The HiPer SR for GIS is a compact, integrated GNSS receiver with sub-meter accuracy. Additional, scalable options are available via OAF (Options Authorization File) upgrades, delivering accuracy levels of sub-decimeter and centimeter without the need for additional hardware, Topcon said.
The HiPer SR for GIS can be paired with a Topcon controller and eGIS software, or used with Topcon’s eGPS utility software to use with a third-party device and application such as ArcPad or ArcGIS mobile running on a Windows tablet or mobile device.
“The HiPer SR for GIS brings the very finest in Topcon GNSS technology into a compact and rugged housing,” Jason Hooten, TPS sales manager for GIS, said. “Superior tracking and positioning is provided by the HiPer SR’s Vanguard receiver technology with advanced Fence Antenna.”
“GIS field work is changing as more field workers are using various types of collection devices like smartphones, tablets, and laptops in addition to the traditional data collectors. Unfortunately, the GPS in these devices are not accurate enough for locating buried assets or doing initial inventory collection. The HiPer SR provides this accuracy regardless of job site demands,” Hooten said.
Photo: Topcon Positioning Systems
“The new HiPer SR is an adaptable device that can be used to locate utilities within an inch one day and the next provide sub-meter accuracy for an environmental study. This device provides accurate positioning to different applications as needed. The HiPer SR is small in size, but giant in performance and flexibility.”
Precise Location Moves with the Demands of Business
Organizations across business and public sectors, and including the military, now expect a high degree and broad range of functionality in the palms of workers’ hands, wherever those workers may go, in any kind of hazardous, chaotic, demanding environment. Requirements for location accuracy rise consistently across the board. In the future — in other words, now — developers will be asked to write mobile software applications first, and desktop applications second.
By Lee Ann Fleming
It seems so long ago. In 1972, Hewlett-Packard engineers developed the HP-35, a scientific calculator that many claim was the world’s first handheld computer. Today, a calculator represents only a tiny fraction of the functionality the business world expects from any one of dozens of models of powerful handheld computers that travel in the billions to job sites around the globe.
In 1989, Frito-Lay introduced a brick-sized handheld computer for real-time inventory management on its factory floors. The initiative helped make the company the most profitable segment of its parent Pepsico’s empire. By 1999 the company was also supplying handheld computers to its sales staff and claiming a $4 million annual return-on-investment from improved billing efficiencies alone.
So, the idea of businesses using handheld computers in the field is not new by any means.
What is new this decade is “a massive shift in the way we use the technology,” according to David Krebs, president of VDC Research. “Six years ago, the introduction of the Apple iPhone was a defining moment for the mobile computing industry. It introduced a more intuitive user interface and a multi-touch capacitive interface that was a complete revelation.”
Capacitive or Touchscreen gloves made with conductive material enable the wearer’s natural electric capacitance to operate capacitive touchscreens without removing protective work gloves. Photo: Lee Ann Fleming
The iPhone changed forever the level of expectation of performance and usability for such devices. Widespread consumer adoption of smartphones and tablets has led workers to expect more from their work equipment, and if they don’t find it, they bring their own devices into the mix — and dare their employers to say no. Whether they are Apple users or Android or Microsoft Windows, the original innovation introduced by Steve Jobs has so altered the landscape of what is acceptable in a handheld computer in terms of ease of use that the world will never look back.
Today experts estimate that a full third of the global workplace is “mobile” — that’s more than a billion people daily using small handheld computers, whether tablets or notebooks or smartphones, for work.
Data shows that the average smartphone user reaches for his or her device 150 times per day — and only 22 of those occasions are to make or take a phone call. We now rely on smartphones as multi-function devices to manage our calendars, create memos, check email, find addresses, take and share photographs, monitor children, even store electronic boarding passes for airplane flights. Tablet computers allow us to stream videos, fill in forms, write documents, and view dashboards of information. The handheld form factors’ only limitations seem to be the lack of sufficient miniaturization to fit everything in, and the delicacy of many models that can be destroyed by a single drop onto a hard surface.
As the cost of ownership has plummeted and the quality of features and functionality has improved, mobile computing has become the inevitable rule, no longer the notable exception. Businesses need mobile computers to remain competitive, just as they needed the new telephone device 100 years ago.
BYOD Forces Enterprise’s Hand
The phenomenon of “bring your own device” (BYOD) finds individual workers integrating their personal handhelds, both smartphones and tablets, into their daily workflow. Businesses recognize that employees are more connected, more efficient, and more invested in their work when they are allowed to use their own equipment. Consequently, the problem of data security in an environment where workers walk around 24/7 with mobile devices containing sensitive intellectual property has grown exponentially. The trade-off of higher productivity means companies are looking for security solutions. Meanwhile, developers rush to provide new applications for business, feeding more deployment by enterprise organizations in an ever-widening circle of inevitability.
Broadband and voice carriers likewise hasten to bundle their services in handheld form factors with 3G or better data capability, setting up whole divisions to package, upgrade, manage, and monitor enterprise mobile deployments. Third-party device management has also increased acceptance in the wider enterprise world, where IT departments have been unwilling to take on the security risks internally.
Ice Cube Project at the South Pole records the interactions of a nearly massless sub-atomic particle called the neutrino (photo courtesy University of Wisconsin).
GPS Data Acquisition
Some handheld configurations now include high-accuracy GPS data acquisition and other specialized functions, either as integrated features or through add-on accessories. Functionality is also being added through apps such as bar-code scanning imagery programs that can bring a crucial business process into a single device. Geotagged high-resolution photographs that formerly might have been considered out of reach because of the cost of a special device can now routinely be added to workflows via handhelds’ built-in features.
Mobile computing has barely tapped the springs of creativity when it comes to add-ons and new integrated features that will arrive over the next few years.
Manufacturers recognize that accessories make a big difference to enterprise customers and are bringing out more ways to ease adoption:
Smart office docks that allow for connections to larger monitors for presentations to co-workers,
capacitive gloves that protect workers’ hands while still enabling manipulation of a display screen outdoors,
mounts and connective docks for in-vehicle use.
These have all aided workers’ efficiency and productivity and increased the likelihood of mobile computing adoption.
Not all is roses. For enterprise, connective office and vehicle docks provide tremendous benefit and can make the difference to successful deployment, but they can also present problems for full integration and customer service.
The direct monitoring of environmental conditions or the condition of key components (pipes, pumps, valves and so on), often in relatively inaccessible locations, is commonplace now. Ruggedized handheld devices grant technicians access to the full repository of historical and technical information when they conduct manual inspections or perform repairs. As the workforce demographic shifts from baby-boomer employees who have years of institutional (and location) memory in their heads to younger employees who are comfortable with handheld technology providing background knowledge and tutorials in the field, ruggedized computers with large memory and Internet connectivity become more and more valuable.
Gaps and Third-Party Enablers
While third-party device management, along with increased availability of specialized functionality, more accessories for ease of use, and choices in operating systems are clearly moving enterprise equipment into the mobile realm, major functionality and application gaps remain. Innovative companies are studying the business-to-business marketplace looking for ways to make adoption of mobile even more business-friendly.
Most of the large third-party organizations such as carriers do not have the intimate market knowledge of other industry verticals to ensure they provide truly best-in-class service. Often the equipment they push into their enterprise clients’ hands is an OEM partner’s that may or may not be ideal for the actual vertical.
Meanwhile, deployments designed around a specialized software solution or by a contract system integrator might be so specific as to be non-upgradable as operating systems (OS) and equipment innovate. Enterprise still feels itself groping in the dark in many areas when it comes to outsourcing mobile computing needs.
Operating Systems
One of the biggest concerns in linking mobile workers to the enterprise’s universe of data and communications is today’s plethora of operating systems that allow developers and IT leadership to connect legacy and proprietary programs into their mobile deployments. The most common OS options in the handheld world are Apple iOS, Android, and Microsoft Embedded Handheld. While a few others jockey for position, most major manufacturers’ field products use at least one, and often two, of the top three. Software development kits (SDKs) and customer service are provided so internal IT departments can easily implement applications.
Thirty years ago, the Microsoft platform owned the enterprise market and Apple was fervently embraced by so-called anti-corporate creative types. Those days might live on in some branding memory, but the reality is that Apple has entered mainstream business in the hands of its iPhone and iPad devotees. In contrast, enterprise IT and developers are justifiably upset at Microsoft’s lack of a clear mobile platform strategy. Meanwhile, rushing from behind to take top spot in mobile computing OS deployment, Google’s Android made a smart decision to employ open-source Linux-based programming as its base, giving it a decided advantage in the mobile ecosystem. The first Android cellular phone was sold in 2008; more than 750 million new Android activations were recorded by the end of 2012.
It’s the rare end-user who will argue over which OS platform powers the software on their company-provided mobile device, except when they want to use a specific consumer-oriented app. But they do care, and care deeply, about how intuitive they find the user interface on their computer equipment, mobile or not.
Do their applications run smoothly? They’d better, or enterprise faces the problem of expensive deployments with workers refusing to use the solution. Over the past couple of decades, so many enterprise IT investments have failed for just this reason that business is gun-shy of any product that doesn’t provide proof that its applications are bug-free and user-friendly. Because mobile computing includes the added complexity of workers being physically removed from company IT support, this issue becomes even more important.
Today, according to VDC Research, 63 percent of software developers (enterprise and consumer) develop their mobile-oriented applications on the Android platform, while 73 percent create apps for Apple iOS. All other operating systems have significantly lower developers’ mindshare. Some observers see Android eventually winning the tussle to become the go-to OS for mission-critical enterprise deployments.
Android still has to wrestle with the impression by enterprise that it won’t sit still long enough. Its constant upgrades for consumer devices constitute a liability for business, as enterprise developers must tweak their applications to work on the next upgrade, and the next, and the next. Enterprise would like to see a stable platform for at least a year at a time.
Regardless of which platform dominates, in the future — in other words, now — developers will be asked to write mobile software applications first, and desktop applications second.
Business Concerns
Handheld computers are moving inexorably from consumer use into full-time, ubiquitous business operation. This is the opposite direction of the desktop computer, which moved from offices into homes during the 1980s. While businesses and governments at all levels accept the reality of BYOD and profit from the increased productivity of workers on mobile devices, they continue to worry about major limitations for enterprise-centric use found in the current leading platforms, including:
Privacy Compliance. Companies operating under Sarbanes Oxley (SOX), the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), and other privacy regulations have a nightmare built in to the current reality of employees walking around with data that should be secure.
Wi-Fi and VPN. The mobile computer is built for travel, but connections are interrupted, can be unsecure, and virtual private network (VPN) firewalls can only do so much in a handheld environment.
Legacy Systems and Support. Small and mid-size businesses don’t have the IT support to truly connect the mobile universe with their PC networks. Also, solution providers selling mobile to enterprise are spotty at best with customer service, SDK support, and help-desk offerings. Considering the common problems of file transfers, managing OS version control, and cloud-based file sharing across a universe of different form-factor devices (tablets, smartphones, specialized handhelds for different industries), it’s no wonder IT departments feel hard-pressed.
Maintenance and Warranties. The mobile computing universe, with its retail consumer market-base willing to discard old versions of hardware (cell phones, PDAs, tablets) in a few short months, has not developed a quality set of warranties or maintenance plans designed to assure enterprise customers that their equipment investment will provide stability and return on investment.
Connectivity / I/O. Consumer handhelds are not constructed to interact with the many other machines that business mobile computers must drive: printers, monitors, desktops, and so on. Some require serial connections as well as USB.
Lee Ann Fleming is a communications manager for Trimble Mobile Computing Solutions.
CenturyLink in Eugene, Oregon, aided with photography for this article, using the Trimble Juno T1 and Yuma 2 rugged tablet computers.
Photo: Lee Ann Fleming
In the Field
Mobile GPS acquisition is growing all over the map.
Land Management. Many agencies and organizations now find wetlands management among their responsibilities. Municipalities encompassing marshlands must look at changes over time. They don’t always need survey-grade maps of these areas but they do need to know “What are the variations in these 100 points that we’re viewing?” They want map information, photographs, data on animal life, and more.
Forestry management includes the same elements, plus it has a particular problem with fire changing the landscape. In heavily forested parts of the world, handhelds with GPS capability are tremendously helpful in lessening the “pack-in” weight and safety potential for staff assessing damage after destructive fires that may fundamentally alter hundreds, or even thousands, of acres.
Seismic Instrumentation. Precise scientific data is logged with sensitive equipment housed in small form factors. Annual or more frequent data collection must re-find the collection boxes in overgrown, remote locations. Similar scientific work in many fields requires finding machinery placed in out-of-the-way sites, often by different people than the ones who placed them.
Ocean Buoys. Placement and monitoring is all done with GPS now, because the buoys are always shifting, and yet their location must be exact because of sonar connectibility requirements. Rugged handhelds are best for marine work because they can withstand the salt water spray and, at sufficiently high ingress protection levels, even a dunk in salt water. Smaller boats can be used for buoy work because today’s handhelds measure accuracy to a level that 10 years ago was impossible. In large rivers this is also becoming more common, as channels requiring dredging or measuring move regularly.
Insurance. Adjusters use GPS after such disasters as the Oklahoma tornado to determine debris fields and get claims filed. This year’s Colorado wildfire destroyed 509 homes and reduced more than 22 square miles of forested acreage to ash. Mobile GPS will play a key role in assessment, re-mapping, replanting and rebuilding.
Evacuation Planning. When hazardous materials go airborne — as in a plant explosion — public safety personnel must accurately predict where the cloud will travel: height, width, direction. HazMat-suited personnel equipped with rugged handhelds monitor the plume and use their GIS solution to make accurate predictions.
Incident Command. Software enabling interoperability, staff positioning, and navigation in volatile circumstances, and communication across departments and agencies to share floorplans, organization charts, and photographs, arrives on the scene aboard rugged handhelds that can take a pounding in uncertain conditions.Civilian police and firefighting organizations increasingly turn to military-designed solutions on handhelds to enforce security.
Mobile Inventory Management. Companies with large fleets equip delivery trucks with handhelds, so drivers report in real time exactly where they are, what’s been delivered, and when. Changes can be made on the fly.
Photo: Lee Ann Fleming
GPS Product Design Challenges
Small, low-cost GPS devices have proliferated in the marketplace, and the drivers and applications that support them at a consumer level are available to make GPS acquisition seem cheap and easy. Where it starts crossing over into an area of challenge is how to put a more accurate, professional-grade GPS into a device while meeting demands to keep it less expensive, sleeker, and smaller for the user.
According to Trimble Mobile Computing Solutions director of engineering Cary Keist, “If you want to improve performance better than 2–4 meters, not just in open sky but especially under multi-path, you have to invest in a good antenna — an antenna larger than anything that’s going to fit into a sleek, thin phone. And it will have to be pointed to the sky, and it will have to have a good ground plane. That all takes up room. There’s no way around that fact.”
“We’re seeing competitor products that are rugged and claim GPS capability and are thin, but they only offer 10-meter capability, which isn’t good enough, or 2–4 meters in open sky, but as soon as you walk up to a building your accuracy is destroyed.”
Alternatively, Keist explained, you end up with products that have a big snout. “Some have gone the opposite direction with a big antenna that makes it bulky. We’ve tried to split the difference. We’re introducing a Juno T41 handheld with a small extended snout for more advanced, 1–2 meter performance even in multi-path environments. Not the same accuracy as the GeoExplorer 6000, but way better than many others.”
Tablets. The tablet form factor has a double problem in housing professional-level accuracy antennas: an antenna has to point to the sky, in addition to being of sufficient size.
Sky-pointing requires a tablet to be vertical, but many applications designed for the tablet require it to be flat for work. So far, this has meant that tablets have been fitted with appendages that can rise at an angle. New technologies are under investigation, but none has appeared on the market yet.
Eventually antennas will shrink, along with every other technology that prizes miniaturization, but it comes down to physics. GPS signals are weak to begin with.
“Given the satellite system and the current signals, the larger the area of the antenna, the more reliable your signal is going to be. There’s no easy path right now to have an antenna be very tiny and very accurate. Innovation over the next few years will try to find clever ways to put as much antenna as you can in as small a form factor as is possible,” Keist said.
Fragility. GPS receivers and antennas are not especially delicate; they can be made to handle temperature extremes, shock, and vibration. Where it does get a difficult for the makers of rugged handhelds is that as products become larger and weigh more, greater countermeasures are required to keep them rugged. The heavier the object is, the more damage it will sustain when dropped onto concrete.
Manufacturers add plastic casings around the handheld form to cushion the shock of the landing. That in turn adds more weight. It’s like rocket science: for every added pound of weight on the rocket you have to add a half pound of rocket fuel, then you have to add more rocket fuel to boost the half pound of rocket fuel weight that was added to push the rocket, and so on.
In building rugged handhelds that are dropped, manufacturers calculate this in reverse.
“GPS receivers are going to be relatively heavy in comparison to any consumer device. Antennas are large, with an awkward shape, so to have them survive the drop and vibration tests, you have to do a good job of packaging within a rugged device housing to keep it as small as you can without adding mass or building a shape that would be susceptible to breaking.” Keist said. “You have to invest in clever design and modeling and trying to keep the cost low. So it’s not technically impossible, but if you do it right, the design process is expensive and requires rigorous modeling and testing.”
Figure 1. Annual failure rate by form factor.
Mobile = Vulnerable
According to 2012 data from VDC Research, the average annual failure rate during the first year of deployment of rugged devices ranged from 4 to 7 percent, while average failure rates of non-rugged devices ranged from 10 to 23 percent. Past the first year of deployment, the fail rate for rugged devices drops while that of non-ruggeds rises, in some cases past 50 percent.
Protective plastic casing over consumer-grade devices aids to some degree of protection against drops and a little against dust and grit; however, conditions such as temperature and altitude extremes, vibration, falls into water, or use in the rain require more than protection — they need rugged construction from the baseboard up.
Several years ago, rugged handheld computers lagged considerably behind consumer devices in terms of processing power, memory, storage, connectivity, and other features, limiting the enterprise in what it could do with a rugged handheld. However, technology advances and more aggressive product development by rugged computer manufacturers now enable businesses to obtain cutting-edge speed, communications, and integrated features with all the protection that a rugged handheld offers.
IP and MIL-STD-810G
Two basic standards, Ingress Protection (IP) ratings and MIL-STD-810G, determine the ruggedness of handheld computers. The IP rating uses two numbers to describe how well the unit is protected against incursion by dust and water. The first number (1 to 6) measures dust protection; the second number (1 to 8) describes water protection.
MIL-STD-810G consists of a series of U.S. military testing criteria that have gained acceptance in industries beyond the military for their methods of objectively determining whether a device can withstand potentially destructive elements such as drops, dust, water immersion, vibration, and altitude or temperature extremes. Initiated in 1961, MIL-STD-810 has seen seven revisions over the past 50 years.
Semi-Rugged
These computers can handle rougher treatment than a consumer-grade handheld, but they are not fully waterproof or dustproof, generally have a narrower temperature range, and do not meet all MIL-STD-810G specs. Most semi-rugged handhelds come with an IP rating of IP54. That means the unit is protected, though not sealed, against dust. It is resistant only to light splashing, but it cannot withstand jet sprays or immersion.
Rugged
These hardy warriors come with an IP65+ rating, which means they are sealed against dust. Dust cannot get inside the sealed form factor, even through the USB and serial ports. Plus, they can survive temporary immersion. They have passed a full battery of MIL-STD-810G tests, including drops, vibration, immersion, and temperature extremes. The higher the IP rating, the tougher the device. An IP68 device, for example, can survive salt-water immersion.
Septentrio NV, the Belgian manufacturer of high-end GNSS receivers, and Esri BeLux, the regional distributor of Esri software, have joined forces to offer a user-friendly mobile solution that is accurate up to 1 centimeter. The combination of Esri software and the AsteRx-m GeoPod operates seamlessly using standard, open interfaces on any professional tablet. Used today by a major utility company, the new bundled solution allows anyone in the organization to accurately locate field assets and record geo-referenced data on the spot, Septentrio said.
The AsteRx-m GeoPod upgrades professional tablet PCs with a high accuracy GNSS receiver, giving the user access to sub-meter, or even centimeter, accurate positions without needing specialized equipment. Using a standard USB connection, the AsteRx-m GeoPod can be connected to any professional tablet, giving the user free choice to select a device.
The receiver uses satellites from the GPS and GLONASS constellations to increase the availability of a high-quality position solution, even in areas with bad satellite visibility. In addition, the receiver offers innovative tracking and positioning algorithms designed for demanding professional environments.
The included RxAssitant software takes care of configuring the receiver and connecting to NTRIP-capable RTK or DGNSS networks, allowing a seamless integration with existing software applications like esri ArcGIS for mobile.
Applications for the AsteRx-m GeoPod include construction, field service, utility mapping, highway maintenance, government mapping and emergency services.
Trimble has introduced its next-generation Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) — the Trimble UX5 aerial imaging rover with the Trimble Access aerial imaging application. The new solution builds upon the strengths of its predecessor, the Trimble Gatewing X100, to offer enhanced image quality and intuitive workflows. Combined with the Trimble Business Center photogrammetry office software module, the Trimble UX5 is the a complete UAS photogrammetric mapping solution specifically designed for surveyors and geospatial professionals.
Trimble’s UAS for photogrammetric aerial mapping allows surveyors and geospatial professionals to collect data with an unmanned aircraft for large projects. A wide variety of traditional surveying applications such as topographic surveying, site and route planning, progress monitoring, volume calculations, disaster analysis and as-builts in industries such as surveying, oil and gas, mining, environmental services, and agriculture can now benefit from aerial imaging by allowing professionals to safely collect large amounts of accurate data in a short time.
“With the recent introduction of the Trimble Business Center photogrammetry module and now the Trimble UX5 and Trimble Access aerial imaging application, Trimble continues to pioneer the development of UAS photogrammetry data collection and integration for geospatial professionals,” said Erik Arvesen, vice president of Trimble’s Survey Division. “The complete solution represents a significant leap in efficiency, transforming traditional workflows with faster data collection, easier processing and enhanced deliverables.”
The new Trimble Access aerial imaging application is field software for planning UAS missions, performing flight checks and monitoring flights — all with intuitive workflows. The imaging application is used to define the project area, avoidance zones, and flight parameters as well as take-off and landing locations. In the field, it is used to perform pre- and post-flight checks and download the flight data and images after landing. The new wizard-like digital checklists give the operator a complete “to-do list” so critical steps are not bypassed or missed in the field that can enhance reliable and safe flights. The software also includes fixed post-flight procedures to ensure that operators do not leave the field with a dataset that is incomplete or inconsistent.
The Trimble UX5 can provide a safer method to collect data compared to traditional surveying methods, Trimble said. Flights are fully automated, from launch to landing, and require no piloting skills. The operator facilitates the aircraft’s operation and built-in safety procedures can ensure safe and successful launches. Data collection can be performed remotely without exposing individuals to hazardous terrain, environmental contaminants or heavy equipment and machinery.
The Trimble UX5 unmanned system in use at a construction site. Photo: Trimble
The Trimble UX5 aerial imaging rover has been designed to follow the latest developments in the “prosumer” camera market, providing optimal image quality along with maximum photogrammetric accuracy.
Incorporating a mirrorless 16-megapixel camera with a fixed focal-length external lens, the Trimble UX5 provides high-resolution imagery and accurate deliverables. The large field of view from the camera allows the UX5 to cover 50-75 percent more area to enhance efficiency and reduce operational costs. In addition to the increase in flight efficiency, the Trimble UX5 is capable of producing 3D surface deliverables with a ground sampling distance of approximately 2.4 centimeters (approximately 1.0 inch).
Designed to operate in real-world conditions, the Trimble UX5 is capable of flights between 75 and 750 meters (approximately 246 and 2,460 feet) above ground level and can be flown in light rain and windy conditions, up to 65 kph (approximately 40 mph).
The Trimble UX5 airframe is comprised of a carbon frame inside expanded polypropylene. Impact-resistant plastics and composite fibers are used for the aircraft components, including winglets and belly plate. This design and choice of materials results in a rigid aircraft with strong torsional stability and the ability to withstand rough landings.
Performance enhancements also include the ability to execute steep landing approaches and thrust reversal for accurate and repeatable landings. The landing procedure starts 300 meters (approximately 984 feet) from the landing location allowing the UX5 to be used for jobs that have site restrictions such as buildings, towers or trees.
Orthophotos, contour maps, point clouds, digital surface models (DSMs) and feature maps can easily be created from aerial images using the Trimble Business Center photogrammetry module. Single-click processing for stitching images streamlines the office process for generating powerful deliverables, Trimble said.
The Trimble Business Center allows surveyors and other geospatial professionals to combine aerial photography with data collected from GNSS receivers, total stations, 3D laser scanners and more. By combining imagery from the Trimble UX5 and any Trimble VISION instruments, users can visualize their project from both aerial and terrestrial perspectives, measure points within the images and create 3D models of the infrastructure and terrain.
Mapping turned up the heat in June, becoming a hot topic across the board. Apple ended negotiations to buy Waze, a provider of crowd sourced mapping and traffic, reportedly because the company did not want to relocate from Israel. Google quickly took Apple’s place as Waze’s buyer. With almost 50 million drivers using Waze, many via Apple Maps, Google would get another leg up in the race to own mapping. The connected car industry, gathered in Detroit last week, discussed the need for intelligibility in the market, particularly more organized categories of offerings. Also of interest this month is the backpack-mounted Google Trekker used to map the world where cars don’t go, as well as the LocationTech working group.
Surprisingly, reaction to Google’s sweeping design of new personalized maps, now in limited release, has been muted. The maps show landmarks, restaurants, and other details tailored to the user’s plans, habits, and interests that will become increasingly individualized with usage. One person’s map may include bars and public pools, another’s may include book stores and playgrounds. Google also introduced other map features like blending of Google’s place images, 360 degree views within retail shops, and 3-D satellite images of earth without a plug-in or download needed.
Connected Car Gathering. At Telematics Detroit last week, the connected car industry tried to reach much-needed clarity on the state of the connected car, with attention to standardization, consolidation, increased collaboration, and partnership. Many are trying to build a smartphone experience in the car but, “compared to a mobile phone, you’re always going to lose,” said Robert Acker of Harman. “The car is another device on the ‘Internet of Things,’ and we need to optimize that thing for consuming content while driving. Don’t make it a bigger smartphone device. That’s all Google or Apple can do. Rather, completely change the paradigm. Make it totally seamless; introduce gesture, head-up displays, steering controls. Make it truly revolutionized for the customer.”
Auto OEMs Are Changing Really. Smartphone-like capability in the vehicle is revitalizing the staid OEM industry and has encouraged car manufacturers to take more risk and speed up development time. It used to be de rigueur that a car maker would first pick a supplier like Denso to build a component, like a radio. “Now the automotive companies are first choosing a platform and layering on companies to build the solution. Tech companies are specialists,” says David Jumpa of Airbiquity. “We stand in the middle of the platform that makes it all work together.” Jumpa expects connected car services to get bundled and consumers to pay a subscription fee.
Freedom to Choose. To the unhappiness of wireless carriers, the automotive industry is planning on building cars with embedded subscriber identity module (SIM). Unlike current SIM cards that are carrier-specific, these are universal SIM cards that would enable customers to pick their vehicle’s wireless carrier and then change it at will. For OEMs, embedding SIM cards creates great efficiency. SIM cards can’t be easily replaced, as they must be soldered into vehicles because of vibration and shock. With OEMs shipping vehicles to multiple countries that have different carriers, a universal SIM card provides great flexibility and cost savings. Apple once tried to pursue an embedded SIM card and the carriers rose against it, but let’s see how the OEMs fare.
Mapping the World on Your Back. You’ve probably seen cars loaded with GPS and cameras for mapping streets. It is less likely you’ve seen mapping trikes, carts, or new photo-mapping backpack. Google uses the Trekker, a 42-pound backpack equipped with GPS and 15 cameras. Every 2.5 seconds it takes a picture as a person lugs it along trails, narrow streets, alleys, and mountains. Photos are stitched together to create panoramic images for StreetView.
Location Collaboration. A new initiative, LocationTech, has arrived on the location scene and is dedicated to individual and company collaboration on open-source software with an emphasis on location. The non-profit Eclipse Foundation, has created the working group LocationTech, led by Oracle, IBM, OpenGeo, and Actuate. LocationTech will allow companies to jointly develop and deploy components that bring location awareness to enterprise IT. “No single vendor can address the range of issues our LocationTech working group members are going to solve,” said Mike Milinkovich of Eclipse. “By creating a multi-vendor, open platform for location technologies, we intend to spur even broader adoption of location aware products, devices and services.” LocationTech might sound similar to the Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and the Open Source Geospatial Foundation (OSGeo); however, LocationTech offers full-service support and staffing for open-source location-aware technologies.
GPS World’s next webinar, “Nightmare on GIS Street: GNSS Accuracy, Datums and Geospatial Data,” is accepting registrations. The webinar will be held Thursday, June 20, 10 a.m. PDT / 1 p.m. EDT / 6 p.m. GMT. Registration is free.
“‘Nightmare on GIS Street: GNSS Accuracy, Datums and Geospatial Data’” is a look at the challenge of dealing with horizontal datums in your GIS,” explained moderator Eric Gakstatter, survey editor and editor of Geospatial Solutions. “We are moving into a new era in dealing with datum transformations. Geodata 2.0 is coming, and it can create big headaches when attempting to combine disparate geospatial databases. Sensors such as GPS receivers, remote sensing imagery, and 3D scanning provide much more accurate data, setting up a collision with outdated and mismatched legacy horizontal datums.”
Scheduled speakers include:
Kevin Kelly,Geodesist, ESRI, Inc.
Kevin Kelly is a Geodesist with ESRI in Redlands, California where he researches and implements geodetic algorithms and applications for the ArcGIS software. His experience spans over 35 years in hydrography, geodesy, surveying and most recently, geographic information systems. He has held the posts of Manager of Geodetic Services for the Province of Ontario, Chief Geodesist for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Military Survey Department and Senior Project Surveyor for The Keith Companies (now Stantec, Inc.). Mr. Kelly received a Master of Applied Science in Geodesy at the University of Toronto, Canada and holds an Honors Diploma in Hydrographic Surveying Technology from Humber College in Toronto. He is also a licensed Geodetic Surveyor in the Province of Ontario, Canada.
Craig Greenwald, Technical Director, GeoMobile Innovations
Craig Greenwald is the Technical Director and a principal at GeoMobile Innovations Inc. He has worked in the GPS and Mobile GIS industry for over 13 years, including seven years for GIS software leader, ESRI and is well known for his work on the ESRI ArcPad team. Craig leads the GeoMobile software development and consulting team specializing in Mobile GIS and field data collection applications and technology providing Mobile GIS software, consulting, and training services to GeoMobile Innovations? clients. Craig has real world experience designing, implementing, and consulting on all sizes of projects, ranging from local campground trash mapping to the U.S. national census, and has been a key developer in GeoMobile?s commercial applications such as LaserGIS for ArcPad and Geo-Photo Inventory Tool for Garmin GPS solutions.
Michael L. Dennis, RLS, PE, Geodesist, NOAA
Michael L. Dennis, RLS, PE, is a geodesist at NOAA’s National Geodetic Survey (NGS) where his duties include analysis of geometric (“horizontal”) and vertical datums; evaluation of data processing and survey network adjustment procedures; development and promotion of standards and guidelines; integration of NGS products and services with GIS; and public outreach. Mr. Dennis is also a registered professional engineer and surveyor with private sector experience, including ownership of a consulting and surveying firm. Mr. Dennis is an officer of the American Association for Geodetic Surveying (AAGS), an American Congress on Surveying and Mapping (ACSM) Fellow, and a member of the Arizona Professional Land Surveyors Association and the Geomatics Division of the American Society of Civil Engineers.
Moderator:
Eric Gakstatter, Editor of Geospatial Solutions Monthly and Survey Scene
Eric Gakstatter has been involved in the GPS/GNSS industry for more than 20 years. For 10 years, he held several product management positions in the GPS/GNSS industry, managing the development of several medium- and high-precision GNSS products along with associated data-collection and post-processing software.
Photo : Leica NovaThe Leica media event at HXGN Live Conference in Las Vegas. Photo : Leica Nova
At a media event held during the HXGN Live Conference in Las Vegas today, Leica Geosystems introduced several new products. The highlight of the event was presentation of Leica Nova and the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation.
The Leica Nova measurement solution is designed to provide users with a complete and seamless workflow, Leica Geosystems said. It integrates advanced measurement technology, modern and intuitive field software, intelligent office software, and Leica’s services to give users the ability to make faster, smarter decisions, across a range of applications. The flagship of the new solution is the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation, which combines scanning, total station, imaging and GNSS positioning in one instrument to deliver fast and reliable results.
Leica Nova uses advanced measuring technology that provides accuracy and quality, yet is easy to use for an unprecedented range of applications, Leica said. The Leica Nova solution covers the complete process from capturing and visualizing data, to creating intelligent deliverables that shape the world. Whether users measure objects on a construction site, quickly calculate volumes, monitor a dam or a bridge, capture an accident scene with digital imaging or scan a façade, Leica Nova integrates all these capabilities in one compact, flexible solution.
The Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation. Photo : Leica Nova
The Leica Nova MS50MultiStation combines every significant measuring technology in one device for the first time, Leica said. Precision 3D scanning, extensive and precise total station capabilities, digital imagery and GNSS connectivity are brought together in the multistation. The new mergeTEC technology fuses hardware capabilities with comprehensive data-management solutions. Images are synchronized with scans, and scans are tied into total station measurements, making it easy to manage complex 3D data, Leica said.
The Leica Nova MS50 integrates 3D point cloud measurements into regular survey workflows. Users can collect and visualize their topographic survey data with detailed high-precision scans. They save time by computing results and verifying the integrity and completeness of data immediately in the field, avoiding costly reworking or returns. Ultimately, users benefit from better decisions with richer and more detailed data.
Also part of the innovative new Leica Nova solution are the Leica Nova TS50 high-precision total station and Nova TM50 monitoring station.
The Leica Nova TS50 high-precision total station has 0.5-inch angular accuracy and an optimum combination of angle and distance measuring. Integrated overview and telescope cameras with fatigue-reducing autofocus document the scene with high-quality photogrammetric images using the latest SmartWorx on-board software.
The Leica Nova MS50. Photo : Leica Nova
The user sees on the remote control display exactly what the Leica Nova TS50 sees, allowing for easy one-person data capture. The Leica Nova TS50 allows full control through “tap and turn” without the need to go to the instrument and back again. The 20-Hz live video stream can be combined with a graphical overlay for cost-effective recording with immediate clarification of ambiguous situations. Together with the benefits of GNSS connectivity, the Leica Nova TS50 offers complete versatility by delivering reliable results, Leica said.
For critical monitoring tasks, the new Leica Nova TM50 monitoring station provides the highest angle accuracy and offers short measurement cycles through high speed Piezo drives and a fast, highly accurate EDM. The Leica Nova TM50 includes 0.5″ angular accuracy and can measure up to 3’000 meters, which makes it the ideal sensor for monitoring tasks in mines, landslides, etc. For additional documentation, the monitoring sensor includes an overview camera and a telescope camera with 30x magnification and autofocus. The Leica Nova TM50 meets the challenge of 24-hour-a-day, 7-days-a-week monitoring applications. The Leica Nova TS50/TM50 instruments are IP65 rated and designed to withstand the roughest use in the most severe environments.
Leica GeoMoS 6.0 enhances conventional monitoring methods with automatic scanning of surfaces with the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation. Photo : Leica Nova
The Leica software portfolio includes the following:
With the new Leica Infinity software, users can seamlessly manage, visualize, process and georeference combined total station, imaging and scanning data from the Leica Nova MS50 MultiStation and other Leica Geosystems sensors.
For AutoCAD users who have never before worked with rich point clouds or 3D datasets, the new Leica MultiWorx for AutoCAD plug-in software offers a simple way to integrate point cloud processing into existing workflows.
C-Nav, supplier of international GNSS Precise Point Positioning services, has launched its latest GNSS real-time tide measurement package, C-Tides.
The C-Tides suite combines the vertical accuracy of C-Nav’s GNSS Precise Point Positioning service with the latest advanced ocean and coastal tides models, the company said.
C-Tides Online features real-time filters and vessel dynamics, a choice of worldwide Mean Sea Surface or regional reference frame models, and tidal prediction for mission planning.
C-Tides Offline utilities include data smoothing and outlier rejection, harmonic analysis, Doodson X0 filter, and a LAT option.
“It’s been a privilege working with our academic partners to develop what is probably the worlds’ most advanced real-time GNSS tide solution,” said Russell Morton, C-Nav head of development.
C-Tides is a fully supported C-Nav utility. The results are suitable for combining with other suitably calibrated vertical components to achieve IHO SP44 Order 1 or better.
The conference GeoGathering: GIS for Gathering and Production Lines will be held Colorado Springs at the Cheyenne Mountain Resort on August 21-22, 2013. With the theme of “Developing a Data Strategy: Data Collection and Sharing,” the conference focuses on how operators collect and share information about their assets to increase operational safety and improve pipeline decision-making.
“Today, acquisitions and fast growth in the gathering industry are forcing operators to develop a data strategy and look deeper at all aspects of their pipeline asset data – from how it is collected, to making it available to decision makers,” said Victoria Skogman, is the conference manager. “Currently, gathering systems are unregulated, but trends in the industry show this is likely to change in the future. Preparing for this impending change is crucial, hence the theme of the conference.”
The goal of the GeoGathering Conference is to provide valuable information to gathering system and upstream operators who want to create efficient, accurate, and collaborative data strategies that work for their organizations. Presenters will demonstrate how GIS technology allows attendees to collect and share data between the field and the office, enabling their organization to make well-informed decisions. The versatile agenda focuses on real-world experiences — everything from integrity management and data requirements to data security and making GIS technology more accessible to stakeholders, Skogman said.
The GeoGathering Conference committee estimates that close to 150 GIS professionals and top-level management from leading oil and gas companies will attend this year. Attendees will be able to attend sessions that include:
Developing a Data Strategy
Data Collection Methods to Meet Requirements
Data Security and the Cloud
Data Sharing: GIS as an Enterprise
Organizing Data for Decision-Makers
PHMSA MAOP Strategies
Web-enabled Data Sharing Technologies & Portals
Collecting & Sharing Data to Enhance Safety
This year, attendees will experience the new, audience-focused format that offers two simultaneous tracks giving attendees the chance to tailor their own conference schedule. Plus, two of the biggest improvements are the addition of “structured networking” sessions and a “GIS Think Tank.”
Structured Networking facilitates a small group setting, in which attendees have the opportunity to meet people with common interests, share practical ideas, and network with individuals who might possibly help your organization. When attendees leave the networking session, they will have a solid list of new business contacts, Skogman said. The networking sessions are strategically placed at the beginning of the conference to help you build new relationships over the duration of the conference.
The GIS Think Tank session is also a unique addition to the agenda. It will feature five to seven GIS managers from a variety of gathering operators around the country. This is not a typical Q&A panel session; instead, it will allow the participating GIS managers to converse among themselves as the audience listens in. This will be mostly an unstructured session so that managers can spend more or less time on topics as they choose, Skogman said. It will be facilitated with questions from the audience. The purpose is to lead an informal discussion on some of the successes that each manager has had along with their opinions on pressing issues that gathering operators are facing.
This year’s conference has a seven-person steering committee with pipeline gathering background. Members include Trisha Menasco of DCP Midstream, Tom Coolidge of Esri, Ellen Nodwell of Hess, Cameron Collins of Williams, Rob McElroy of McElroy Consulting, Ron Brush of New Century Software and Victoria Skogman of New Century Software.
“The conference topics are very timely,” said Menasco. “Just when I thought I had all the data requirements figured out, it feels like we are starting over. I look forward to helping build an agenda that will be useful to the gathering community.”
Early bird registration is open. The conference committee welcomes senior management, project managers, integrity management specialists, GIS professionals, field operations managers, regulatory compliance personnel, and engineers.
Applanix has introduced POSPac MMS v6.2, its latest generation of software for directly georeferencing mobile mapping sensors using GNSS and inertial technology. Featuring new Applanix IN-Fusion Multi-Single-Base Processing, POSPac MMS V6.2 is designed to improve the productivity and accuracy of mapping from mobile platforms in the air, on land or at sea, the company said.
IN-Fusion Multi-Single-Base Processing is designed for customers who need the highest level of differential GNSS position accuracy and perform long, linear projects such as power-line corridors, long highways or stretches of coastline. During these projects, a GNSS base station network may not be available, or the geometry of the network so weak that an Applanix SmartBase solution — which uses existing reference stations to achieve high accuracy over longer distances — is not viable. In these cases, IN-Fusion Multi-Single-Base Processing allows base stations to be established along the full length of the travel path and makes optimal use of the nearest base station at all times.
Customers can now take advantage of robust tightly coupled in-fusion processing without the need to break the project up into multiple segments for each base station to attain the highest accuracy, Applanix said.
“In addition to IN-Fusion Multi-Single-Base Processing, POSPac MMS V6.2 includes new features designed to increase productivity, efficiency and ease-of-use. The Coordinate Conversion tool included allows users to choose from a number of local reference frames for inputting base station coordinates,” said Edith Roy, Development Manager of POSPac MMS at Applanix. “POSPac MMS Version 6.2 demonstrates our commitment to providing customers with not only the most advanced software solutions for mobile mapping applications, but also the easiest to use.”
POSPac MMS V6.2 can be purchased through Applanix’ global sales network. The software is available as an upgrade to all POSPac users currently under a maintenance contract.
Trimble RealWorks version 8.0 software will include a new 3D database engine, automated targetless registration and Web viewing capability incorporating RealWorks’ Scan Explorer interface. The new version is due to be released in June.
The new enhancements will allow surveyors, contractors, engineers and geospatial professionals to rapidly process 3D laser scanning data and expedite the creation of deliverables for their clients, increasing productivity and reducing costs, Trimble said.
The new 3D database engine in Trimble RealWorks version 8.0 will allow up to five times more data to be visualized and managed, compared to Trimble RealWorks version 7.2. The ability to handle larger data sets greatly increases usability and productivity for customers capturing data with 3D laser scanners such as the Trimble TX5 and Trimble FX.
The automated targetless registration function, together with additional workflow enhancements, will provide further productivity gains for customers. The automated targetless registration function automatically identifies planar objects in each scan and matches the planes from multiple stations, creating a combined data set. The function enhances productivity in the field by eliminating target placement prior to data capture in applicable environments. Office processing time is also reduced by the fully automated function.
Sharing of data with clients has been enhanced by the addition of a Publisher function within the Trimble RealWorks software that allows projects to be custom packaged for viewing via Microsoft Internet Explorer. The Scan Explorer interface, embedded inside a HTML web page, allows clients to navigate and explore the scan data as well as take measurements and add notes.
“Software is an integral part of Trimble’s 3D laser scanning solutions and is essential to extract information from 3D data captured in the field,” said Tim Lemmon, marketing director of Trimble. “The new version of Trimble RealWorks software significantly improves our customers’ productivity in processing field data, extracting information and preparing deliverables for their clients.”
The announcement was made today at SPAR International 2013, the leading conference for 3D data capture, processing and delivery technologies.
Topcon Positioning Systems has released the MR-1 Heading System, an OEM GNSS solution for high-performance positioning and heading.
Using the MR-1 receiver and Topcon’s MG-A8 antenna, the system provides “centimeter-accurate RTK positioning and better than 1/10 of a degree heading accuracy in challenging environments,” said Doug Langen, TPS GNSS product manager. “The rugged MR-1 receiver is water and dustproof and operates at a robust operational temperature range of -40°C to 75°C.”
When combined with Topcon’s Quartz Lock Loop technology, the MR-1 offers continuous operation during “extreme vibration and shock, typical of intense dynamic environments,” he said.
The MG-A8 antenna of the MR-1 Heading System is designed for moving platforms and provides multipath rejection. It also offers increased resistance to near-band interference from satellite communications systems commonly found in marine applications.
