GPS World

Tag: surveyors

  • Trimble Offers Expanded GNSS Portfolio for Surveyors

    Trimble has introduced additions to its GNSS portfolio — the Trimble NetR9 Geospatial receiver; the Trimble Geo7X with Trimble Access field software onboard; and enhanced Trimble xFill functionality that provides continuous RTK level accuracy when paired with a Trimble CenterPoint RTX subscription. The new additions offer surveyors more flexibility in the field to meet a variety of work requirements.

    The announcement was made today at InterGeo 2014, the world’s largest conference on geodesy, geoinformatics and land management.

    The Trimble NetR9 Geospatial GNSS Receiver. Photo: Trimble
    The Trimble NetR9 Geospatial GNSS Receiver. Photo: Trimble

    Trimble NetR9 Geospatial GNSS Receiver. The Trimble NetR9 Geospatial has been configured as a comprehensive modular GNSS receiver for the professional survey market. The lightweight form factor of the NetR9 comes fully loaded with performance enhancements including: Trimble HD-GNSS technology, Trimble 360 technology, Trimble CenterPoint RTX correction service support and Trimble xFill technology. The combination of these capabilities provide a powerful solution that delivers accurate positioning and support for all existing and currently planned GNSS constellations, and continuous RTK-level precision during interruptions of the primary correction source, Trimble said.

    Serving as either a rover or mobile base station, the NetR9 Geospatial offers the flexibility to choose a GNSS antenna and radio solution that matches the surveyor’s specific workflow needs. “Trimble’s GNSS solutions are designed to meet the unique requirements of surveyors,” said Elmar Lenz, business area director of GNSS Solutions for Trimble’s Geospatial GNSS Division. “These solutions provide professionals in the survey and engineering industry with flexible tools to stay productive and competitive, delivering the appropriate solution for any survey project that’s being completed, no matter where our customers work and survey.”

    Trimble Geo 7X with Trimble Access. Designed for surveyors facing a variety of workflow requirements to accomplish both high-accuracy surveying and handheld point measurement, the Geo7X is now available with Trimble Access field software onboard. With Trimble Access onboard the Geo7X, surveyors benefit from a familiar, easy-to-use software interface that provides common survey workflows directly on their GNSS handheld, resulting in increased data collection efficiency.

    The Geo7X is a dedicated network rover that can be used on a survey rod with an external antenna for survey-grade accuracy. If the surveyor prefers the convenience of a highly mobile handheld solution, they can snap if off the rod and switch to the internal antenna. In this mode, they also have easier access to other features such as the integrated camera for collecting attribute data.

    Trimble xFill in use. Photo: Trimble
    Trimble xFill in use. Photo: Trimble

    Expanded Trimble xFill Functionality. Expanded xFill functionality, available in the Trimble R10 GNSS receiver and NetR9 Geospatial receiver, allows surveyors to continue collecting data with centimeter accuracy indefinitely throughout their workday when the connection to the base station or VRS network is lost. The expanded xFill functionality is enabled via a CenterPoint RTX subscription.

    Without a Trimble CenterPoint RTX subscription, xFill maintains RTK level accuracy for up to five minutes during interruptions in the primary terrestrial correction stream. This basic xFill functionality is included with the Timble R10 GNSS system and is now included with the NetR9 Geospatial GNSS receiver.

    “With expanded accuracy levels and seamless RTK/RTX transition, the Trimble R10 continues to offer unprecedented capability to the survey professional,” said Lenz. “Connectivity problems are traditionally one of the biggest GNSS-related challenges a surveyor will face while in the field and expanded Trimble xFill functionality significantly helps solve that problem, saving time and money.”

  • Trimble Adds Automated Mapping and Plotting to Office Suite for Surveyors

    Trimble has introduced a new version of its office software suite used by surveyors and geospatial professionals for processing and analyzing geospatial data. Trimble Business Center Version 3.21 introduces new coordinate reference systems and a specialized Advanced Drafting module, which enables faster project turnaround and better decision making.

    The optional Advanced Drafting module adds highly customizable templates and simplified selection tools, which are designed to reduce the time required to generate high-quality deliverables, such as geospatial maps and corridor cross-sections. Now, professionals working on road, pipeline, and railway projects can achieve efficiency gains through the software’s new automated cross-section plotting functionality.

    Also included in the new module is the ability to create 3D PDFs so that team members and clients can collaborate from any computer or mobile device using Adobe Reader software.

    “Trimble Business Center is the enterprise solution for surveyors and geospatial professionals to produce high-quality deliverables,” said Alain Samaha, business area director of GIS and Software for Trimble’s Geospatial Division. “These new capabilities demonstrate the continued evolution of our software portfolio to provide customers with an end-to-end solution to fulfill their client’s high-end requirements in the most efficient way.”

    Trimble Business Center Software version 3.21 and the Advanced Drafting module are now available through Trimble’s Geospatial Distribution Channel.

  • Carlson Software’s MINI2 Offers Land Surveyors Performance in a Compact Size

    Carlson Software’s MINI2 Offers Land Surveyors Performance in a Compact Size

    The rugged, lightweight Carlson MINI2.
    The rugged, lightweight Carlson MINI2.

    Carlson Software’s newest data collector, the Carlson MINI2, packs a punch for its compact size. The new handheld computer is taking the place of its predecessor, the Carlson MINI.

    With an IP68 rating (better than the original MINI), the MINI2 is waterproof and dustproof, and is tested to MIL-STD-810G to meet the environmental demands of the surveying industry. The MINI2 also has several advancements over the MINI, including a bright display, a custom battery that lasts 20+ hours on one charge, and a scratch-resistant capacitive touchscreen with glove-friendly numeric keypad, for faster and more accurate data entry.

    The Carlson MINI2 was designed and manufactured by Juniper Systems, which specializes in building ultra-rugged handheld computers. Juniper Systems also manufactures the Carlson Surveyor handheld computer. Carlson Software packages these rugged handhelds with its own software to provide a total solution for surveying professionals.

    “Carlson Software has been a great partner of Juniper Systems for many years now,” said Debbie Trolson, Geomatics Market Manager at Juniper Systems. “Their high level of service as well as their attention to customer needs has made them not only an excellent company, but also a leader in the surveying market. I believe our cooperation with Carlson in providing the MINI2 to surveying professionals will continue to strengthen our partnership for years to come.”

    “Working with the team at Juniper Systems has allowed Carlson to offer our customers the kind of rugged and reliable hardware they need out in the field,” said Butch Herter, director of Hardware for Carlson Software. “The Juniper-produced MINI2 and Surveyor are the perfect complement to Carlson’s popular and efficient data collection software choices.”

  • Looking for a Few Good Professional Land Surveyors

    JAVAD GNSS has published an invitation to professional land surveyors in the United States to submit resumés for consideration. The company says it seeks “talented” surveyors to advise on its customer support and to participate in evaluating product features and ideas.

    Interested parties should send their resumés to [email protected].

     

  • Trimble Adds Photogrammetry to Business Center Software for Surveyors

    Trimble has introduced a new version of its office surveying software — Trimble Business Center Software version 3.00. Trimble Business Center Software version 3.00 is a powerful, next-generation surveying office software suite designed to manage, analyze and process all field survey data, including optical, GNSS and imaging data.

    The new version features photogrammetry enhancements, including the ability to process images from the Gatewing X100 unmanned aerial system (UAS). These enhancements provide surveyors with increased visualization and processing capabilities, allowing them to further maximize productivity and create aerial survey deliverables.

    “Powerful and intuitive, Trimble Business Center and its integration with UAS data introduces new capabilities to surveyors and represents a significant leap in efficiency. Surveyors, engineers and geospatial data managers can increase their productivity, efficiency and quality of deliverables through the software’s aerial data processing capabilities,” said Erik Arvesen, vice president of Trimble’s Survey Division. “Traditional sites, such as large mines, that in the past have taken days to map using conventional methods can now be accurately modeled in just hours.”

    Version 3.00 introduces a new photogrammetry module for importing and working with flight data and images collected from the Gatewing X100 UAS and optical instruments, such as the Trimble S8 with Trimble VISION technology, which integrates calibrated digital cameras to collect survey data, stream video from the perspective of the instrument and capture panoramic still images. Based on software from Inpho, the Trimble Business Center photogrammetry module also provides office surveyors with the capability to process complete mapping projects containing aerial data, GNSS and total station observations. Surveyors can produce deliverables, including georeferenced orthophotos, 3D point clouds and digital surface models directly from Trimble Business Center.

    With the ability to integrate photogrammetry with data collected from GNSS receivers, total stations, and digital levels, surveyors can combine aerial images with GNSS measurements on ground control points and 3D laser scans of buildings to precisely, comprehensively and efficiently map large and complex sites.

    The new version also introduces 64-bit processing. As a 64-bit application, Trimble Business Center allows surveyors in the office to utilize their computer’s RAM, maximizing the productivity of the surveyor’s workstation, to display large images and point clouds for increased visualization functionality. Users can also display large images seamlessly; images “tile” automatically on import and the displayed resolution adjusts seamlessly as users zoom in and out for superior image viewing.

    “Inpho is a proven leader in digital aerial photogrammetry,” said Arvesen. “Trimble has taken that expertise and applied it to the survey market, as we pioneer the development of UAS data integration for surveyors.”

  • Surveyors Invited to ‘Survey Earth in a Day’

    sealOn the day of the solstice, June 21, geospatial professionals around the world and members of Land Surveyors United (a global support network for land surveyors) will be simultaneously recording survey grade GPS data from thousands of points around the globe, in order to gain a more accurate understanding of the earth’s surface.

    This will be the second Survey Earth in a Day event; in 2012 the first Survey Earth event was held, establishing many new understandings between geospatial and geomatics professionals and the general public on geospatial issues, organizers said. “With a mission not only to learn more about the Earth’s surface but also monitor its changes over time, and the changes in public perspective, as a global community, we may be more capable of assessing our future,” organizers said.

    “Our results will change the knowledge we currently have of the shape of the earth and thus provide new information about our planet’s surface for the benefit of all man-kind. Help the surveying industry and the surveyors in your region of the world by representing your area as we re-measure the entire globe in one single day,” organizers said.

    “If you are a geospatial professional with access to survey grade GPS equipment, you should consider helping us set a world’s record, right from where you live and work. Only a surveyor can provide the kind of precision that will be needed to truly understand the shape of planet earth. Just imagine how much this can help our industry,” organizers said.

  • On the Edge: Making Peace: Surveyor’s GPS Device Serves as Mediator in Kenyan Land Dispute

    By Noah Kertich

    Early morning on February 2, 2011, I went to work in my job as a road surveyor in the Bungoma District of Kenya. Here, land disputes are common, though the government is trying to reduce the conflicts by issuing land titles and certificates.

    I carried with me a small handheld GPS, the Magellan Explorist 100. While I was using it, a stout man in early fifties approached me and introduced himself as a surveyor, too. He was very interested in the way I was walking around with the “gadget,” trying to locate a control point. He asked me how the gadget worked. I explained it to him, showing him how its easy to use in general boundary surveys. He was satisfied, and we exchanged contacts and parted.

    A month later, he called me for help. When I asked him what was wrong, he told me there were a group of land owners, or members, who were about to kill each other in a dispute over a 128-acre farm they had bought. These members had each contributed money to buy a single parcel with the intention of subdividing it fairly. They were engaged in a disagreement about the boundaries and the subdivision of the farm. The gentleman asked me if I could take a survey of the farm sometime in the next few days. Concerned about the conflict, I answered, “Yes, in hours not days.” Still, it wasn’t until two days later that he could assemble the members of the disputed farm and called me to mark the boundaries for them.

    I arrived at the farm with my Magellan GPS and my laptop. To my dismay, I found that some of the members were armed with crude weapons, ready to fight each other. I asked them to be peaceful and wait for just a few hours while I surveyed the site.
    I started picking the boundary corners of the farm all around the permiter. I was through with that task in less than 35 minutes. This parcel of land was to be divided into 18 pieces. I uploaded the data manually to my laptop, then I did the subdivision using AutoCAD Land Development 2000.

    After two hours and fifteen minutes, I called the members and told them to ready themselves to be shown the boundaries of their property.

    I walked around the property with them, guided by my handheld GPS, to each boundary beacon. After one and a half hours, the warring members were shaking hands and laughing, saying “So, it was that easy!”

    The dispute had ended, and was solved peacefully. My small Magellan Explorist 100 acted as a peace mediator.

     

    Noah Kertich is a surveyor with H Young Construction EA Ltd., which is under contract with the World Bank in conjunction with the government of Kenya. Kertich graduated from the Kenya Institute of Surveying and Mapping in 2004 and received a diploma in photogrammetry and GIS from Icaros Geosystems, Israel, in 2008.