and an ability to bid more competitively.
Sisemore Weisz & Associates (SW&A) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, is an engineering specialist in site design and land planning, and has survey experience with ALTA/ACSM work, high-end civil construction, structural layout, and large survey control networks. Topcon’s cloud-based software suite Magnet gives SW&A the ability to have immediate access to the plans, data, and site information needed to respond to and complete the job.
“Providing the ability for any crew to immediately access their data from anywhere via a Tesla field tablet is invaluable. It’s literally changed the way we do business,” said SW&A chief of parties Shawn Collins.
Collins’ ultimate goal was to establish a platform for data collection, sharing, and transfer that best utilized today’s technology, including Internet access and the ability to email and text message crews in real-time.
His first instinct was that a tablet such as an iPad might be the answer, but iPads weren’t suitable for surveying Instead, they chose Topcon’s newly introduced Magnet Enterprise package along with a pair of Tesla controllers. Finding it the right solution, after a few weeks they bought more Teslas. “It was just the solution we needed,” Collins said.
Magnet Suite
Comprised of three individual software components — Field, Tools, and Office — as well as the Enterprise cloud environment itself, the Magnet suite of products is designed to bring real-time, cloud-based efficiency to any survey or construction operation, according to Jason Hallett, Topcon’s senior product manager for software applications.
“Magnet considers everything from data collection, to CAD, to data manipulation and reporting, to data exchange, to cloud-based project management in an enterprise environment,” Hallett said.
Components of Magnet:
Field. Connects field users to the cloud, and enables real-time communication, as well as cloud storage and data exchange. A powerful field software for topo, staking, roads, and calculations is included.
Tools. Allows the processing and exchange of data between the enterprise cloud and popular desktop applications, such as Autodesk Civil 3D.
Office. Exchanges design files, survey jobs, and surfaces through the enterprise cloud for simple project revisions and real-time survey data from the field.
Dillon Dossey is a one-man crew with Magnet and the cloud.
In the year since they began using Magnet, Collins said that the system has become an integral part of the way SW&A does business. “It can be something as simple as getting a crew working faster than we ever could in the past,” Collins said. “For example, say we are set to begin a large highway project several hours from the office, but we are wrestling with plans or have calculations that still need fine-tuning on one part of the job. In the past, the whole project would have been held up until those issues were resolved. Now, we can send a crew out with what we already have and, when that missing data is completed, upload it to the cloud for them to access when they need it. As a result, production is on track, deadlines are met, and the customer is pleased.”
Re-routing crews — a time-consuming effort in the past —is now a simple process. “If a crew wraps up a project and needs to be re-routed from their original follow-up job, they now can simply check email or chats on their Tesla and see what’s changed. All of their pertinent information is going to be in the chat and in the cloud — all the directives are there, all the paperwork, everything they need to make a fast, seamless transition to the next job without having to come back to the office. Just minimizing those trips back here has shown us a nice 14 percent reduction in fuel costs since going forward with Magnet. And taking that 14 percent off of a bid allows us to be that much more competitive.”
As chief of parties, one of Collins’ primary roles is quality control on projects, and Magnet has helped. “I can show up to a site to see how a crew is doing, have them upload data to the cloud, and confirm their progress. As a result, managing the parties, managing the control, managing the job flow is so much better. And, contrary to what one might think, the fact that the crews know they are being checked has not had any downside at all. They know we are all on the same team and appreciate that this technology is helping make us more competitive — which ultimately benefits everyone.”
Collins has witnessed dramatic changes in his 30 years of surveying, but sees Magnet as a game-changer for data management and flow, the exchange of information, and bidding on jobs which, thanks to Magnet Enterprise’s cloud-based environment, has become a streamlined, efficient process.
“It is now possible to easily cross-reference jobs to help in the bidding process,” he said. “We can go into our cloud and see if we did a similar job before, and, if so, view the work order, view the billing files, see how much that job actually cost, see what we bid on it, see if we were profitable, see how we did for time management, and so on. In the past that would have been a painstaking, time-consuming process. But with that all data readily at hand, it is easy to put together an informed, competitive bid and get it out to the client in no time.”
One area that Collins hopes to pursue further is deeper client involvement. “We recently added 5 GB of capacity to our cloud storage, and that should help us move forward with that push. Making it possible for the client to look at the project as it exists in real-time, to be able to review and red-line items or discuss issues, and do so without a trip to our office will be a real plus.”
One-Man Crew
A visit to a local development called Yorktown finds a single rod man, Dillon Dossey, at work, a typical scenario for SW&A. “This is a 120-lot development, and Dillon has been the sole SW&A person on this job since the outset, surveying and staking to rough in roads for the developer, and he will be here until our portion wraps up,” Collins said.
With Topcon’s PS-103 robotic total station (SW&A’s latest purchase), his Tesla, and Magnet — which is also built into the total station — Dossey can operate as a one-man crew with confidence, Collins said. “If Dillon gets into a situation where he suspects something is wrong or he needs help deciding something, he doesn’t have to break down his equipment and drive all the way back to town; he has everything he needs right there with him. He has the data, he can chat with me, with the office, and we can send data right back to him.”
Dossey offered his take on Magnet’s impact on his role at SW&A. “We are working toward eventually eliminating the need for us to go back to the office at all,” he said. “If we have to, we can come in to get gear in the morning, but that’s about it. However, right now, if I am halfway through a job and Shawn contacts me to head to another one, he just sends me all the info I need and I’m on my way. It is very cool. The amount of data that we can exchange back and forth through the cloud is just startling.”
Trimble has introduced a new version of its smart water and wastewater management software — Trimble Connect version 1.5. The latest release of the cloud-based software includes a suite of applications that help water and wastewater utilities to deploy smart meters, repair leaks and reduce non-revenue water (NRW), locate and map critical infrastructure using geographic information system (GIS) technology, extend the life of aging assets, and improve worker safety and productivity.
Trimble Connect software version 1.5 can be configured and deployed quickly on a variety of rugged mobile devices, laptops, tablets and smartphones to automate field workflows and eliminate paper-based maps and field work tracking and management, the company said.
Over the last decade, water and wastewater utilities have made investments in GIS mapping systems and asset maintenance management databases to manage their pipes and assets that are installed over large geographic areas. A large number of these utilities have implemented the Esri ArcGIS as their primary GIS mapping system. Maintenance of the information is an ongoing task and requires that information about the location of assets and the work performed on these facilities is accurately collected in the field. Trimble Connect helps with this challenge by integrating Esri ArcGIS technology and allowing utilities to view and update maps, assign work, manage workflows and collect field data and mapping updates using a variety of mobile devices. When used with a Trimble GeoExplorer series or Trimble Juno T41G series handheld, workers can map assets with up to decimeter accuracy in the field, helping improve the quality of their critical infrastructure GIS and asset management data.
Trimble Connect integrates the latest Esri ArcGIS Server, mobile and ArcGIS Online map services. The software is designed to automate a variety of specific water and wastewater industry workflows through individual apps offered within the product. The new version provides standard core apps including Map Book, Meter Changeout, Leak Repair, Manhole Inspector, and Pipeline Mapper. In addition, an optional partner app developed for hydrant and valve inspection, called AFC Mapper, can be purchased from American Flow Control (AFC) and their distributors coupled with a Trimble rugged handheld.
In addition to the standard core apps, Trimble Connect version 1.5 includes:
Multi-mobile platform support including Apple iOS, Android, Windows Mobile and Windows 7/8 devices
Offline support for Android, Windows Mobile and Windows 7/8
Esri ArcGIS based Web, mobile GIS mapping and ArcGIS Online basemaps
Work management support for single and multi-asset work orders
Business rules for customer mobile form design
Support for over-the-air network data and background map updates
