GPS World

Tag: mobile devices

  • myWorld Inspection & Survey v2 supports iOS, Android and Windows

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    Ubisense Group plc, an enterprise location-intelligence solution company, has released version 2 of myWorld Inspection & Survey. Version 2 of the software offers a host of new features to transform the way utility and telecommunications teams conduct inspections and surveys.

    myWorld Inspection & Survey enables field workers to collect inspection data on any mobile device, eliminating paper-based processes and is a dramatic improvement on first-generation software solutions, Ubisense said. Users now have the flexibility to run the system on iOS, Android or Windows and dynamically push both data and application code updates, significantly reducing IT management costs, UbiSense said.

    Based on discussions with existing customers, Ubisense has also incorporated a range of new workflow and data capture features to make day to day inspections and management even easier.  Users of myWorld Inspection & Survey are now able to:

    • Carry out multiple surveys concurrently, significantly improving productivity.
    • Assign multiple crews or surveyors to a single survey or inspection order, enabling support of a wider range of existing business processes without requiring any product customization.
    • Support for “dual pass” surveys, in which each survey item needs to be visited twice in order for the survey to be regarded as complete.
    • Enhanced map filtering, to allow users to only display items relevant to the survey(s) that they are currently working on.
    • Process checks to automatically turn off surveying when the vehicle speed exceeds a specified value, avoiding accidentally marking something as surveyed incorrectly.

    “We know that our customers want the flexibility to use any device in the field,” said Peter Batty, Geospatial CTO at Ubisense. “We allow them to run iOS, Android or Windows with a single application giving them more flexibility in device selection and future proofing their hardware decisions.”

  • Esri and Hexagon promote joint collaboration at HxGN LIVE

    In 2015, Esri and Hexagon jointly announced a series of ready-to-use imagery services to Esri users through ArcGIS Marketplace. ArcGIS Marketplace delivers high-resolution aerial multispectral and basemap imagery services as a subscription through ArcGIS Online. In light of the collaboration, Esri will be participating in HxGN Live June 14-16 in Anaheim, California.

    Another collaboration with Leica Geosystems, a brand within Hexagon Geosystems, addressed the market for high-accuracy mobile field collection, which was released this year. It integrates Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS, a configurable mobile app for collecting and editing data in the field, with the high-accuracy Leica Zeno 20 from Leica Geosystems.

    “We’re excited to raise mobile data collection solutions to the next level of precision and interoperability through rigorous connectivity between our survey-grade Leica Zeno series and Esri’s GIS solutions,” says Hexagon Geosystems president Juergen Dold. “This industry collaboration between Leica Geosystems and Esri is another joint commitment to make it easier for professionals around the world to capture, manage, and share their data, regardless if they’re in the office or the field, without sacrificing precision or interoperability.”

    The new solution, ZenoCollector, is an Android-based, professional-grade handheld. ZenoCollector connects to ArcGIS Online, automatically synching high-precision field changes to enterprise information and giving everyone access to the latest data gathered on the project sites, as well as access to high-resolution basemap services and Hexagon imagery services through ArcGIS Marketplace. This innovation of online content connected to mobile field tools and back-office systems now provides rapid synchronization to streamline field job planning, collection, and postprocessing of data.

    Esri For more information and demonstrations of these new offerings, visit Esri at booth No. 506 at HxGN LIVE.

  • Mongolia adopts what3words as national addressing system

    Mongol Post, Mongolia’s national postal delivery service, has adopted the addressing platform what3words for postal deliveries to customers across the country.

    The three-word address shops.maps.exonerates is a tent home. (Photo: what3ords)
    The three-word address shops.maps.exonerates is a tent home. (Photo: what3ords)

    Mongolia covers an area nearly the size of the European Union, but has no consistent addressing system. what3words has developed a accurate address for every 3 x 3-meter square in the world, and Mongol Post is now making this address system integral to its service and a part of the infrastructure that will help drive the country’s economic development.

    Mongolia — known for its nomadic population and vast, sparsely populated landscape — faces unique challenges when it comes to postal services. In many parts of the country, citizens have to collect mail from post office boxes dozens of kilometers away from their homes.

    The what3words address of this location is uniform.resettle.wakes. (Photo: what3words)
    The what3words address of this location is uniform.resettle.wakes. (Photo: what3words)

    Other customers have no access to postal services or deliveries at all. When deliveries are made, descriptive directions (for example, “opposite the gas station, near the Internet Cafe”) and landmarks are often the only way to specify a location; customers regularly provide a mobile phone number on the envelope so the driver can call for directions.

    Failed deliveries are commonplace, inconveniencing citizens, holding back the operations of both businesses and government, and raising the cost of deliveries.

    Vast stretches of uninhabited land characterize much of Mongolia. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)
    Vast stretches of uninhabited land characterize much of Mongolia. (Photo: Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 2.0)

    Mongol Post is the country’s largest postal service provider, with 900 employees serving more than 3 million citizens, 30 percent of whom are nomadic, roaming an area of more than 1.5 million square kilometers. As a rapidly emerging market, Mongolia needs a functioning address system to sustain its economic development and attract investment.

    what3words is a multi-award winning location reference system based on a global grid of 57 trillion 3 x 3-meter squares. Each square has been pre-assigned a fixed and unique three-word address. The system is available as a mobile app or API integration and works both online and offline. It makes it easy to discover an address, communicate it and deliver to it.

    Mongol Post customers will be able to discover any three-word address using the free app, and write it on an envelope or enter it on the checkout page of a shopping website. Every citizen now has an address, whether they live in rural areas, the Ger districts (informal settlements in the capital) or the center of Ulaanbaatar, the capital of Mongolia.

    what3words will be integrated across Mongol Post’s internal systems, while postal workers will use the three-word address to navigate directly to the 3 x 3-meter square where they will find the customer’s front door.

  • Esri introduces high-precision GNSS mobile GIS software

    In its 47-year history, Esri has never before built a high-precision GNSS mobile GIS software . Sure, one could connect a high-precision GNSS receiver to ArcGIS Mobile or even ArcGIS desktop running on a tablet, but in those cases and all others, there’s no direct support for high-precision GNSS receivers.

    By support, I mean the software features that one needs to automatically collect reliable, verifiable and defensible high-precision GNSS coordinates and associated metadata, like real-time estimated accuracy, correction age and other metadata that can be referenced months or years later to understand the quality of the data collected.

    Until now…

    Collector for ArcGIS is a cross-platform mobile GIS app that’s available for iOS, Windows 10 and Android. Until now, Collector did not differentiate between low-precision GNSS data (for instance, a smartphone’s internal GNSS receiver) and RTK GNSS (centimeter-accuracy) receivers, so it was difficult to know what sort of accuracy one was achieving even when a centimeter-accurate receiver was connected to it.

    Esri is on its way to solving this problem.

    Earlier this month, Esri introduced a beta version of the new Collector for ArcGIS mobile GIS software that incorporates features for high-precision GNSS data collection. While Collector has been around for a few years, it has not allowed the user to differentiate between low-precision GNSS data (such as a smartphone internal GNSS receiver) and RTK GNSS (centimeter-accuracy) receivers. To circumvent that limitation, high-precision GNSS receiver vendors offered companion apps that run concurrently with Collector to display metadata. However, that’s not a fun solution because if the user wants to records GNSS metadata, he would have to tab between apps and hand-enter the GNSS metadata into attribute fields in Collector.

    Another nagging problem for high-precision GNSS users with Collector is the lack of an on-the-fly datum transformation feature. Sources of high-precision GNSS receiver corrections come in different datum flavors (ITRF08, NAD83/2011, NAD83/CSRS, etc.). Those datum flavors don’t necessarily match a user’s GIS database, sometimes introducing a meter or more of error.

    Historically, Collector didn’t give the user an opportunity to apply an on-the-fly datum transformation to reconcile datum differences between the high-precision GNSS receiver datum and the geodatabase datum. Yeah, you could fix it later by applying a datum shift after the fact, but it’s a tedious and laborious task to do so, and sort of defeats the purpose of having an efficient real-time GNSS data collection workflow.

    I was using the beta version of iOS Collector for ArcGIS this week with a survey-grade  RTK GNSS receiver that, according to GPS World’s 2016 Receiver Survey, delivers 1-centimeter RTK accuracy. Setting up the GNSS correction profile is a bit tricky. There are three settings you need to select. Following is a screen capture of the profile settings I used for RTK in Collector when the RTK base was referenced to NAD83/2011:

    MOBILE-GIS-3

    When setting up a GNSS receiver profile to use WAAS/SBAS as a source of corrections in Collector, you’ll need to select GCS ITRF 2008 instead of GCS NAD 1983 2011.

    Once I got the proper datum transformations dialed in, RTK GNSS accuracy was where it should be when compared to a survey mark (3.7mm):

    MeasurementPostCollection-W

    Another tricky area with Collector is the GNSS metadata. It’s great that Collector supports automated GNSS metadata recording, but in order for Collector to record GNSS metadata, you’ll need to follow the Esri data model for GNSS metadata. Essentially, add fields to your database that will be populated. Here’s a link to the supported GNSS metadata fields.  http://arcg.is/22h41yR. Note that you’ll need to log in using your Esri account credentials to view the link.

    I didn’t add the GNSS metadata fields to the database to try it because this iOS beta version doesn’t support GNSS metadata (Esri says it will be supported on the next beta release), I did collect a bit of data. Here’s what the Collector screen looks like:

    MOBILE-GIS-1

    Some of the fields on the iPad Mini were cut off (I’ll report that to Esri), but you can see that it is entirely possible for Collector (iOS) to accept and record data from an iPad using an RTK GNSS receiver (note accuracy value at the bottom left corner of the screen.

    So, to Esri’s credit, they’ve appeared to address the GNSS metadata and datum transformation problems in the beta release of Collector, making it the first Esri mobile GIS that supports high-precision GNSS. The iOS and Windows 10 beta versions are available now to users who register for Esri’s Collector beta program. For support and answers to questions, you can visit Geonet.

    Before you get too excited, even with the new features Collector is still a light-weight mobile GIS and likely always will be, as long as it’s a free app (although not always free to use). But this is certainly a move in the right direction for high-precision GNSS receiver users who want to live in the Esri ArcGIS Online/Portal/Server ecosystem and rid themselves of shp files.

    Some of you may beg to differ that Collector is Esri’s first high-precision GNSS mobile GIS data collection software. I know ArcPad has been around for years and has supported high-precision GNSS receivers for many years. In fact, if you install the GeoBullsEye plug-in, ArcPad becomes the only 3D, high-precision GNSS data collection software that works real time in the Esri AGOL/Portal/Server ecosystem. But, it wasn’t built by Esri :-). An Australian company named Maptel built ArcPad, and then Esri acquired the company a few years ago.

    While the beta versions of Collector for Windows 10 and iOS are available now, Esri reports that the beta version of Collector for Android should be available next week.

    Thanks, and see you next month.
    Follow me on Twitter at GPSGIS_Eric

  • Harris to offer Icaros OneButton for advanced UAS image processing

    Icaros Inc., a provider of aerial remote sensing services and software, has announced that Harris Geospatial Solutions, a division of Harris Corporation, will offer the Icaros OneButton family of image processing software as a front-end complement to its ENVI geospatial analytics solution for users extracting information from manned and unmanned aerial sensor data.

    “Together, OneButton and ENVI create a complete image processing and analytics workflow for aerial image data,” said Tom Bosanko, Icaros CEO. “Both packages are highly customizable to meet the needs of specific vertical market applications.”

    Icaros developed the OneButton family for geospatial end users to easily and automatically generate precise, fully orthorectified 2D maps and 3D models from frame-based aerial imaging systems. Originally engineered for manned aircraft sensors, the OneButton software has been modified to accommodate the collection conditions of unmanned aerial systems (UAS).

    “The combination of OneButton and ENVI provide best-of-breed, application-specific image processing and analytics, that enable customers to solve challenging problems related to everything from agriculture and forestry to utilities and city planning,” said Beau Legeer of Harris Geospatial Solutions.

    OneButton automatically processes raw raster imagery with onboard GPS/IMU data to stitch the individual scenes together into a seamless, color-balanced orthomosaic meeting photogrammetric standards.

    Outputs include digital elevation models (DEMs), true color 3D point clouds, multispectral mosaics and controlled oblique imagery — all ready for ingest directly into the ENVI software environment.

    OneButton comes in both Standard and Professional versions. The Standard package asks the end user to specify the application and terrain type for the project at hand. The software then intuitively sets parameters of the photogrammetric engine to perform the mosaicking to the level of precision required. For example, the processing algorithms would handle flat agricultural fields different from a rolling urban landscape.

    “The Professional version is more customizable, allowing end users to adjust the processing parameters themselves based on the precision they need, and then edit the resulting mosaic to remove anomalies, like an airplane moving down a runway. OneButton Professional was specifically designed to generate results with the efficiency and accuracy necessary for large scale projects and survey-quality results,” Bosanko said.

    OneButton is platform and sensor agnostic, and processes raster image data from small-, medium-, and large-format frame sensors capable of capturing visible RBG, multispectral, near-infrared and thermal infrared data.

    The OneButton solution for ENVI is available now to existing and new customers, and both companies expect further technology integration in the near future around cloud enablement of the UAS data processing and analytics workflow.

  • GeoBullseye for ArcPad version 2 released

    GeoMobile Innovations has released GeoBullseye for ArcPad version 2. GeoBullseye is a software extension that turns Esri’s ArcPad mobile GIS software into a high-accuracy GNSS, three dimensional (collecting X, Y and Z) solution supporting Esri workflows.

    GeoBullseyeV2_Accuracy display RTKGeoBullseye supports accurate collection of positions and quality-control GNSS attributes for confident deployment in horizontal XY and vertical Z, including GEOID12 for accurate Mean Sea Level (MSL) elevations.

    GeoBullseye displays real-time estimated accuracies on the ArcPad main map screen and supports automated recording of GNSS/GIS metadata, including key horizontal and vertical accuracy metrics and real-time differential correction status results.

    Version 2 collects up to 35 configurable “auto” attributes to support confidence in critical field data-collection efforts. GeoBullseye is a XY and Z centimeter accuracy RTK GNSS collection solution that can be tightly integrated in a fully disconnected workflow with ArcGIS as well as connected, real-time synchronization with ArcGIS Online (AGOL) and/or ArcGIS Server including SDE environments.

    “The high-accuracy GNSS 3D mobile GIS solution and can be deployed with today’s various Esri workflows,” said Geomobile Innovations President Richard Ash. “We recognize that centimeter-level GNSS data collection is a strong trend in mobile GIS and are excited to bring that capability to the Esri environment.”

    GeoBullseyeV2_prefs_datumFurthermore, GeoBullseye Version 2 implements a rigorous 14-parameter datum transformation to solve a critical horizontal datum shift problem for the specialized positioning needs of North American GPS users mapping in NAD83 (2011 epoch) datum while using satellite-based augmentation service (SBAS) such as WAAS or commercial services like Atlas, OmniSTAR, Terrastar and Starfire. Those services produce coordinates that are referenced to the ITRF08 datum, which is substantially different (greater than 1 meter) from NAD83/2011, the national standard in the U.S.

    “Professional groups such as small and large utilities, engineering, land and natural-resource impact consultants and more are seeking confident collection of high-accuracy RTK horizontal and vertical positions and the ability to efficiently cycle this data to and from the field and update their GIS, perhaps when they return to the office or in real-time out in the field,” Ash said.  “GeoBullsye for ArcPad is an easy-to-use solution that checks the critical ‘must-have’ boxes for organizations that want to streamline their field collection to GIS back-end workflows. It supports the key data elements necessary for reporting, and defending their horizontal and vertical GNSS data collection efforts.”

    GeoBullseye V2 is priced at US$295.00. It is available for purchase through GeoMobile and authorized GeoMobile GNSS reseller specialists.

  • eyesMap3D software provides high-quality 3D models

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    3D model created using eyesMap3D software.

    Technology company eCapture has launched a new software program, eyesMap3D, to generate accurate 3D models and point clouds, measured directly from images.

    EyesMap3D allows users to create high-density points clouds with textures achieving a realistic 3D model appearance. In addition, eyesMap3D is able to measure accurately on the images, generate true orthophotos, and geo-reference and scale the results.

    eyesMap3D users can use their cameras, mobile phone or camera drone to capture images. It is compatible with most popular software packages on the market.

    The goal of the company is to allow the user to easily generate and work with 3D models and photogrammetric tools, while maintaining data quality.

    In 2015, eCapture launched the eyesMap tablet for modeling 3D scenes indoors and outdoors. The EyesMap tablet is a versatile instrument for users who needs results directly while working in the field.

    eyesMap3D software is offering three licenses: educational, public organizations and business. The software can be downloaded from the eCapture website.

    3D model of small object (a bracelet) made using eyesMap3D software.
    3D model of small object (a bracelet) made using eyesMap3D software.

  • Spectra Precision antenna now driven by DigiTerra Explorer 7

    Spectra Precision‘s MobileMapper 300 smart antenna is now directly driven by DigiTerra Information Services’ DigiTerra Explorer 7 GIS software for mobile mapping.

    “Users running DigiTerra Explorer 7 on their Windows devices now have the ability to achieve GNSS accuracies directly and more simply with the MobileMapper 300,” said Olivier Casabianca, Spectra Precision’s business area director, in a news release.

    MobileMapper 300 is a professional-grade GNSS receiver with scalable advanced accuracy options, from mapping grade to full RTK accuracy, including RangePoint RTX over IP support. It is designed for use in combination with a wide variety of mobile devices, including smart phones, tablets and notebook computers.

    DigiTerra Explorer offers mobile mapping, GIS data collection and maintenance, as well as field-to-office workflow solutions. The software is used in the GIS forestry and agriculture markets in Europe and is expanding into North America.

  • Esri to offer online training for ArcGIS Pro app add-ins

    Esri is hosting a live training seminar, Extend ArcGIS Pro Functionality with Add-Ins, on April 21. Using the new ArcGIS Pro 1.2 SDK for the Microsoft .NET framework, Microsoft .NET developers will be able to create unique tools and workflows for ArcGIS Pro.

    The seminar will teach users how to use ArcGIS Pro SDK for .NET for developing and deploying custom add-ins. Presenters will demonstrate how to modify the ArcGIS Pro user interface and build customizations that leverage the SDK’s asynchronous programming pattern, the company said in an announcement.

    The seminar will teach users how to:

    • Create and deploy a simple add-in using the ArcGIS Pro SDK for .NET Visual Studio template.
    • Modify the ArcGIS Pro user interface using Esri’s desktop application markup language (DAML) functionality.
    • Apply the ArcGIS Pro asynchronous programing pattern using C#.

    A basic familiarity with the C# programming language and knowledge of object-oriented programming concepts will be helpful, according to Esri. A broadband Internet connection and an Esri account are required to watch the live training seminar.

  • ikeGPS describes Spike mobile solution at FedGIS 2016

    Ben Soliday of ikeGPS describes Spike, a remote data capture and measurement solution for the smartphone or tablet. He was interviewed by GeoIntelligence Insider columnist Art Kalinski for Geospatial Solutions at the Esri Federal GIS Conference, held Feb. 24-25 in Washington, D.C.

  • USGS reveals 6 new California seafloor, coastal maps

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    The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) released six new sets of publicly available maps that show the diverse and complex range of seafloor habitats along 80 miles of the central California coast from the Monterey Peninsula north to Pigeon Point, according to a news release form the organization.

    The new USGS publications, products of the California Seafloor Mapping Program, combine new and legacy data to reveal offshore bathymetry, habitats, geology and seafloor environments in high resolution. Environments range from the rugged granitic bedrock along the coasts of the Monterey Peninsula, to the bedrock reefs that form the surfing point breaks on the Santa Cruz County coast, to the smooth sand and mud in a large delta bar at the mouth of the Salinas River, and to the steep walls and sinuous channels of one of the largest underwater canyon systems in the world.

    “The new high-resolution datasets and maps are stimulating research – scientists are excited,” said Sam Johnson, the USGS project lead. “Our stakeholders like to say that you can’t manage it, monitor it or model it if you don’t know what the ‘it’ is. Our seafloor mapping provides that important ‘it’ to the entire coastal community.”

    Seamless onshore-offshore geologic maps incorporating subsurface data document the location and geometry of the San Gregorio fault and show how different strands of the fault extend through Carmel Canyon — across the continental shelf west of Santa Cruz and Davenport — and combine to uplift Año Nuevo State Park and Año Nuevo Island. A separate fault system to the east in Monterey Bay is part of an actively deforming wedge of the Earth’s crust caught between the converging San Andreas and San Gregorio faults, the organization said. The six new sets of California maps are Offshore of Pigeon Point, Offshore of Scott Creek, Offshore of Santa Cruz, Offshore of Aptos, Offshore of Monterey Canyon and Vicinity and Offshore of Monterey.

    Each publication includes 10 map sheets, a pamphlet and a digital data catalog with web services. The web services are a new addition to the publications and all previous products in the map series, and can be viewed on smartphones. The USGS said the maps and data provide:

    • A foundation for assessing marine protected areas and habitats.
    • An understanding how marine species such as bull kelp, rockfish, crabs and sea otters use the seafloor.
    • Baselines for monitoring coastal change and sea-level-rise impacts.
    • Critical input data for modeling and mitigation of coastal flooding.
    • A framework for understanding coastal erosion and developing regional sediment management plans.
    • Contributions to earthquake and tsunami hazard assessments.
    • More accurate data for safer navigation.
    • Essential information for planning, siting or removing offshore infrastructure.

    “These new seafloor maps – used in partnership with the USGS – will give us an additional tool to protect Californians, as well as fish and wildlife,” said John Laird, California’s secretary for natural resources and OPC chair. “The new maps will be used to analyze offshore faults and earthquake hazards. They will also help us identify sources of sand to replenish beaches – and will help establish a scientific baseline to track changes in habitat near shore over time. This investment will pay off for Californians in ways that we cannot even imagine now.”

    The California Seafloor and Coastal Mapping Program is supported by the USGS, the California Ocean Protection Council, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, California State University at Monterey Bay, Moss Landing Marine Laboratories and other government, academic and industry partners.

    (Click on the images to enlarge them.)

    Maps: USGS

  • Surveying app designed for parcel boundaries

    cc4w-parcelboundaries-Wcc4w is offering a new surveying app, Parcel Boundaries. With the app, a legal description, subdivision lot boundary and results of a survey can be calculated for the perimeter, area, error of closure, ratio of closure, closing course and the Northing and Easting differences.

    The results can be emailed to others for review, comment and documentation.

    One feature is the plotting of aliquot parts of a legal description within a typical section. With the app, users can plot a multiple aliquot part description in color to visually see the individual locations.

    A legend is provided that identifies each aliquot part that has been entered.