The Trimble TDC150 handheld is a new field computer designed for GIS data collection, inspection and management activities.
The TDC150 provides users with a rugged device that has the flexibility of a handheld, a modern interface with open Android operating system, and scalable high-accuracy positioning for professional field workflows.
The TDC150 provides advanced GNSS capabilities in a durable, ergonomic and lightweight form factor. With a built-in GNSS antenna, the TDC150 is a scalable solution that allows customers to choose their desired accuracy. Easy-to-use and carry in the field, it features a bright 5.3-inch sunlight-readable touch screen and an all-day battery for continuous work on the jobsite, the company said.
The handheld comes with Google Mobile Services certification to run Google core applications and access thousands of apps on the Google Play Store. Professional GIS field applications, including Trimble TerraFlex software — a cloud-based solution that enables users to easily collect, manage and edit their geospatial feature data — are supported, as well as Trimble Penmap for Android software and Esri’s Collector for ArcGIS mobile app.
A new innovative TerraFlex workflow uses the TDC150’s onboard rear-facing camera to capture features. This visual aid shows users when the camera and receiver are aligned over features, enabling horizontal centimeter accuracy when holding the device.
“The mapping and GIS industry, including utility companies, local government, and environmental management agencies, look to Trimble for continued innovation,” said Rachel Blair-Winkler, business area manager for Trimble Mapping & GIS solutions. “Adding the ability to get the level of horizontal accuracy required in a handheld configuration without the need for an external pole and antenna, and the new camera-based data logging workflow, gives our customers the flexibility to accomplish more while out in the field.”
Written by William Tewelow, GISP and Co-written by Jon Gustafson, GISP
Significant focus on infrastructure asset delivery and lifecycle must become a priority so that architects, engineers and construction (AEC) can leverage BIM systems for design, construction and management solutions.
Innovations in BIM applied to infrastructure construction projects will enable “smart” solutions. This article explores BIM for infrastructure insights and brings attention to closing the BIM divide between the vertical (buildings) and the horizontal (linear) infrastructure industries, such as roads, bridges and pipelines.
For smart systems to be applied to infrastructure, CAD needs to evolve to the point where those multi-dimensional models can integrate with geographic information systems (GIS). The larger the project, the more necessary it is for a seamless data transition from the local engineering scale to the municipal, regional or national reference systems.
Autodesk defines building information modeling (BIM) as an intelligent 3D model-based process that gives architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) professionals the insight and tools to more efficiently plan, design, construct and manage buildings and infrastructure.
It is like a GIS in many respects, but applied locally to a structure. It is able to do many common geospatial calculations. It is still an evolving technology, but it is clear that soon it will do for AEC and facilities management what GIS did for surveying and cartography.
A smart move
Systems have evolved augmenting our abilities with built-in applications that can integrate connected data and systems to enhance and extend our capabilities. These systems are termed smart, which has become the newest marketing buzzword.
Everything is getting the smart label. Along with the label is an expectation that the lines between the physical and the digital worlds are blurring as we slip ever nearer the veil wherein we will simultaneously co-exist in both worlds.
Smart also infers it is connected to the digital cloud, that seemingly infinite expanse measured by petaflops, into which artificial intelligent algorithms augment everything with contextually aware information overlaid atop our own experience of the world.
Of course, this view has its pitfalls and cautionary tales, and every step we take into the future we lose some connection with the past. For example, everyone can use a calculator, but are times tables even taught anymore? Automation leads to complacency.
When CAD was unimaginable
Let’s take a brief look backward. The year was 1978, my second year of high school. I took drafting class as an elective and would end up doing so for the rest of the time I was in high school, accumulating enough credit hours to graduate with a vocational degree equivalent in architectural design. Those were the days of drafting tables, slide rules, French curves, triangles, keen eyes and steady hands.
The last year of school, there was talk of something called computer-aided drafting or design (CAD) that would make all we were doing obsolete. It seemed impossible at the time. Especially after I took a brand-new summer course called computer programming. Computers were large, heavy, clunky things that had limited abilities. They were basically responsive text machines. Program something in BASIC, save it, and then from the DOS command window, run it over and over again.
I remember reams and reams of green and white paper two foot wide fed by geared teeth, and pages of pages of our coded programs that we would have to pour over looking for the mistake in the line of code. And, this long and lengthy code was merely to archive and sort information or make the computer draw a cat or some other object using “X”.
We would all stand around the dot matrix printer as line by line the image took shape on the printed page. There was that wondrous feeling of success creating something having first conceived it in the mind then, like digital-smiths, forging it in a non-physical space and holding it in our hands. But I could not understand how that blinking white cursor on a black screen could ever replace the rich colors and smoothed lines of the beautiful architectural drawings I had spent years learning.
I felt confident the stories of our trade being overtaken by CAD were greatly exaggerated. That lesson taught me that change is inevitable and far beyond our rational ability to comprehend what is possible based on our current understanding. I watched as computer-aided design did take over, giving engineering and architectural drawings multidimensional context.
Horizontal lags behind
Now, let’s jump back into the present. The horizontal industry is behind the vertical industry with respect to project management deliverables. In part, this disparity will be aided by the Geospatial Data Act which was passed into law on Oct. 5, 2018.
The linear model is approximately 10 years behind the vertical model, especially for above-ground assets and facilities. However, recent technology advancements — augmented reality (AR), unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), indoor lidar and modeling software — and influential advocacy initiatives (such as public agency innovation programs like smart cities) are starting to enable digitally integrated management of asset information more holistically. Indeed, there is urgency for these linear systems to be adequately captured.
The Feb. 6 explosion from a ruptured gas line in San Francisco showed the dangers of not having an adequate map of the subsurface infrastructure. Fortunately, no one was injured, but damage from subsurface infrastructures can be deadly like the San Bruno disaster in 2010.
Gas line explosion damage in San Bruno, California. (Image: U.S. Department of Transportation)
The “Call Before You Dig” law was enacted for this very reason. At the very least, problems with linear infrastructure can negatively impact a city’s quality of life and budget such as a water main break or a broken sewer line.
Looking ahead 5-10 years, horizontal infrastructure designers and installation companies will use 3D modeling tools as standard practice in an open data sharing environment allowing other networks to access the information and add it to their own projects.
Imagine a county’s 811 system, the universal number to call before you dig, and instead of calling, it is an app on a users’ phone. A requester submits a short form and receives a text when the application is approved, usually within minutes, and is then able to view an augmented reality overlay of the subsurface infrastructure in the vicinity beneath the ground where the requester’s project is taking place.
This approach has economic benefits, providing faster turn-around times, increasing citizen engagement and improving the safety of communities. Over time, it is a “collect once and use many times” system — it will reduce demand on city staff and billable hours, saving cities money.
The same technology is also available for construction projects, providing schematics to see pipes, ducts and wires in walls, floors and ceilings. This is not science fiction. Existing condition data is already being collected in 3D, so it is logical to anticipate engineering design will be prompted to support ongoing 3D collection efforts and begin doing work in 3D.
Using BIM from the outset of a project builds this into a system that can be accessed later. However, the use of these advanced augmented reality technologies are limited to certain geographic areas with enough funding and technical capabilities. This is primarily in large urban areas, new growth areas, and redeveloping areas of a city; however, large infrastructure projects such as pipelines, railroads, highways, bridges and hyperloops will have to develop high-resolution models that will capture some of the surrounding areas and benefit all communities along the routes helping to bridge the disparity of the BIM divide.
In time, as costs come down and the technology improves and becomes easier to use, all communities will benefit from and incorporate this emerging technology.
Photo: Krauchanka Henadz/Shutterstock.com
BIM for intelligent infrastructure: sensors and structures
Critical to BIM for smart infrastructure is the fusion of sensors, data and infrastructure. Sensors will be embedded within and affixed to physical assets for the purposes of collecting data and self-monitoring for machine learning, maintenance and repair. Networking internet-enabled devices that actively and passively sense is at the core of the internet of things (IoT). Data from these IoT devices will improve physical asset management, creating unique opportunities for agencies, especially when considering how machine learning can discern patterns in data to detect anomalies, and improve safety such as self-aware systems that can heat road surfaces when precipitation is detected in below-freezing temperatures.
The digitizing of the physical world will take place with greater demand for higher resolution capabilities. Physical structures will require an exact computerized replica, referred to as a Digital Twin. An effort is underway by the Open AR Cloud Organization (OARC) to create an open standard for this digital twin of the world, so that applications and innovation will not be hampered by proprietary systems.
Yohan Baillot, CEO of ARcortex and founder of the Open AR Cloud, explained if there is no open standard, something developed in one system may not align with applications viewed in another system. This could be costly and disastrous for transportation and construction projects. Point in case would be the above example of Call Before You Dig,if a gas pipeline is incorrectly depicted and a work crew ruptured it.
This Digital Twin is both a high-resolution GIS and a basemap for both vertical and linear BIMs to connect into. Knowing the location of subsurface assets is foundational to the increasing investment into smart cities, which is forecast to become a $3.5 trillion industry within the next seven years.
David Rouse (2017) defines smart cities as cities that use information and communication technologies to increase operational efficiency, share information with the public, and improve both the quality of government services and public well-being. Using smart devices, communication among the devices and with the entities managing those devices provide deeper insight on device behavior and the ability to develop algorithms to change device parameters using other sensors in close proximity.
All of this data can be used to optimize asset performance over time. In the U.S., San Francisco, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston and San Jose all have active smart city projects advancing connectivity (Nominet 2018).
Intelligent infrastructure augments users’ abilities by the multiplicity of sensor arrays (self-monitoring devices, RFID, Wi-Fi, GPS receivers, cameras, etc.) communicating with decision-support systems as well as other sensors — the internet of things (IoT). For instance, high mast cameras combined with artificial intelligence algorithms for object recognition deployed along a stretch of highway allows stakeholders to extract important insights of that physical asset (such as surface condition, traffic flows and vehicle counts) and provide that information in real time to emergency response crews, police and security, maintenance vehicles, network-connected vehicles and others.
Digital integrations
Intelligent transportation systems are entering the next generation enabling vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) interactions. The U.S. Department of Transportation (2018) website states,
V2I technologies capture vehicle-generated traffic data, wirelessly providing information such as advisories from the infrastructure to the vehicle that inform the driver of safety, mobility or environment-related conditions. State and local agencies are likely to install V2I infrastructure alongside or integrated with existing ITS equipment.
The Open Connectivity Foundation (OCF) endeavors to provide open standards and certification to make connectivity easier, more reliable and more secure by bridging IoT ecosystems.
Specifically, OCF specifications can be used to develop vehicle data model translators that enable remote fleet management for autonomous vehicles, OBD device interactions (vehicle performance monitoring) and crowdsourcing of data models for continued development (Open Connectivity Foundation 2018). Currently, many transit agencies are seeing growth in equipping rolling stock with IoT devices including GPS, Wi-Fi and traffic light preemption, which improves fleet optimization and data accessibility, and enables better congestion management as well as increased system performance (American Public Transportation Association 2018).
Crowdsourcing data from web-based and mobile applications is a popular public engagement mechanism. Crowdsourcing at its most basic level is the aggregation of (big) data from a large group of people. From an asset management perspective, leveraging the general public’s direct and indirect collection of data brings deep insight into asset performance and condition.
The data collected provides the ability to better plan transportation systems with demand modeling, predictive analytics, event response times to identify those impacted and determine where additional capacity is needed, and to provide personalized services (such as through email and text) including weather-related events impacting the commute.
Applications such as Waze empowered the public with the ability to report hazards, construction zones and other concerns on the road and shoulder that DOTs can use to dispatch resources to address the situation/issues quickly. Furthermore, Alavi and Buttlar (2019) identified sensing capabilities of smartphones and their crowdsourcing power for monitoring several distinct civil infrastructure systems such as pavement.
Conclusion
In summary, BIM for infrastructure overlaying a robust GIS plays a critical role for supporting advanced technologies for integrating dynamic IoT and crowdsourced data.
Infrastructure asset owners are encouraged to recognize the importance of BIM-oriented policy and practices and invest in required initiatives that make incremental progress towards a smart infrastructure vision.
BIM is the foundation of intelligent infrastructure and defines the backbone of smart cities.
References
Alavi, Amir H., and William G. Buttlar. 2019. “An overview of smartphone technology for citizen-centered, real-time and scalable civil infrastructure monitoring.” Future Generation Computer Systems 93: 651-672. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.future.2018.10.059.
Jon Gustafson, PS, CFedS, PMP, GISP is a management consultant with one of the world’s largest professional services companies, WSP (https://www.wsp.com). He is an accomplished business-oriented technical professional consistently recognized as an industry leader in multi-jurisdictional land surveying practice, geospatial policy development and program/project management. He helps his clients address infrastructure technology deployment challenges by developing effective recommendations/guidelines focused on advancing civil integrated management practices and innovations. Some recent projects include developing data governance strategies for major infrastructure programs, conducting applied research on digital project delivery initiatives, advancing UAS integration, and formulating geospatial technology strategies for a public agency.
Airbus Defence and Space and The Climate Corporation, a subsidiary of Bayer, have announced a global agreement to deliver frequently updated satellite imagery from Airbus to farmers through Climate FieldView, a digital agriculture platform.
Farmers who use Climate FieldView can access high-resolution data of their fields from the Airbus SPOT 6, SPOT 7 and Pléiades satellites throughout the growing season. This gives FieldView customers the ability to more precisely monitor crop health and performance, helping them take action in the field before yield is impacted at the end of the season.
They will also be able to visualize this satellite imagery alongside other data layers in their FieldView account, including planting and yield data, to unlock new insights about crop health.
The large swath and coverage capabilities of the SPOT satellites enable mapping at a national level down to individual farmland parcels, while the Pléiades satellites can be used to pinpoint details in specific areas, thanks to its combination of sub-meter resolution and multispectral bands.
The complementarity between SPOT and Pléiades resolutions, swaths and revisits is crucial for effectively monitoring crops more precisely and helps enable more-informed decision-making.
“We are very pleased to be working with The Climate Corporation to enhance FieldView by providing them with access to updated, cloud-free images within the time frame required to efficiently monitor crops at each key growth stage,” said François Lombard, head of Intelligence Business at Airbus Defence and Space.
“High-quality satellite imagery integrated into a farmer’s Climate FieldView account can bring in more consistent and invaluable field-level insights,” said Steven Ward, Senior Director of Geospatial and Weather Sciences at The Climate Corporation. “This partnership with Airbus supports Climate’s commitment to deliver the most robust imagery ecosystem on the farm, helping farmers make important decisions tailored precisely to their individual fields.”
The Climate Corporation’s mission is to help the world’s farmers sustainably increase their productivity through the use of digital tools. First launched in the United States in 2015, the company’s Climate FieldView platform gives farmers a deeper understanding of their fields so they can make more informed operating decisions to optimize yields, maximize efficiency and reduce risk.
FieldView is currently on more than 60 million paid acres across the United States, Canada, Brazil and Europe.
The WingtraOne vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) fixed-wing mapping drone now carries the RedEdge-MX multispectral sensor for vegetation mapping.
The WingtraOne is a VTOL drone that allows for flexible take-off and landing, with automated vertical take-off and landing even on gravel or in forest isles.
The WingtraOne provides wide coverage for comprehensive and high-quality multispectral image gathering, with coverage of up to 160 ha (395 ac) with 8.2 cm (3.2 in)/px GSD at 120 m/ 394 ft in one flight.
The Terrain Following feature provides for intuitive flight planning with fully automated functionality, the company said.
The RedEdge-MX features a patent-pending DLS 2 and a calibrated reflectance panel that enhances radiometric calibration and provides useful data for comparison of results over time, improving crop and stand monitoring.
The camera captures five narrow spectral bands: red, green, blue, near infrared and red edge. It generates plant health indexes and RGB (color) images from one flight, and is calibrated for precise, repeatable measurements.
Standard data outputs are compatible with almost all processing platforms.
The contract marks an important step in the long-term partnership between SSC and Airbus, and extends the capabilities of both companies.
The first two very high-resolution Pléiades Neo satellites will be launched in mid-2020, followed by a second pair in 2022. They will join the existing Airbus constellation of optical and radar satellites, and will offer enhanced performance, and the highest reactivity in the market.
SSC will provide comprehensive ground segment support for the Launch and Early Orbit Phase (LEOP), as well as routine on-orbit support for Telemetry, Tracking and Control (TT&C) and data reception.
Ground Network. The core SSC ground network for Pléiades Neo will consist of the unique dual polar ground station solution of Kiruna, Sweden, and Inuvik, Canada — often referred to as “Kinuvik” as it is operated as a virtual single polar station.
The partnership also includes an option to provide potentially higher data volumes at a later stage, using the southern hemisphere station of Punta Arenas, Chile.
The optimized and highly resilient SSC ground network provides effective tasking and downloading of large data volumes more than once every orbit, enabling rapid delivery of Pléiades Neo data from anywhere on Earth.
The ground network has been designed by SSC and Airbus to complement Airbus’ Direct Receiving Stations (DRS) as well as the Airbus SpaceDataHighway relay satellite system, while being flexible to adapt to changing seasonal needs and to give critical network diversity.
“The Pléiades Neo constellation will be adding two million km² per day at 30-cm resolution to Airbus’ imagery offering. As tasking and downloading will be possible in every orbit, up to 60 times a day for the constellation, we need to rely on very efficient commercial polar communication services,” said François Lombard, head of Intelligence Business at Airbus Defence and Space.
“Pléiades Neo is a cutting edge very high resolution Earth Observation constellation, and this represents a huge milestone in the close cooperation between Airbus and SSC. We are proud to be able to support Airbus in providing such critical optical imagery for the global marketplace”, said Stefan Gardefjord, CEO at SSC.
Golden Software, a developer of software for data visualization and analysis, has released Version 14 of the Grapher scientific graphing package with new plotting and customizing functionality. Available today, Grapher 14 is downloadable by all users with active maintenance agreements.
A preview version of Grapher 15 is now available, giving active users pre-release access to new fit curve and statistical plotting capabilities.
“Grapher users will find we have focused overall on making the software easier to use in version 14 and the version 15 Preview,” said Leslie McWhirter, Grapher product manager. “New plotting functions were created as a direct result of feedback from users.”
The Grapher software gives users deeper insights into their data by providing them with 80 flexible and easy-to-use 2D and 3D graphing tools for plotting, analyzing and displaying scientific data sets. The package is used extensively by scientists and engineers in oil & gas operations, hydrologic/geochemical studies, environmental consulting, mineral exploration and academic research.
The most notable new or upgraded features in Grapher 14 include the following:
Enhanced Plotting – Ability to plot data in rows and columns, perform one-button Durov class plots, and easily generate multi-plot reports.
Improved Bar Charts – Bar charts are more versatile, offering variable bar widths and differentiated fill colors for negative and positive.
With Grapher 14 now available, Golden Software developers have already begun creating the Preview version of Grapher 15. This allows customers to try new functions relatively early in the development process and provide feedback before the final version is released.
“In Grapher 15 Preview, we are developing new features related to fit curve, axes and statistical functionality,” said McWhirter. “These will improve the ability of Grapher users to model, analyze and interpret their data.”
Specifically, these Grapher 15 upgrades will include:
Fit Curve Improvements – At the request of geologists, geophysicists, mining and oil-and-gas professionals, it is now possible to add X=F(Y) fit curves to model borehole log data. Fit curves can now also be added to class plots to model all or individual classes.
Axes Upgrades – Break Axes are enhanced so users can customize the break mark and add a break distinguisher to the plot itself. Ternary plots have also been upgraded to enable users to rotate the axis direction, a useful option in geochemical analysis.
Statistical Enhancements – Grapher 15 Preview will give users greater control over how values in Box-Whisker plots are graphed. In addition, there will be new mathematical options to expand on the functionality of the summation plot.
Other upgrades in Grapher 15 Preview will include the following:
Vary color fills above and below the intersection of two plots
Specify custom colors via RGB values to color scatter plot symbols
Assign colors from a gradient to scatter plot symbols based on numeric worksheet values
Grapher exports integrate seamlessly with all Golden Software packages, including Surfer for data visualization and mapping, Voxler for 3D data rendering, and Strater for subsurface modeling.
Everywhere we turn today, the term “smart” is attached to an item or to a process. Smartphones, smart cars, smart electricity grids, smart home appliances; you name it, someone is making it a “smart” item or process. Advancement in technology has increased computing power, expanded data storage capability, and has allowed for miniaturization of circuits and processors. This forward progress has led to the creation of these smart item/processes, and together creates the real possibility of making many of life’s tasks and normal operations more automated. This potential automation also brings new systems monitoring conditions of various entities and operations within our daily lives, such as increased efficiency of HVAC systems, utility metering that adjusts to our patterns of consumption and landscape watering that only provides water when needed.
In addition to the personal systems now being controlled with these machines, there is now revitalized interest in the creation of “smart cities.” The concept of this type of a civilized urban metropolis once existed only in science fiction, but technology has brought this concept to life in ways not imagined by the best of those writers. Surveyors have a big role in the development, installation and maintenance of these cities, so let us spend some time digging into the element that go into our future environments.
What is a smart city?
For those old enough to remember, the concept of a smart city only existed on “The Jetsons” cartoon from the early 1960’s, with cities in the sky, flying cars and some technological advancements that do exist today. While Orbit City may not come to fruition in the next several generations, many of the concepts of a smart city are taking shape today.
For the definition of a smart city, we go to the Google search engine and find the following entry from Internetofthingsagenda.techtarget.com: A smart city is a municipality that uses information and communication technologies to increase operational efficiency, share information with the public and improve both the quality of government services and citizen welfare.
Establishing a smart city requires forward thinking leadership and substantial funding to be created and maintained; however, the real function lies within the computing infrastructure and collection/manipulation of large quantities of data to create an environment of efficiency and conservation. A true comprehensive system combines available historical data, a collection of sensors and data collectors transmitting real-time information, and a powerful computing system containing analytical programming with extensive database functionality.
Is smart cities technology and adoption really that important?
Population trends worldwide continue to show that urban and suburban areas are expanding while rural areas are seeing a large reduction in residence. Several factors are at play, with technology being the central reason for the migration from the farm/small towns to the bigger cities.
Statistics show that in 1960, two billion people worldwide lived in rural areas while one billion lived in urban sections. As the population has increased drastically, the percentages for each category have reversed; in 2007, the two categories were equal and by 2017, the urban sector has jumped to 4.13 billion versus the rural population of 3.4 billion.
Chart: Our World in Data
Population experts estimate by 2050, upwards of 70 percent of the world’s population will be living in urban areas. Whether this population shift goes directly to the city centers or the less dense outskirts, municipal facilities and services will need to be upgraded and expanded with the continuing trend. Add to this surge the challenge to create a more sustainable environmental infrastructure and ecosystem, and it becomes a maintenance challenge and logistical nightmare. By using technology to create smarter infrastructure monitoring and management systems, the creation of smart cities with advancing technology will be key to successful and sustainable growth for municipalities and its citizens.
One of the biggest challenges faced by most municipalities is aging infrastructure. Utility systems, including water supplies and stormwater drainage, was installed several generations ago without a plan for replacement and/or expansion. Redevelopment in older urban areas are now taxing these aging systems well beyond their initial capacity, all while these facilities begin to fail simply because of continued use well beyond their original designed life span. Municipalities are forced to spend money on repairing and modernizing the existing infrastructure before entertaining the idea of upgrading new installations to “smart city” specifications. However, many municipalities are mandating that new developments and infrastructure improvements meet these specifications so any future upgrades can include computerized systems.
All these systems, new and future, will require extensive planning and mapping to be effective and efficient to justify their expense. Surveyors, utilizing a variety of tools based around high-accuracy mapping and data collection, can provide the necessary base information for these systems.
Where does surveying fit in?
Just as computers and electronic technology has allowed many industries to evolve, the surveying profession has also advanced with new methods and equipment. Our ability to perform advanced measurements and establish positional location information is critical in providing the base data necessary for smart city services. Previous surveying, mapping and record keeping systems were sufficient for the needs of the time period. However, these historical data points were nearly impossible to place into a single database simply because of one factor: georeferencing.
The surveyor has the unique responsibility of being recognized as expert measurer and locator of physical points on the ground in relation to property and boundary rights. It is because of this distinctive role within the community that the surveyor can provide a significant role in the development of the groundwork of a smart city. The introduction and implementation of newer technology and tools has allowed the surveyor to become a valuable member of the infrastructure mapping team. It always hasn’t been this way and the surveying profession shoulders most of that blame.
Past promises: digital vs. smart
Many surveyors will make the argument that our profession has been ahead of the game for years with our data collection processes having been transformed from notes in a field book to electronic devices. Digital data, however, isn’t necessarily smart data as many factors go into establishing the difference. The physical form of the survey information has no direct correlation to the basis of the data; in this case, the records need to be based upon a spatial reference frame rather than an assumed data system.
Also on the topic of spatial reference systems, we can also address the lack of respect given to geographical information systems (GIS) from surveyors during its initial introduction and implementation. GIS was discounted as a convoluted graphical database not sophisticated enough for the high-accuracy world of surveying. Little did the surveying profession know that GIS would become the spatial basis for many mapping systems and be utilized in millions of locations worldwide. Only now does the surveying community realize that we missed the bandwagon and can help to provide the crucial link between spatial data and actual points on the ground in relation to physical improvements and property ownership.
Another digital platform not initially embraced by the surveying community is building information modeling or BIM. This software is a three-dimensional modeling program used mostly by architects and mechanical engineers for depicting and designing buildings and plumbing systems. One of the advantages of BIM versus traditional CAD is a database information link containing data regarding the entities within the BIM. Among the attributes contained with BIM are documentation, spatial reference, time, cost, operational applications, and related applications (contracts, purchasing, suppliers, procurement solutions, etc.). The existing spatial data necessary for this system can be supplied by surveyors using a variety of methods but not many have implemented the software.
Technology, availability, cost of entry and overall usefulness
Surveying instruments and measuring techniques has turned a significant corner in the past two decades. While conventional measurement methods are still used (including steel tapes, laser-based total stations, and GNSS receivers), more types of sensors are being introduced to enhance the accuracy and expand the volume of data points being collected. Scanners, using phase-based and time-of-flight methodologies, are now more popular than ever as ease of use has increased while the cost of ownership has greatly decreased. Ground-based and mobile LiDAR used to be only available to large firms and the government, but new models are being introduced at price points affordable to many surveyors. Many articles have been written regarding the lightspeed adaptation of surveying, engineering and construction firms with UAV use of photogrammetry methods to quickly map areas that were previously inaccessible and meeting standards not thought possible. We are also seeing more implementation of new scanning methods, including SLAM (simultaneous localization and mapping) using handheld and backpack devices.
The common thread for all these technologies and methods is one thing: georeferencing. What was once nearly impossible is now a reality; data collection from various methods all being located within a common horizontal coordinate and vertical datum systems. The ability to obtain literally millions of data points with high-accuracy horizontal and vertical values is phenomenal with most of the credit going to the United States Department of Defense and their implementation of the GPS. Yes, the technology of scanners and data collection would have been invented without the overall coordinate tie-in but having the ability to reference that same data to a common system is the key.
Also key to the smart city data collection methodology is the surveyor as the expert measurer. A trained and experience surveyor can lead the data collection of significant projects, including location of existing improvements and establishment of future installations. From establishment of parcel/right-of-way lines to integration of point clouds from scanners and photogrammetry, the surveyor can assemble this data together to provide the groundwork for successful analyzation and planning. By combining data from various areas of a municipality, including utility atlases, existing improvements, and future expansion plans, a database can be created in which a smart city will rely upon for oversight and monitoring. The surveyor fills a vital role to determining the accuracy and effectiveness of data like no other profession and should not be overlooked when assembling a team for the creation of a smart city.
Future opportunities
Like all technological discoveries and enhancements before, the future is bright with many possibilities to increase the effectiveness and efficiency of a smart city. More types of sensors are being introduced on a regular basis and in every way imaginable, including wireless communication, RFID tags, and microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices.
One of the latest buzzwords is the “Internet of Things” (IoT), with many new devices being created to interconnect a network of web-enabled computerized devices using microprocessors, a variety of sensors and wireless communication hardware to gather, transmit and perform actions on information acquired from their environments. IoT presents advantages to users by enabling them to monitor their overall business processes and improve the customer experience. These actions can also precipitate changes to allow the company to save time and money, enhance employee productivity, integrate and adapt business models, make better business decisions, and generate more revenue.
As discussed in previous articles (GPS World March 2018 and GPS World November 2018), the next big technology to look forward to is the telecommunications upgrade to 5G. Once a full 5G network is running with extended coverage, we can look forward to new opportunities for indoor location services with similar accuracy to our existing GNSS capability.
What’s next?
The technology sector will continue to push the limits of computing speed, physical size and data capacity looking for the “next big thing.” The surveying profession has enjoyed many of the fruits of that success so one has to imagine that many more advances will be coming soon. Smart cities will continue to evolve as citizens of Earth keep migrating to the urban areas and forcing the existing infrastructure to expand or face failure. Surveyors will continue to help provide a variety of services to those citizens and municipalities, with an eye on the future for more advancing technology. I can’t wait to see what is next.
Topographic surface with well sample data and water level. (Image: Golden Software)
Golden Software, a developer of scientific graphics software, has enhanced the visualization capabilities in version 16 of its Surfer gridding, contouring and 3D surface mapping package. Geologists, environmental consultants and geospatial professionals can use Surfer 16 to interpret complex scientific data.
“We have improved every aspect of core functionality in Surfer 16 so it’s faster and easier to make meaningful custom maps,” said Golden Software CEO Blakelee Mills. “Surfer users will find the new version generates more accurate representations of physical, chemical and structural properties, allowing them to make better decisions.”
Surfer is a robust 3D data visualization and mapping software that enables users to model their data sets, apply an array of advanced analytics tools, and graphically communicate the results. Known for its fast and powerful contouring algorithms, Surfer is used extensively by geologists in mining and oil & gas activities and by hydrologists in environmental monitoring projects.
The primary improvements in Surfer 16 have been made in the color mapping and Contour Map capabilities:
Equal Area Stretch. Similar to Histogram Equalization, this new feature lets the user stretch colors across the distribution of data, creating a proportionate representation of the data variation and enhancing the visualization’s contrast. This means that tightly distributed data can be displayed as quickly varying colors in the generated colormap, making it easier to spot anomalies in data values. Colors can be stretched automatically or manually across the histogram of data values.
Equal Area Contouring. Another new feature added to surface mapping functionality, Equal Area Contouring allows the user to calculate the geographic distribution of contours so they align more precisely with the geophysical data they represent. This results in a more accurate visualization of geophysical data sets, which are seldom linearly distributed.
“The combination of Equal Area Stretch and Contouring creates striking visual maps that vividly highlight data distribution,” said Mills. “This makes it easier to interpret and understand geophysical and geochemical concentrations in the subsurface.”
Surfer 16 includes three other enhancements:
True 3D Point Data. Surfer has always accurately displayed lidar point cloud data, and this 3D visualization capability has been expanded. Now any 3D vector data can be represented in three dimensions in 3D View. Clients who use Surfer to visualize subsurface wells can use this to display the well path. It can also be applied to quickly check the quality of 3D grids.
Enhanced Attribute Management. Surfer now has commands to calculate geometry — such as area or perimeter length — and add those values to object attributes. These calculations can be performed either to create new attributes or modify existing ones with updated information. One of the key advantages of this enhancement is that area data can be normalized and attributed to objects for generation of more accurate choropleth maps.
Kriging with External Drift. Surfer is known for its powerful kriging functions, and this capability is even better in v16 with the addition of Kriging with External Drift. This allows users to add a secondary data set for use as a proxy in interpolating the primary data set with the goal of yielding better estimated values. Surfer users asked for this new function because it typically lets them obtain and use less expensive data sets to supplement a more expensive one.
“Surfer has a reputation for high-quality graphic outputs, powerful gridding algorithms, and ease of use – and we have improved each of these capabilities in Surfer 16,” Mills said.
LandViewer, a cloud service developed by EOS Data Analytics, provides access to satellite data and fast-paced analytics. In recent months, it has undergone numerous updates, which have expanded the existing catalogue of satellite imagery, introduced more tools for analysis and added other new features.
By the end of 2018, free space and airborne data available for browsing, analysis and download via LandViewer included imagery from the European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Sentinel-2 and Sentinel-1, NASA-USGS’s Landsat 8 and previous missions, MODIS, CBERS-4 and NAIP.
This broad selection of Earth observation data has grown even larger with the addition of high-resolution commercial imagery from Airbus, SpaceWill and SI Imaging Services.
LandViewer has evolved into a single platform. On top of open-source data, users can freely explore the potential of commercial data with global coverage, short revisit periods, and spatial resolution up to 40 centimeters.
The current catalogue includes imagery from Pléiades 1a/1b, SPOT 5, SPOT 6 and SPOT 7, along with KOMPSAT-2, 3, 3A and SuperView. The high-resolution imagery browser offers free preview, automatic price calculation by selected area, and fast image delivery within three business days via cloud EOS Storage.
Preview of KOMPSAT-3A image collected over Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on Oct. 29, 2018. (Photo: EOS)
Long-term observations. An abundance of available data, such as weekly updated Sentinel-2 imagery and historical Landsat data, has made it much easier to monitor changes over long time spans. Rather than taking a long time to select and process years of satellite data to get a multitemporal perspective, the LandViewer’s new Time Series Analysis will crunch the remote sensing data and deliver the results in an easily interpretable graph.
Sentinel-2 time series graph generated for agricultural fields in Kansas state. (Screenshot: EOS)
Users can select an area of interest (AOI), and a satellite dataset and a time period between 1 month and 10 years. The algorithm can then pick all imagery with minimum cloudiness and calculate NDVI, NDWI or NDSI in just a few moments. By default, the generated Time Series graph contains lines (representing the min, max, mean and std values) that can be hidden or displayed for convenience; whenever an unusual spike or drop in values is noticed, a satellite scene that represents that part of the curve can be visualized to establish the cause. The results can be downloaded either as an image (.png), or a .csv file for working in Excel.
Enhanced vegetation analysis. Users searching for an in-depth look at vegetation cover can use LandViewer’s new spectral indexes: SAVI, EVI, ARVI, GCI, SIPI and NBR. These indexes complement generalized NDVI analysis by making corrections for atmospheric and topographic effects or soil brightness influences, depending on vegetation density, climate and elevation in the area of interest.
The NBR index is designed to highlight burned areas against healthy vegetation; the difference between pre-fire NBR and post-fire NBR values can be applied to estimate the severity of burn.
The use of several indexes simultaneously enables better insight into plant health and helps to identify stressed or infected vegetation at an early stage.
Sentinel-2-derived SAVI analysis of an arid agricultural region in Saudi Arabia. (Screenshot: EOS)
User-friendly legend and area calculation. Another new LandViewer feature, the index legend, is designed to solve the problem of interpreting the index results, a common issue for new users. Now when a spectral index is applied over the selected territory, the user can view a detailed legend, where each color-marked class contains a short description.
For example, calculation of NDVI will identify and highlight areas with “dense”, “moderate”, “sparse vegetation”, “open soil” or “no vegetation”.
Screenshot: EOS
Another new time-saving functionality is that the area of each class within the spectral index legend is calculated automatically, in both square meters and by percentage.
Also, the expanded Area of Interest (AOI) tool enables bulk uploading of AOIs and speeds up work by allowing simultaneous visualization and fast switching of all AOIs on a map for imagery searches or new scene subscription.
Advanced zone analytics. By introducing the clustering function, EOS’ remote sensing experts and software developers have taken LandViewer’s spatio-temporal analytics to the next level. With this function, users can run unsupervised satellite data-based classification of an area up to 200 square kilometers into as many as 19 clusters (or zones). This process involves setting custom parameters (size/number of zones) and waiting a few moments for LandViewer to build a raster image of the area with color-marked zones, and a vector layer outlining the boundaries. Both outputs can be downloaded.
This scalable analysis can provide various insights across agriculture, forestry, coastal monitoring and other industries. For example, a farmer can make use of convenient color mapping of zones within the field based on NDVI values for precise in-field navigation and crop management.
Engaging animations. With the informative spectral data contained in satellite image pixels, LandViewer has introduced a time-lapse animation feature allowing journalists and active social media users to create engaging animated stories and share them on the internet. Each GIF can contain up to 300 scenes, with indexes or band combinations applied. From calving of glaciers to construction of new stadiums, satellite imagery is full of information that’s worth watching and sharing with the world.
Hexagon AB has signed an agreement to acquire Thermopylae Sciences and Technology, a software provider primarily focused on the U.S. government and defense market that specializes in geospatial applications, mobile frameworks and cloud computing for enhanced location intelligence.
Thermopylae has developed advanced visualization solutions to support tactical edge mapping in support of mission critical operations. Built upon the Google technology stack, its defense and intelligence solutions are targeted at addressing the challenges involved in working with critical problem sets in secure or classified government environments.
In addition, its portfolio is applicable to a host of markets in the private sector, including real estate, finance, insurance, retail and media, with customers ranging from startups to Fortune 50 companies.
“Thermopylae’s software and domain expertise nicely augment our ability to deliver the visual location intelligence necessary for enabling autonomous connected ecosystems,” said Hexagon President and CEO Ola Rollén. “Ultimately, the addition of Thermopylae will enrich the 5D experience delivered through our Hexagon Smart M.App and Luciad portfolios — both of which enable smart digital realities with 3D, 4D (real-time sensor feed integration) and 5D (dynamic analytics) capabilities. Not only does the acquisition provide an avenue for international market adoption of Thermopylae’s technologies but also an additional avenue for Hexagon to accelerate adoption of our 5D visualization capabilities in U.S. government agencies.”
Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Thermopylae will operate as a part of Hexagon’s Geospatial division, which is reported under the Geospatial Enterprise Solutions segment. Sales in 2017 amounted to $20 million.
Completion of the transaction (closing) is subject to customary regulatory approvals, including a voluntary filing to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS).
Airbus Defence and Space has launched The OneAtlas Platform, a collaborative environment to access premium imagery, perform large-scale image processing, extract insights and benefit from Airbus assets for solution development.
OneAtlas is offering a 30-day free trial, giving customers streaming access to imagery, sample change detection reports, and global imagery and data layers, including the basemap and the WorldDEM.
Besides access to a comprehensive archive with premium imagery, users can try services such as:
Ocean Finder for the maritime industry
Verde for precision agriculture
Starling for forest management
Earth Monitor for tracking changes over an area of interest
The developer portal provides more information through API documentation and discusses how to benefit from the imagery either in streaming or download format.
The Ocean Finder provides a satellite-based maritime ship detection service. (Photo: OneAtlas)
Oregon Department of Transportation workers use DT Research’s GNSS rugged tablets. (Photo: DT Research).
The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has expanded its use of DT Research GNSS rugged tablets to all 15 of its construction management offices across the state, and also use the tablets for biology, geology, roadway and wetland projects.
DT Research worked closely with ODOT to design purpose-built rugged tablets that empower state workers to easily collect and transmit geospatial measurements in the field using GNSS real-time kinematic (RTK) technologies.
“DT Research’s GNSS rugged tablets have enabled us to bring high-accuracy geospatial measurements to workers across the Department of Transportation, which has literally changed the way we work,” said Chris Pucci, construction automation surveyor at ODOT. “The tablets have enabled us to save time, reduce costs and improve the accuracy of projects through ‘digital-as constructed’ measurements and real time data capture.”
The tablets have a dual-frequency GNSS module built in, which provides stand-alone sub-meter accuracy to centimeter-level accuracy with RTK from GPS, GLONASS and Galileo satellites.
The tablets are compatible with existing survey and GIS software for mapping applications and provide an advanced workflow for data capture, accurate positioning and data transmitting.
“We now have essentially created one-person survey crews because the DT Research tablets are so much easier to use than a tape measure and paper to accurately calculate and record measurements during complex construction projects,” Pucci said. “Using the tablets saves us an average of $2,000 for every survey-grade measurement job that does not require a full survey crew.”
“In addition, the tablets have provided us with a contract verification system by having highly accurate digital-as-constructed measurements that are delivered immediately and stored forever, which saves the state time and money by avoiding independent re-measurement checks due to billing discrepancies at the end of a project,” added Pucci.
The DT Research GNSS tablets can store up to 1 Terabyte of data for field data collecting. Users can avoid down time with a high-capacity hot-swappable battery pack, which delivers 60 or 90 watts for up to 15 hours of continuous mobile communications. The units include Long Range Class 1 Bluetooth, which powers wireless connectivity up to 1,000 feet and 4G mobile broadband.
“The simplicity of how the DT Research tablets work is amazing,” Pucci said. “Unlike complex professional survey equipment, the DT Research tablets are a Windows-based mobile device with a user interface that is familiar to workers. In just two hours, I can easily train state workers with diverse skill sets to measure quantity, linear features and volumes for a variety of projects — and they are ready to go.”
The tablets run on Microsoft Windows 7 Professional or Windows 10 IoT Enterprise and are high performance devices with an Intel 6th or 8th Generation Core i5 or i7 processor. The rugged tablet is designed for outdoor use with a brilliant LED-backlight, 800 nits sunlight-readable screen and capacitive touch.
“We have found the DT Research tablets to be incredibility easy to manage and highly durable — we just turn them on and they work,” said Pucci. “In the three years that we have used the tablets, we have had very few technical support questions and they hold up well in different weather conditions. There isn’t a comparable product on the market at the price point.”
The DT Research tablets are military-grade durable devices, yet lightweight, offering the versatility to be used in field-to-office settings. For use in harsh environments, the tablet is fully ruggedized to meet the highest durability standards with an IP65 rating, MIL-STD-810G for vibration and shock resistance and MIL-STD-461F for EMI and EMC tolerance.
For use in a variety of environments, the tablets are complemented by many accessories including: external antennas, pole mount cradles, detachable keyboards, battery charging kits and digital pens.
