Autodesk, Inc. announced the launch of Autodesk FBX Review for Microsoft Windows 7 and Windows 8 enabled devices. The standalone app gives professional artists and animators a powerful, lightweight tool to conduct detailed reviews of a wide range of 3D assets, including detailed 3D models, environments and character animations.
“We’ve consistently observed our customers’ need to speed up project iteration, while maintaining high-fidelity assets that are faithful to the original design,” said Chris Bradshaw, senior vice president, Autodesk Media & Entertainment. “FBX Review streamlines the asset review process, providing greater flexibility for mobile, decentralized creative teams.”
Intuitive, Full-Featured Asset Review
According to the announcement, modern workflows include numerous internal and external clients and stakeholders, many in different locations. Autodesk FBX Review allows any user on a Windows device or platform to view 3D assets with a robust feature set, without using commercial 3D animation software. For example, an artist working in Autodesk Maya can send an animation file to anyone who has installed FBX Review, and the recipient will have a full menu of features with which to view the assets.
By supporting a wide range of open 3D file formats, from popular digital creation formats like .fbx, .3ds, and .obj to .dxf, an Autodesk AutoCAD format, FBX Review gives artists the freedom to use their favorite 3D tools. Reviewers can then choose to view assets with various shading options, animations, cameras or lighting options in the Microsoft DirectX 11 enabled viewport. Supported viewing options include:
Static and Dynamic Tessellation
Displacement and Vector Displacement Maps
Skin Deformations and Animation
Real-Time Shadow Maps
Reflection Maps
Light and Ambient Occlusion Maps
Image Based Lighting
Ground and Sky Ambient Color
To evaluate animations and scenes, FBX Review offers easy-to-use controls to cycle through animation takes and different camera angles to quickly play, pause and scrub-through animations. Scenes can be viewed with the cameras and lights native to the file or with the in-app perspective and orthographic cameras.
Mobile-Friendly Design
Autodesk FBX Review’s mobile support provides a near seamless way to continue the production cycle away from the workstation. Developed from the ground up for the Windows 8 platform, the mobile app incorporates the same full feature set as the desktop app, with a simple user interface that leverages the touch screen display, such as a multi-view camera that allows reviewers to pan, circle or zoom in on assets and touch sensitive animation playback and lighting controls. The mobile app simply requires Microsoft Windows 8 OS, 50 MB of disk space for installation and only 4GB of RAM. For optimal asset viewing, mobile devices should also include a graphics card that supports Microsoft DirectX 11.
Trimble has introduced the TirePulse Tire Monitoring System to assist fleet managers in reducing maintenance costs, increasing overall fleet productivity and promoting site safety. Part of the Trimble Connected Site portfolio, the advanced machine monitoring solution wirelessly reports tire temperature and pressure data from the jobsite to the VisionLink fleet, asset and site productivity management solution from Trimble. Automatic, real-time tire pressure and high-temperature alerts help fleet managers and site supervisors schedule cost-effective preventative tire maintenance, extend the life of tires, increase fuel efficiency and avoid dangerous blowouts.
Under-inflated tires can reduce fuel economy, increase overheating, tread wear and blowouts that take a machine out of production. Together, these factors can significantly affect fleet productivity and operating costs.
Trimble TirePulse can improve tire life while also reducing the need for fleet managers to drive to the site and visually inspect inflation, tire wear and temperature. Using a Trimble TP920 Industrial Tire Sensor in the tire valve stem and a Trimble SNM940 Connected Site Gateway for communications, the information is automatically relayed back to the office for analysis by the fleet manager. Accurate data is communicated through VisionLink, so the fleet manager can proactively manage tire maintenance on more machines across construction sites. Better preventative maintenance can result in improved fleet costs.
The Trimble TirePulse system also promotes increased jobsite safety by reducing the risk of tire blowout and injury to workers. Properly inflated tires improve the performance of vehicle braking systems and allow a faster response time in potentially dangerous conditions. The system is also safer and more accurate than manual visual inspection because it does not require personnel to be in close proximity to overheated tires on heavy machinery.
VisionLink automatically alerts the fleet manager or site foreman when a tire experiences a 20 percent drop in pressure and becomes a potential hazard. It can also provide a high-temperature alert to indicate that jobsite conditions are likely to accelerate tire breakdown.
“Preventative maintenance is more cost effective than a machine going down suddenly with a blown tire. But with equipment moving around so much from site to site, fleet managers struggle to stay ahead of the game,” said Julian Dann, business area director for machine control. “TirePulse is priced for installation across the entire fleet of on- and off-road machine tires, regardless of make, model or manufacturer. Increased wear or breakdown can be reported and acted upon proactively. The system can often pay for itself by preventing just one blowout.”
GTX Corp, which specializes in putting GPS technology in consumer products, and Atlantic Footcare have signed a manufacturing and distribution agreement to develop and launch GPS embedded insoles. Under the agreement, Atlantic Footcare will be making an investment of $200,000 to advance the development of the new GPS SmartSoles.
Atlantic Footcare, headquartered in Rhode Island, has been a designer and manufacturer of insoles for more than twenty years and supplies many of the major athletic and shoe companies, national retail chains, and the U.S military with high-quality and comfort insoles. Atlantic Footcare has experience in embedding electronics inside insoles through other partnerships and alliances and has completed the first prototypes of the GPS SmartSoles, which are undergoing testing.
“This relationship and investment with GTX is a great opportunity to couple technology with an insole, enabling us to produce a truly innovative and cost effective solution to meet today’s growing personal tracking needs. We are very excited at the opportunity to be at the forefront of wearable GPS tracking technology,” said Charlie Sipes, Atlantic Footcare president.
GTX Corp had been researching ways to further miniaturize its GPS module to penetrate new markets and expand current ones. “Compared to our existing module, this next gen is approximately 30 percent smaller, thinner, and lighter; 20 percent less expensive; and has 200 percent more battery life. It is equipped with a motion sensor and advanced A-GPS technology for pinpoint accuracy and rapid time to first fix,” said GTX Corp CEO Patrick Bertagna. “The opportunity to partner with Atlantic Footcare opened up and with this latest next generation device, embedding the module inside an insole was a natural next step.”
Rocky Mountain Tracking has added new GPS tracking devices that utilize CDMA cellular data networks in addition to its existing GSM-based devices.
CDMA coverage has steadily grown within North America during the last decade and is sometimes available in places where GSM networks don’t currently provide coverage. “Adding support for CDMA based devices allows us to offer our customers a choice of cellular provider based on their operational needs,” said Brad Borst, the company’s president.
“We’ve worked with our existing manufacturing and cellular service partners with the goal of being able to let our customers mix and match GSM and CDMA based devices into their fleet tracking strategy. The new CDMA devices look the same and function almost identically to their GSM counterparts,” says Borst. “CDMA devices will appeal to our customers operating in more remote locations within the United States while GSM continues to be a good option in metro areas and abroad.”
Rocky Mountain Tracking is a national GPS tracking device supplier and service provider.
Esri has released ArcPad 10.2. ArcPad is mobile mapping and field data collection software designed for GIS professionals. The new version of ArcPad improves synchronization with the ArcGIS platform and speeds data collection in the field with new automation options.
Esri’s reported its latest release of ArcPad gives users the ability to directly open ArcGIS feature services in ArcPad and synchronize edits with hosted or on-premises GIS. The new capability significantly improves mobile workflows by enabling disconnected editing of published services. In addition, ArcPad gives users the ability to automate edits with a Quick Fields option, which can be customized to autopopulate any field during data collection.
According to the announcement, for users who rely on desktop workflows that revolve around file sharing and distribution, ArcPad 10.2 includes new ArcGIS Online integration. With this option, users can store their ArcPad projects and QuickProject templates as an ArcPad package in their ArcGIS Online accounts for sharing with members of their group. ArcGIS Online subscribers can also browse ArcGIS Online from inside ArcPad with the ability to select and download a project or template, creating an easy, collaborative workflow.
The Esri Survey Summit and Esri International User Conference (UC) were held in July in San Diego, California (they’re held San Diego every year). As always, these events are a whirlwind of spatial data technology, covering surveying software to handhelds/tablets, GNSS/GPS units, UAVs, handhelds/tablets, and plotters. There are only two conferences in the world where you will experience such a breadth and depth of hardware/software spatial technology: the Esri International User Conference (UC) and Intergeo.
The Esri UC, which is preceded by the Esri Survey Summit, is a vendor-specific conference, so you won’t see any Esri competitors there (such as Autodesk, Intergraph, MapInfo, Bentley, and Smallworld). Intergeo, set for October 8-10, is vendor-independent, so anyone can attend if you pay the fee, but it’s always located in Germany, which puts it out of reach for many North and South Americans. It’s also much more focused on business and a trade show than the UC. Finally, the Esri UC offers many more technical sessions than Intergeo. In my opinion, one of the greatest values of the Esri UC is the diverse, GIS-centric technical sessions available for about any vertical market you can imagine, from utility infrastructure to municipal engineering and wetland science. If you’re interested in browsing the technical sessions from last month’s Esri UC, you can do so here.
Survey Summit
The bulk of the Survey Summit was held the weekend before the Esri UC. This is an event where surveyors and GIS professionals (sometimes the same person) interact. The concept is solid, as surveying and GIS technologies are converging. However, this year’s Survey Summit suffered from a lack of attention from the organizers and, consequently, attendance took a hit. Only about 150 people attended, when the conference really should attract 750-1,000 people. Yes, tight travel budgets can be attributed to the decline in attendance, but there wasn’t buzz created leading up to the conference, and the content was marginal. For the first time since I can remember, there was no exhibition area for vendors. Note to Survey Summit organizers: I get that you’re busy on other projects, but if you want this to be a serious conference, you’ve got to put more energy into it.
Who’s in the Room. Survey Summit + UC.
Who’s in the Room. Survey Summit + UC.
Most interesting take-aways from the Survey Summit:
• Esri programmers responsible for the geographic datum transformations in ArcGIS were at the Survey Summit and engaged. Esri needs to do a lot of work in this area to accommodate high-precision GIS and surveying, and it seems the company is taking it seriously, but it can’t come soon enough.
• National Geodetic Survey (NGS) usually sends a pack of people to the conference. This year, it all fell on Michael Dennis, who delivered a record number of presentations. The NGS is getting smaller. It employs about one third of the people it used to. People with a tremendous amount of knowledge and outreach throughout the years such as Dave Doyle and Bill Henning have retired recently, and there’s a hiring freeze at NGS. While geodesy for GIS is becoming more important, we are losing geodesy expertise at the federal level.
Most interesting quotes from the Survey Summit:
• “GIS isn’t an acronym for Get It Surveyed; it’s an acronym for Get Involved Seriously.” — Curt Sumner, National Society of Professional Surveyors
• “Think about what’s not going to change in the next 10 years, that’s the more important question.” — Brian Matsubara, Amazon Web Services
Esri International User Conference Keynote
The challenge is that Esri President Jack Dangermond sets the bar so high every year that there’s an expectation that he will “wow” us again. That didn’t happen this year. Mind you, I’m a huge fan of Mr. Dangermond. I love it that he’s kept Esri a privately held company (no public shareholders) and the way he dismisses investor community analysts. I love it that he has a vision, sticks to it, and yet doesn’t hesitate to make significant changes as he sees fit. He told Investor’s Business Daily, “We’ve never borrowed money,” conceding that this meant the company grew more slowly than it might have. “We had to be very, very, very conservative with money. …It drove careful decision making. We were never at the (beck) of outside shareholders or banks. What that means is we could focus on our users and employees.”
Think about a guy who, at 67 years of age, struck up a relationship with pop musician Will.I.Am, who ended up speaking in front of thousands of attendees at the Esri UC this year. You can view a video of Will.I.Am’s and other keynote conversations here. By the way, Will.I.Am says he’s going to attend the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) this fall, studying computer science. I’m impressed.
Esri International User Conference
Attendance at this year’s conference was probably down from last year, likely from reduced government travel budgets. On the conference opening day, Jack reported that 12,000 people were in attendance from 130 countries, making it the largest gathering of geospatial users in North America.
During the plenary session, four technologies were emphasized. None of them are new or earth-shattering, but each are pushing forward:
Cloud-based GIS: Esri is pushing cloud-based GIS hard. It’s a significant transformation, and there’s no turning back. During the plenary session, Jack announced that starting with ArcGIS 10.2, each license will also include a subscription to ArcGIS online. The cloud is a natural segue into Big Data.
More Data: If GIS software is the engine, then data is the fuel. More data usually translates into more apps. More granular data usually translates into better decision-making capability.
Esri reported that 100 million square miles of imagery was added or updated to ArcGIS online. DigitalGlobe announced that ArcGIS Online users will now have access to DigitalGlobe’s Global Basemap, FirstLook, and Multispectral Premium Services.
More Apps: Taking a lesson from Apple, Jack reported that “in a couple of months Esri will introduce an itunes-like appstore for GIS apps.” Seeing how GIS apps are largely customized, it will be interesting to see what this offers to the user community. It’s a super-smart idea from an Esri strategy perspective, allowing users to derive greater value from their Esri investments.
3D: Esri is spending time promoting 3D online. Jack said, “Once you get there, it’s hard to leave. 3D is a major footprint for us.” Ten years ago, I was involved with 3D visualization in landscape architecture and accident reconstruction. Generating 3D models was a painfully slow process. Jack is correct. If you can generate 3D visualizations relatively easily and inexpensively, why would you stay in 2D? This is the future. Check out Autodesks’s free Recap software for easily generating 3D visualizations from scan data and photos (even from your smartphone).
The most interesting take-aways from the Esri International User Conference:
Most interesting quotes from the Esri International User Conference:
• “One quarter of all Esri licenses are used by NGO’s or non-profits at little or no cost.” — Jack Dangermond, Esri
•”The poorest of the poor must obtain the best education possible. Information will be the fourth pillar of democracy in 21st century.” — Dawn Wright, Esri
• “In the past year, ArcGIS online has transformed from a web mapping tool to a true GIS.” — Jack Dangermond, Esri
• “Gangs are a business too, and they recruit (kids) earlier than companies do. To get a job, you have to graduate from college. What do you want these kids to be? If you’re not going to tell (them) what to do, (they’re) just going to go over here (to the gangs). Our system is broke.” — Will.I.Am
If you missed it, I along with Michael Dennis (Geodesist, NGS) were guests on the NSPS Radio Hour <ACSMJuly22_2013>. We talked about geodesy, LightSquared, and a few other subjects. It’s anMP3 file so you can download it onto your smartphone, i device or computer to listen at your convenience.
Trimble announced it has entered into an agreement with DigitalGlobe Inc. to license its satellite imagery for offline use in Trimble Outdoors mobile apps, allowing outdoor enthusiasts to view and store imagery on their smartphones and tablets. In addition, DigitalGlobe imagery will be available for high-resolution, large-format custom prints at MyTopo.com, a Trimble company.
“Our customers use Trimble apps in remote areas where network data coverage doesn’t exist. Armed with smartphones loaded with memory, they�re increasingly asking for map content to be stored locally on the handset for off-the-grid use. We’re excited to enable our customers to cache DigitalGlobe’s high-resolution imagery on their smartphones to address these needs,” said Mark Harrington, vice president of Trimble. “In addition, providing our MyTopo customers with the ability to create large format print maps with DigitalGlobe’s high-resolution imagery allows them to have the convenience of a traditional paper map that matches their handset experience in the field. By partnering with DigitalGlobe, Trimble can significantly enhance the quality of satellite photography available in our products.”
According to the announcement, DigitalGlobe will provide imagery down to a 30-centimeter resolution for the continental U.S. and 50-centimeter resolution globally, effective immediately. The 30-centimeter resolution means one pixel on the image equals 30 centimeters on the ground.
“By partnering with Trimble we can showcase how our imagery can be used in new and unique ways for location-based services companies,” said Bert Turner, senior vice president of sales at DigitalGlobe. “Outdoor enthusiasts will now have access to DigitalGlobe’s vast imagery library—the largest and most up to date of its kind—in order to harness the power of mapping and location intelligence even in the most remote locations.”
Mobile Apps with DigitalGlobe Imagery
According to the announcement, outdoors enthusiasts will be able to use DigitalGlobe’s worldwide imagery in five apps:
Trimble Outdoors Navigator (iPhone, Android), designed for in-the-field navigation for hikers, backpackers, mountain bikers, and general outdoor use
Trimble Outdoors MyTopo Maps (iPad, Kindle Fire, Android tablets), designed for outdoor trip planning
Trimble GPS Hunt (iPhone, Android), smartphone app built for hunters
Trimble GPS Fish (iPhone, Android), smartphone app built for anglers
Trimble GPS Maps (iPad), tablet app designed to plan hunting and fishing trips
To save maps on their mobile device, customers need to select the area and zoom levels of the DigitalGlobe imagery using the Offline Maps tool found in the supported apps. The ability to store offline satellite imagery will require an Elite membership ($29.99 per year) to TrimbleOutdoors.com (trimbleoutdoors.com/elite) or GPSHuntFish.com (www.gpshuntfish.com/elite).
Printed Maps with DigitalGlobe Imagery
Customers can order the new Premium Satellite Image prints in five sizes ranging from 18″ x 24″ to 60″ x 96″ on MyTopo.com, which has a simple five-step process to design custom maps. In addition, users can select the map scale down to 1:1K, plus overlay GPS coordinates, navigation grids and exclusive map layers like public land boundaries, hunt units, forest roads, and lake contours. The imagery can be printed on several paper formats, including waterproof and glossy.
High-resolution prints will be available in the U.S. and Canada to start, and expand to worldwide coverage later in 2013.
The U. S. Geological Survey announced that the Federal Geographic Data Committee (FGDC) is seeking public comments on the draft strategic plan for the National Spatial Data Infrastructure (NSDI). The draft NSDI strategic plan has been developed with inputs from a variety of sources, including FGDC member agencies, the National Geospatial Advisory Committee, and geospatial partner organizations. The plan describes a broad national vision for the NSDI, and includes goals and objectives for the Federal government’s role in continued sustainable development of the NSDI. Following the public comment period, a revised draft of the plan will be prepared for final review and adoption by the FGDC Steering Committee. Following completion of the strategic plan, the FGDC will develop more detailed project plans for the goals and objectives in the strategic plan.
U.K. firm Chronos Technology has released the CTL3520 handheld GPS Jamming Detector and Locator System. Aimed specifically at detecting GPS jammers hidden in vehicles, the unit can pinpoint even the weakest jammer and identify the vehicle in which the jammer is hidden, even in a busy multi-storey car park, Chronos said. Other applications include detecting vehicles with jammers at ports, fleet depots, airport car parks and taxi ranks.
The CTL3520 device was recently tested by representatives of law enforcement and security agencies in screened rooms at the MIRA test facility in Warwickshire and successfully identified hidden jammers both in vehicles and people’s pockets.
The CTL3520 was developed from research undertaken by the University of Bath and is a significant commercial outcome of the Sentinel research project, which was partly funded by the Technology Strategy Board.
“Previous jamming detecting products have been unable to identify which vehicle is hosting the jammer,” said Charles Curry, founder and managing director of Chronos Technology Ltd. “This has been a particular limitation and a major challenge for people wishing to protect critical infrastructure if faced with GPS jamming emanating from a nearby vehicle. Most websites currently selling GPS jammers maintain that the operating distance of a jammer is just a few meters. This is simply not true. We have tested GPS jammers in controlled trials and their range is easily 250/300 meters which makes specific vehicle identification extremely difficult, particularly in a multi-storey car park. The CTL3520 solves this problem and can pick out one vehicle in a thousand which has the jammer installed.”
“This product contains advanced technology which is the culmination of more than two-years of research and development at the University of Bath, funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) within the Sentinel project. We are delighted that our collaboration with Chronos has led to a commercial product,” said Robert Watson, University of Bath Electronic & Electrical Engineering Department.
In addition to UK users, Chronos is seeking international resellers and distributors to take the product into critical infrastructure protection and law enforcement markets where there is a recogniszd concern about the proliferation of low cost GPS jammers used by criminals to cover their tracks or vehicle drivers for personal privacy purposes.
GNSS Industry Outlook for 2014: Immediately after the GNSS State of the Industry online survey closes on August 12, our analysts provide running commentary on the polling results. We’ll look at a broad spectrum of responses (more than 700 to date, and still counting!) to questions about the GNSS economic outlook for 2013–2014, the industry’s Issue of the Year, the anticipated winners of the indoor navigation technology battle, alternate funding sources, the next evolutionary leap for commercial GNSS devices, and more. Also, sector-specific questions with responses from survey and high-precision; machine control and UAVs; wireless and consumer; satellites, signals, and simulators; defense, security, and government.
Moderator: Alan Cameron, Editor & Publisher, GPS World
Speakers:
Len Jacobson is a GPS consultant with in-depth experience in the field since 1968: executive, scientific, and marketing postions with Magnavox and Interstate Electronics (IEC), now a major part of L-3 Communications. He is active in the Institute of Navigation, having been Western Regional Vice President twice and had leadership roles in several of their conferences.
John Pottle is marketing director of Spirent’s Positioning and Navigation division, based in the UK. Under John’s leadership, Spirent has continued to follow the mantra “Testing the Future of Navigation and Positioning” as applications moved from specialist to mainstream. John holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Communication Engineering and a Masters degree in Business Administration. He is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineering and Technology and of the Royal Institute of Navigation.
Willens Law Office announced the first self-reported Chicago bicycle accident map will collect data about cyclists’ encounters with careless and reckless driving. This interactive map will allow users to report, not only bicycle accidents and doorings, but close calls or near misses as well, all in real time. Additionally, by reporting the type of collision, weather, lighting and surface conditions during the accident or close-to accident, we will be able to have more data about bicycle accidents, when they occur, where they occur, and how to prevent them. The most important improvement over past maps is that close call or near miss data can also be reported and shared among cyclists, and while technically not an accident, this data may be the most valuable as it occurs in the highest frequency and often can help with future design plans and infrastructure updates. As more accidents and near misses get reported, the heat map will provide visual representation to identify the areas with the largest number of incidents, and maps can be created specifically for a particular type of accident. You can access the map here and conduct your own search, if you’re a cyclist please share your most troublesome intersection or address for near misses.
Reported Chicago bicycle accidents over the last 5 years http://www.willenslaw.com/report-your-accident/ Source: Willens Law Offices
According to the announcement, the cyclists of Chicago will be able to use this interactive map to help identify “hot spots.” These are areas of the city that are particularly dangerous for cyclists. The data will bring attention to problem areas and arm cyclists and community organizations with information to advocate for safer roads, which, in turn, will increase roadway modifications and/or targeted enforcement of the law. Extended use of the map will help keep the streets of Chicago safer for everyone – cyclists, motorists and pedestrians alike, helping to plan safer routes for riding. Knowledge is power when it comes to choosing the safest routes while bicycling in the city of Chicago.
Attorney Matthew Willens of Willens Law Offices in Chicago had this to say “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. My hope is that, with the use of this map, bicycle accidents will decrease as the popularity of informed cycling increases.” Willens Law Offices was recently featured in the Chicago Tribune for the initiative to provide ghost bike racks in memory of deceased bicyclists. The firm plans to donate a ghost bike rack for each cyclist who falls victim to a fatal bicycle-motorist accident in the City of Chicago and contacts the firm. The racks would NOT replace ghost bikes, but would increase the number of public bike racks and would hopefully help maintain the memory of the past cyclist by its permanent nature and utility allowing cyclists to lock up their bikes, as well as a serve as a reminder to be aware of the cyclists on the road.
Trimble introduced today its next-generation Trimble Tablet PC for surveying. The Trimble Tablet is a lightweight, rugged and highly mobile field computer that can operate with Trimble’s suite of receivers and total stations to provide a complete surveying solution. With Trimble Access field software onboard, the Trimble Tablet streamlines the flow of information between the field and office while also allowing surveyors to run the applications they need to perform office work directly from the field.
The Trimble Tablet offers a 7-inch capacitive multi-touch screen in an easy-to-hold form factor that measures 6.3 inches x 9.6 inches and weighs three pounds. An extended battery set provides up to 16 hours of operation.
With the Microsoft Windows 7 Professional operating system, a 1.6 GHz Intel Atom dual-core processor, 4 GB RAM and 128 GB of flash-based storage onboard, the Trimble Tablet allows surveyors to run a variety of the applications they need to perform office work fast and reliably. Connectivity via Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and a built-in 3.75G GSM cellular data modem enables manageable and efficient workflows so surveyors can remain connected wherever networks are available. With the Trimble Tablet, surveyors can check their work and deliver it to clients without a trip back to the office.
Using the multi-touch capacitive touchscreen, surveyors can type, pan, and zoom with their fingers, a stylus or capacitive gloves. The large display features new technology created specifically to enhance sunlight readability. Viewing data, maps and applications is also easier so that surveyors can unlock the full potential of Trimble VISION instruments and applications dependent on highly visual data and graphic interfaces. Jobsite documentation is possible using the Trimble Tablet’s built-in 5MP camera with autofocus and built-in flash capabilities, while simultaneously providing geotag functionality using integrated GPS.
Ruggedized for extreme conditions, the Trimble Tablet holds an environmental rating of IP65 and can operate in temperatures of –30 °C to +60 °C (–22 °F to +140 °F), providing exceptional versatility, efficiency and portability. The full-color screen resides under a Gorilla Glass panel that is scratch and impact resistant.
“The ability to stay connected and complete office work from the field is becoming increasingly important to surveyors,” said Elmar Lenz, business area director of Trimble’s GNSS and survey handheld solutions. “With new features and functionality, the next generation Trimble Tablet rugged PC is an ideal solution that provides even more capability to surveyors—more memory, computing power, connectivity, data visualization, increased documentation and more.”
The Trimble Tablet rugged PC is available for ordering immediately through Trimble’s Survey distribution channel.
