IQGeo, a developer of geospatial productivity and collaboration software for the telecoms and utility industries, has acquired OSPInsight International Inc., a U.S.-based leader in fiber-optic network management.
Under the terms of the agreement, IQGeo will purchase OSPInsight for $8.75 million, which will be funded through a mix of cash and shares. The completion of the acquisition is subject to shareholder final approval.
The OSPInsight fiber planning and design software for the telecoms market is highly complementary with IQGeo’s geospatial software that also supports telecoms network operations, according to a press release from IQGeo. While the current IQGeo offering targets larger enterprise network deployments (tier 1 and tier 2 operators), the OSPInsight software is ideally suited for the needs of smaller networks (tier 3 and tier 4 operators) with simple, fast deployments.
The combination of the two product lines, as well as the telecoms industry and software technology expertise, will enable IQGeo to service an expanded target market in existing and new geographies.
“The entire IQGeo team is very excited about the business and technology potential that will be created by the acquisition of OSPInsight,” said Richard Petti, CEO at IQGeo. “With more than 25 years of industry experience, they have developed an excellent product line and established an impressive list of customers, while building a very strong reputation in the telecoms industry. We see this as a fantastic opportunity that provides IQGeo with a proven software solution and sales channel for tier 3 and tier 4 network operators and it gives the OSPInsight team the global reach and financial resources needed to take their software to a wider audience.”
“The real winner in this acquisition will be OSPInsight customers,” explained Wade Anderson, CEO at OSPInsight. “Our customers will continue to enjoy the same level of support they’ve always had and have a greatly expanded product line for additional network management solutions. Existing and future OSPInsight customers will quickly have access to IQGeo’s industry-leading mobile software that digitizes field operations to improve network data quality and currency. The two product lines dovetail very nicely. I’m excited for the shared vision of providing world-class software that helps our telecoms customers transform their network operations. We can’t wait to get started.”
You can learn more about the acquisition by visiting the IQGeo Investor page to view a video interview with Richard Petti, IQGeo’s CEO and Haywood Chapman, IQGeo’s CFO.
Eos Locate for Collector for ArcGIS underground mapping is now compatible with three Subsite Electronics products.
Introduced in 2019 by Eos Positioning Systems, Eos Locate is a real-time, survey-grade solution for mapping underground utilities with ArcGIS field apps. With Eos Locate, one field worker can collect both GNSS locations and locator data (such as depth below cover) for any buried asset including water, sewer, electric, cable, gas, fiber infrastructure and more. They can do so quickly, accurately and without the need for any additional field or office support.
The solution requires an Arrow GNSS receiver, Esri licensing, an iOS device, and a compatible locator.
This expansion adds compatibility for two new utility locator models and one HDD guidance system: the UtiliGuard (with Bluetooth option enabled), UtiliGuard 2, and TK Recon. Eos Locate for Collector combines three core technologies: Eos Arrow GNSS receivers, Esri Collector and the Vivax-Metrotech vLoc Series of locator devices.
“We are extremely excited to expand this popular underground mapping solution to Subsite Electronics customers,” said Eos Chief Technology Officer Jean-Yves Lauture. “Utilities have been asking us to add compatibility, and we are pleased to announce that this integration is now available today, for no extra cost, to our existing customers.”
“At Subsite, we are constantly listening to customer needs and providing solutions accordingly,” Subsite Electronics Senior Product Manager Christopher Thompson said. “We have a lot of customers who perform this type of work, and by partnering with Eos, we are able to provide a solution today to continue providing our customers with the tools and technology for total underground awareness.”
Thanks to the TK Recon integration, it is now possible to map horizontal directional drilling operations in real-time with Eos Locate, for both performing as-built reports and monitoring.
To use Eos Locate with Subsite devices, customers must download Eos Tools Pro (version 1.89 and higher) from the App Store for free. Eos Locate is compatible with both Esri ArcGIS Collector and ArcGIS Field Maps. Follow this manual or watch these video tutorials to get started.
“Addresses are created by local address authorities in city, county, and tribal agencies,” explained NSGIC Executive Director Molly Schar. “The data support delivery of services like utilities and emergency response, so getting it right is absolutely critical. NSGIC advocates the process of rolling up local address point records to the state to aggregate and then to the national level to save lives, reduce costs, avoid duplication, increase revenues, improve service and foster efficient and effective government.”
The roll-up process is at the heart of an effort led by the U.S. Department of Transportation and supported by NSGIC to develop a National Address Database. Only 23 states have provided statewide address data to the national database, with five states providing partial data, and three states in the queue.
For this publication, NSGIC tapped state geospatial information officers in Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Mexico, New York, Utah and Vermont to identify key factors to the successful organization and coordination necessary to create and maintain strong address programs. These honor roll states scored in the top of the country in the area of address data in NSGIC’s 2019 Geospatial Maturity Assessment (GMA).
NSGIC recently finalized an interactive GMA geospatial web map application with dashboards customized for each data theme allows users to take a deeper dive into the 2019 results, interacting with individual state and collective national results to bring to life the visual patterns and trends in the data.
Geospatial data dashboards have become much more familiar to the public in recent months as most states and municipalities have adopted the interactive platforms to transparently display coronavirus information.
Launched in 2009 to document geospatial development practices and uses, the GMA has provided a biennial snapshot of each state’s geospatial maturity. Inspired by the National Spatial Data Infrastructure theme grading undertaken by the Coalition of Geospatial Organizations (of which NSGIC is a founding member), an entirely new process was developed for the 2019 GMA.
Nine-grade “report cards” were produced for individual state spatial data infrastructures and state geospatial coordination, in addition to overall theme and topical analysis.
Over the next 18 months, additional focused guidance will be issued in the areas of overall statewide coordination and the key datasets for next generation 9-1-1, transportation, parcels, hydrography, elevation, and orthoimagery.
“Collaboration, transparency, and increased efficiency in government are hallmarks of mature state GIS programs,” Schar said. “Through the Geospatial Maturity Assessment research and products, NSGIC is helping states set goals, identify opportunities for collaboration, shine a light on areas requiring attention, and build resources.”
Trimble GNSS integrates with PointMan field applications to identify, capture and record the precise geospatial location of utilities
ProStar has joined Trimble’s GIS Business Partner Program. As part of the program, ProStar has implemented the Trimble Precision SDK (software developer kit) to integrate high-accuracy positioning capability in its PointMan mobile application running on smartphones and tablets using Trimble GNSS receivers.
ProStar provides field crews with an easy-to-use mobile data collection solution designed to capture, record and provide real-time visualization of the precise locations of subsurface infrastructure, while utilizing a centralized database to permanently and securely store and share utility location records in the cloud.
By adding the Trimble R Series and Trimble Catalyst receivers to the ProStar workflow, users can confidently access high-quality data and identify potential conflicts to avoid accidents, disruption of services and costly delays to infrastructure projects impacted by not knowing the precise locations of buried utilities.
“Together, Trimble and ProStar are changing the way construction companies, engineering and surveying firms as well as government transportation agencies capture, store and utilize utility infrastructure data. By leveraging the power of geospatial technology, they are able to make more informed decisions in the field,” said Stephanie Michaud, strategic marketing manager, Trimble Survey & Mapping field solutions. “Through this collaboration with ProStar, we are committed to integrating Trimble technology into ProStar’s cloud and mobile solutions to enhance safety protocols on site, reduce project costs and make a safer work environment.”
“We’re excited about this new collaboration and the integration of our PointMan software with Trimble’s high-accuracy GNSS receivers,” said Page Tucker, president & CEO of ProStar. “Creating a seamless integration with Trimble high-accuracy receivers and our PointMan software is a game-changer that will now provide one of the most comprehensive and precise field data collection solutions in the industry.”
About ProStar
ProStar specializes in the development of Precision Mapping Solutions. ProStar’s Solution is natively cloud and mobile and offered as Software as a Service.
ProStar’s Solution is designed to improve the business operations of any industry that requires the precise location of sub-surface infrastructure including utility, oil & gas, construction, engineering & surveying, 811 and contract locating.
ProStar’s Solution enables real-time access to precise location information including in the office and out in the field. Knowing the type, precise location and condition of what lies below the earth’s surface can significantly decrease liabilities and increase productivity during construction and maintenance activities.
According to the company, Trimble Dimensions is the signature event for Trimble’s global user community spanning agriculture, construction, geospatial, transportation, utilities and more. The show highlights technology and how it transforms the way professionals work to achieve success.
“Unfortunately, the overwhelming concerns and ongoing impact of COVID-19 inhibit our ability to deliver a conference that meets the high standards of safety and excellence our attendees expect and deserve,” Trimble said in a press release.
The event was scheduled to take place Nov. 2-4 at the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee. Trimble Dimensions is a biennial event.
Klau Geomatics has launched MakeItAccurate, a global GNSS data correction and processing service.
MakeItAccurate takes data from any GNSS receiver on drone or survey equipment and makes it accurate. Users can now achieve centimeter (cm)-level accuracy without the need for base stations, real-time kinematic (RTK) links, data from Continuously Operating Reference Station (CORS) or other external inputs.
MakeItAccurate requires only the raw GNSS data from a drone to produce a highly precise trajectory and turn the traditional autonomous 3-5m GPS accuracy to 3-5 cm anywhere in the world.
In many parts of the United States, Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, absolute accuracy of 2-3 cm XYZ will be achieved. In these areas, the KlauPPK processing engine applies sophisticated hybrid PPK/PPP algorithms, merging global PPP clock and orbit corrections with many distant CORS stations to achieve this high absolute accuracy.
The service enables enterprise drone operations to achieve high accuracy across their entire global operations with one repeatable workflow.
Sectors such as insurance, telecommunications and utilities can scale their operations without additional survey expertise and site-specific data constraints. The same process works for multiple operators on thousands of sites enabling consistent, high accuracy every time, the company said.
MakeItAccurate supports data from all GNSS manufacturers. Native support for DJI M 210v2 RTK or Phantom 4 RTK drones returns precise camera positions with centimeter-level accuracy. Other drones using external PPK GNSS products also can achieve highly accurate kinematic trajectories and camera coordinates.
A MakeItAccurate application programming interface (API) is available to push raw GNSS data to the processing engine and return highly accurate coordinates, with full reporting on the accuracy achieved for the entire trajectory or each camera event. GNSS hardware manufacturers can offer a custom service to add value to their products. Software developers offering artificial intelligence technology, photogrammetry processing or other outcomes that benefit from high accuracy can use the MakeItAccurate API.
New product enables collection, correction and confirmation of spatial data in the field
The new Location Mobile App Platform (LMAP) by 1Spatial enables easy and flexible spatial data collection in the field. Leveraging existing expertise in data management and data quality into a mobile app platform delivers an easy to use user interface, flexibility in integration and in-built validation based upon business rules.
LMAP can be configured to provide a solution to any number of spatial data challenges facing businesses and has been made available to offer complete integration and configuration flexibility to customers. Utilities, for instance, have geographically dispersed assets and the need for quality-driven spatial data editing via a field-based workforce.
LMAP helps guide users to capture the right data at the right time and, crucially, make sure that the data is right first time.
“We have a host of great customers and always strive to create solutions that make all parts of data collection easier,” said Sarah Gadd, product manager at 1Spatial. “We know that our clients love the reliability and power of our patented rules engine and want to bring that to the field. Simple and powerful apps tailored to our customers’ needs is our next big step in delivering spatial data quality to every stage of the data journey.”
For more information and for a demo of LMAP, join 1Spatial for a free webinar on March 10 at 2 p.m. GMT. Register here.
Thales Alenia Space has been awarded a grant under the European GNSS Agency’s (GSA) Fundamental Elements funding mechanism for the development of the GIANO (Galileo-based TIming Receiver for CriticAl INfrastructure Robustness) receiver, which aims to make critical infrastructure more robust against interference, jamming and spoofing.
In an increasingly complex GNSS environment in which there is both unintentional and deliberate disruption of satellite signals, the GSA is funding the development of a timing receiver for professional applications to address the needs of the critical infrastructure user community, mainly energy generation and distribution, telecommunications and financial operators.
Improved resilience
The GIANO receiver will leverage Galileo and EGNOS-driven innovation to improve the resilience of the receiver against interference, jamming and spoofing and increase the accuracy and reliability of the time transfer service. The timing platform prototype to be developed and validated will integrate all the latest innovative technologies, including professional products from Thales Alenia Space, paving the way for future Galileo-based timing receivers that offer improved resilience and accuracy at a reasonable cost.
“Critical infrastructure operators use GNSS for timing and synchronisation and are an important target segment for GSA Market Development because Galileo can make a difference. By funding the development of the GIANO receiver, the GSA aims to provide technological solutions to this community for robust and reliable timing,” said GSA head of market development Fiammetta Diani.
Toward this goal, outreach activities have been conducted among potential final users in the main commercial target groups to collect and analyse their needs. Then, following the definition and consolidation of stakeholders’ needs and the platform specifications, the project conducted a preliminary design review at the end of November 2019.
Europe-wide cooperation
The two-year project, funded under a GSA grant related to the Development of a Galileo-based timing receiver for critical infrastructures (GSA/GRANT/05/2017), will be coordinated by Thales Alenia Space in Italy, in collaboration with four European partners: Business Integration Partners S.p.A (BIP, Italy), PIKTime Systems (Poland), Space Research Centre of the Polish Academy of Science (SRC PAS, Poland) and DEIMOS (Portugal).
The project will also benefit from the support of the European Commission’s in-house science service – the Joint Research Centre (JRC) and the Italian National Metrology Institute (INRIM), which will make available its test facilities for verification activities on the developed equipment.
How AI and machine learning algorithms redefine the way utility companies manage their infrastructure
By Jaro Uljanovs, Lead AI Developer and Data Scientist, Sharper Shape
Artificial intelligence (AI) boasts a wide range of potential applications, across nearly every industry imaginable — healthcare, automotive, retail, even fast food. But it’s the utility industry where AI and machine learning (ML) are beginning to demonstrate some of their most impactful effects on many aspects of the business. Power companies are increasingly leaning on AI to improve their electricity delivery and prevent potential wildfires, and AI is actually enhancing, rather than eliminating, human jobs.
From data collection and analysis to their presentation of actionable insights, AI and ML algorithms are quickly redefining how utility companies manage their electric infrastructure.
Consolidating and classifying data
Utility companies oversee massive infrastructure networks, comprising poles, conductors, substations and transmission and distribution lines that span thousands of miles. The vegetation surrounding this key infrastructure must also be monitored, as it presents a danger of fire or outage.
Taking a comprehensive snapshot of these assets means utilizing a variety of different sensors for network inspections. These sensors include lidar, color (RGB), hyperspectral and thermal imagery.
This allows the system to capture everything — from vegetation proximity, to infrastructure assets, to individual components (such as insulators on poles) and their operational integrity, to hot spots indicating potential fire risks.
That’s a lot of data to capture, catalog and process. And there are a lot of individual elements within that data — even in just one image — to pinpoint and classify, let alone do so accurately. Classifying billions of data points across all of those images is an impossibly time-consuming task to do manually.
Photo: shaunl/E+/Getty Images
AI and ML tools can accomplish that same work — scanning thousands of images collected across thousands of miles of utility infrastructure — in seconds. Lidar point cloud segmentation can detect conductors (quite a difficult component-type to segment) with an accuracy of over 90%, while hyperspectral image segmentation can identify vegetation species with an accuracy of up to 99%.
More than that, when paired with drone sensors, these algorithms can also improve the upfront collection of images and data. AI and ML tools help to adjust sensor positioning in real time, in the event a signal is lost or the drone veers slightly away from its inspection flight path.
By helping to readjust the sensors’ bearings while in flight, AI not only ensures more accurate data collection, but also that the flight doesn’t need to be done again or prematurely ended because of faulty data collection, saving time and money. AI pinpoints any faults in the sensors or the drone’s flight path while in the air, recalibrating as needed and identifying individual elements within the data as it comes through the sensor’s video feed.
Breaking down silos to create a holistic data approach
Key to all of this is eliminating the silos that tend to naturally build up between different data segments. In the utility inspection space, asset management, vegetation management, different sensors and so on all produce their own disparate, walled-off sets of data.
When data is kept siloed like this, it becomes unnecessarily difficult if not impossible for teams to derive companywide insights or conclusions from the information being collected. And what good is all that data if it can’t be used to check against itself and enhance other sets of data?
Good data management can’t exist in a piecemeal approach. It needs to be holistic, and AI provides the impetus to make that happen. AI provides a central resource for pooling all these data sources together, making it easier to cross-analyze for potential problems — like wildfire-prone vegetation or damaged components. When these issues are collected in one system, it becomes much easier to identify faults and resolve them — and do so far faster than it would be to manually sift through countless images of poles or vegetation maps.
And for all the stereotypical concerns about AI eliminating work for human beings, at utility companies AI actually enhances the role that people have to play in the network inspection process. Because the AI is what analyzes the data, it’s not something that is dependent on the potentially biased expertise of a professional human inspector, nor is it prone to fatigue and the anomalous results that can come from that. But at the same time, AI can’t do everything itself. It’s a tool for presenting clearer, more accurate and more actionable information for the people to then act on with their own judgment.
There’s a lot of easy-to-make assumptions, both good and bad, about AI. But at the end of the day, what AI really means for the utility industry is a more efficient and effective tool for providing the right information about a power company’s infrastructure — its transmission and distributions lines, its poles, and its nearby vegetation — into the hands of its key decision makers.
Eos Locate for Collector combines three core technologies: Eos Arrow GNSS receivers, Esri Collector, and the Vivax-Metrotech vLoc Series of locator devices.
With Eos Locate for Collector, one field worker can collect both GNSS locations and locator data (such as depth below cover) for any buried asset including water, sewer, electric, cable, gas, fiber infrastructure and more. They can do so quickly, accurately and without the need for any additional field or office support.
“We are giving our Arrow GNSS customers a solution today that allows them to combine both locator data and high-accuracy locations in web maps,” Eos CTO Jean-Yves Lauture said. “This greatly simplifies their workflow by allowing one person to do underground locates and GIS mapping simultaneously.”
“This is a big step forward for utility organizations who need to gain better visibility of their infrastructure,” said Doug Morgenthaler, Esri program manager. “With today’s technology, utilities can already see where new assets are being put in the ground. The challenge historically has been figuring out where existing assets are.”
Eos Locate for Collector not only streamlines underground-asset mapping, but also improves office production times. It eliminates the need to manually combine datasets from the locator and GPS devices within ArcGIS.
“Seeing all that information from utility locators and GPS receivers packaged directly into a GIS application is exceptional,” Vivax-Metrotech Eastern Regional Sales Manager Kelvin Cherrington said. “This solution will help utilities create maps of their underground assets with a much more modern and efficient methodology.”
Indiana American Water Early Adoption
Earlier this year, Indiana American Water approached Eos to seek a solution that consolidated their utility-locate workflow with their Arrow and Collector field work.
“We had the manpower to put paint down,” said Todd Chapman, Indiana American Water Senior GIS Analyst. “But we would need to hire another person to map the locations with our Arrow Gold GNSS receivers.”
Chapman estimates Eos Locate for Collector will cut their field time in half as well as enable the creation of extremely accurate buried-infrastructure maps in ArcGIS.
“Previously, we were seeing that our old water mains could be off by up to 20 feet,” Chapman said. “With the new Eos Locate for Collector, we’re seeing that it’s accurate to under an inch.”
The initial release of Eos Locate for Collector runs on Apple’s iOS iPhones and iPads and supports the vLoc Series from Vivax Metrotech. Future releases of Eos Locate for Collector will support additional locator models including the vScan series.
With accurate digital twins of their buried infrastructure, utilities across sectors can expect improvements to safety, damage prevention, field efficiency and regulatory compliance.
“Not only does this mean quicker responses to 811 tickets and fewer liabilities during field digs,” Lauture said. “But it also constitutes a major step forward toward the highly efficient future of 3D asset management and viable augmented-reality workflows.”
The OSA 5401 and OSA 5405 now enable power utility and broadcast networks to achieve sub-microsecond synchronization. (Photo: Business Wire)
Upgraded PTP grandmaster clocks deliver precise, robust timing in compact form factor
Adva has extended the capabilities of its compact Oscilloquartz PTP timing technology to enable power utility and broadcast networks to achieve sub-microsecond synchronization.
Now electricity companies can harness the accuracy needed for smart power grids, and media enterprises can meet key timing challenges, the company said.
The two upgraded solutions are the pluggable OSA 5401, a small PTP grandmaster clock, and the versatile OSA 5405, an integrated PTP grandmaster with dual GNSS antenna and receiver.
Both technologies have proved critical in the telecommunications industry, where they have been widely deployed across the globe. They offer outstanding precision and design density. Thanks to unique spoofing and jamming detection capabilities, they also provide high availability.
“This upgrade is big news for utility and media network operators looking to harness the most advanced innovation in their field. With our OSA 5401 and 5405 bringing new levels of accuracy and resilience to their infrastructure, they can reap the benefits of emerging bandwidth-intensive, latency-sensitive applications”
“This upgrade is big news for utility and media network operators looking to harness the most advanced innovation in their field. With our OSA 5401 and 5405 bringing new levels of accuracy and resilience to their infrastructure, they can reap the benefits of emerging bandwidth-intensive, latency-sensitive applications,” said Nir Laufer, senior director, product line management, Oscilloquartz, Adva.
“These devices are feature rich and incredibly efficient. But as well as their versatility, what really sets them apart is their extremely small footprint and low power consumption. This is key to bringing packet time distribution to the edge of network. With our technology ensuring sub-microsecond synchronization, smart grids can perform flexible, real-time decision making, as well as monitoring and automated maintenance. And for media companies, the possibilities for high-quality, interactive broadcasting from any location are enormous.”
The OSA 5401 and OSA 5405 now comply with the latest PTP profiles for time, frequency and phase synchronization in both power utility and broadcast networks. These include the IEC/IEEE 61850-9-3 Power Utility Profile for precise time distribution and clock synchronization in electrical grids with an accuracy of 1μs, and SMPTE 2059 for synchronizing video and audio equipment over packet networks.
By supporting NTP, both solutions also enable enterprises to run an on-premises NTP server for high levels of accuracy and uncompromised availability. What’s more, the OSA 5401 and OSA 5405 include advanced GNSS jamming and spoofing detection mechanisms, which are integrated in a centralized AI-based GNSS assurance toolkit.
Taking up zero real estate and using very little power, the OSA 5401 can be deployed in the most space-restrictive locations. Its capabilities include multi-constellation GNSS (GPS/GLONASS/BEIDOU) and accurate time and frequency recovery, even in challenging environments such as urban canyons.
Available in both indoor and outdoor variants, the OSA 5405 radically simplifies and extends the reach of GNSS antenna installation by allowing operators to forget about archaic and expensive RF cables and instead use simple Ethernet over copper cables or optical fiber.
With the OSA 5405, highly precise GNSS-sourced synchronization is supported by network-based SyncE and PTP backups for highly stable sub-microsecond timing accuracy.
“Our mission is to make precise, resilient and affordable timing available in every industry. Both our OSA 5401 and OSA 5405 have had a significant impact on communication service provider networks, supporting mass small cell rollout and the transition to 5G connectivity. Now we’re ready to bring accurate, reliable and cost-efficient PTP timing to the edge of power and broadcast networks,” commented Ulrich Kohn, director, technical marketing, Adva.
“One feature of these devices that will prove key to network operators in these industries is their unique spoofing and jamming detection capabilities. These work on two layers. Firstly, network elements identify disruption autonomously. Then, on top of that, a layer powered by AI analyzes information from multiple devices. Using machine learning, this delivers the highly sophisticated and extremely robust protection needed for machine type communication applications in energy grid protection and control,” Kohn said.
Eos Positioning Systems Inc. is partnering with enterprise mobile solutions provider CartoPac International to enable consumer smartphones and tablets to become professional-grade GNSS data collection and management devices for staking, inspections and more.
Eos manufactures the Arrow receivers for any smartphone or tablet. CartoPac develops enterprise utility software, including a mobile solution for asset management and data collection.
As utility and energy companies have begun to adapt smartphones as their primary data-collection devices, they have struggled to find integrated solutions that can tie the high-accuracy GNSS locations to their new and legacy assets. Their options were usually limited to onerous workflows of all-in-one handheld GPS devices or the hiring of specialized surveyors.
Eos and CartoPac partnered to integrate the Arrow Series with CartoPac‘s mobile software. This allows CartoPac users to bring submeter and centimeter location into their asset-management solution on either iOS, Windows or Windows Mobile devices.
One real-world example is the installation of an underground pipeline. A field user with CartoPac software and a high-accuracy Arrow receiver paired with an iPad was able to capture submeter asset data, scan the asset’s barcode, take photographs and populate the utility’s enterprise geodatabase in real time, the companies said.
With the right mobile solution, field crews can also be dispatched in no time to the same asset location to respond to emergencies or perform routine work orders and inspections.
“We saw our users struggling to get a good high-accuracy GPS solution within the iOS environment,” said Glenn Vlass, CartoPac co-founder and senior sales executive. “When you can say where an asset is spatially with such a degree of high confidence, that lowers your risk and improves your safety. Lower risk and improved safety are things every utility worker takes seriously.”
Eos and CartoPac plan to expand their deployment of high-accuracy mobile asset management to more utilities facing similar needs.
IQGeo, a developer of geospatial productivity and collaboration software for the telecoms and utility industries, has acquired OSPInsight International Inc., a U.S.-based leader in fiber-optic network management.
A report issued by the 
