A Publication for Geospatial Professionals • Issue 2014-3

Earthquake Recovery Raising a Landmark Building

Imaging Rovers Get Down to Work

UAS on the Ice in Antarctica

New Opportunities in Transportation technology&more technology&more Welcome to Technology&more!

Deartechnology&more Readers, In traveling around the world I have the opportunity to meet people engaged in • ANTARCTICA pg. 2 many facets of the geospatial industry. Most are eager to share their experience UAS on the Frozen and insights about how geospatial solu- Continent tions can benefit the lives and businesses of people in their region. I’ve talked with professionals who gather and process geospatial data. They discussed the need for increased productivity in capturing and delivering information. Other users emphasized the value of new deliverables Chris Gibson: Vice President • NEW ZEALAND pg. 4 coming from geospatial information that Lifting a Building penetrate deep into their client’s work- flows and processes. Deliverables such as photorealistic 3D models, point clouds and panoramic images support planning, review and enterprise management. And I’ve met with educators and researchers who are driving the effort to expose new regions, and new professionals, to the value of geospatial solutions. They shared with me the need for customizable solutions—at both the local and global levels. • UNITED STATES pg. 10 Most of the stories I hear aren’t about technology. They are about Imaging a Florida Canal innovative people and organizations that create solutions to some very challenging situations. We’re pleased that they have selected Trimble® technologies and look forward to sharing their experiences. We will constantly seek the ideas and feedback that come from the people at work on their jobsites, in their offices and the offices of their clients. This issue of Technology&more brings stories that illustrate how people are using Trimble solutions to quickly develop information and put • GERMANY pg. 20 it to work. Our cover story describes the beautiful Christchurch Art A New Tool for Gallery, and the effort to raise and re-level it following earthquakes. By combining measurement systems with Trimble software, a New Agricultural Mapping Zealand company provided real-time information that was essential to the success of the effort. In Germany, a company used Trimble software to achieve new levels of speed and precision in mapping and classifying agricultural land. In a visit to Florida, we meet a company that uses imaging solutions Published by: to radically reduce the time and costs of collecting and delivering Trimble Engineering & Construction detailed field information. The story presents a good example of 10368 Westmoor Drive the increasing value of imaging—in both the field and office. This issue also highlights imaging of a different sort in Italy, where a Westminster, Colorado 80021 mobile system is helping cities catalog street lighting to comply with Phone: 720-887-6100 new standards for management and energy efficiency. Finally, as Fax: 720-887-6101 innovation and technologies continue to advance, the need grows Email: [email protected] for people skilled in acquiring, analyzing and utilizing geospatial www.trimble.com information. This is demonstrated in a story about universities in Uzbekistan working to provide training and experience for new Editor-in-Chief: Shelly Nooner generations of geospatial professionals. Editorial Team: Lea Ann McNabb; Ynez-Bernadette Belwan; Lee Ann Fleming; Jocelyn Delarosa; Grainne Woods; If you’d like to share information with Technology&more readers Anke Seiffert; Lindsay Renkel; Kelly Liberi; Jessica Sebold; about your own innovative project, we’d be happy to hear about it. Echo Wei; Maribel Aguinaldo; Stephanie Kirtland; Send us an email at: [email protected]. We’ll even write Survey Technical Marketing Team the article for you. Art Director: Tom Pipinou And now, enjoy a new look to the future with this issue of Technology&more. © 2014, Trimble Navigation Limited. All rights reserved. Trimble, the Globe & Triangle logo, DiNi, eCognition, GeoExplorer, Juno, Pathfinder, Quantm, RealWorks and Tekla are trademarks of Trimble Chris Gibson Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries, registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. 4D Control, Access, GeoXH, POSPac, TerraSync, and VRS Now are trademarks of Trimble Navigation Limited or its subsidiaries. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. technology&more technology&more

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Protecting Canada’s Largest Bridge

estled on Canada’s west coast in one of the world’s most Planning for the bridge included requirements for monitoring beautiful settings, the city of Vancouver, British Columbia the complex structure. Working closely with the Ministry Nlies in a seismically active area. The region is predisposed and University, REF TEK, a Trimble Division, was selected to earthquakes not only due to movement along the nearby to supply and commission a strong motion seismic instru- Cascadia subduction zone, but also crustal and subcrustal seismic mentation network. In addition to detecting seismic motion, events. Because of the risk that earthquakes pose to British Colum- the system provides a constant flow of information on the bia’s communities and infrastructure, the Geologic Survey of Canada Port Mann Bridge’s behavior and state of health. The REF has placed a high priority on monitoring earthquake activity. TEK system consists of an array of sensors installed on and around the bridge structure. By using cable and structure One of the key components of the effort is monitoring the re- accelerometers, displacement transducers, extensometers gion’s transportation infrastructure. In 2008, the British Columbia and piezometers, the system can detect ground motion and Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure, in collaboration structural responses that may result from seismic activity, with the University of British Columbia, updated and expanded traffic activity or other extreme loading conditions. its program of monitoring instrumentation on bridges and other key transportation structures. The new program, named the Brit- In addition to the structure sensors, a series of wind, tem- ish Columbia Smart Infrastructure Monitoring System (BCSIMS), perature and humidity gauges supply data on environmental is designed to provide rapid damage assessment of key struc- conditions. The system is controlled by specialized real-time tures following a seismic event. A new bridge near Vancouver is monitoring software developed as part of the BCSIMS project. illustrating how well the program can work. The software provides post-processed analytical tools to help engineers better understand the bridge’s structural behavior The Port Mann Bridge crosses the Fraser River and connects under different loading conditions such as seasonal tempera- Vancouver’s neighboring communities of Surry and Coquitlam. ture changes and daily traffic loads on the bridge. Opened to traffic in 2012, the bridge replaces a smaller structure that opened more than 50 years ago. With a total length of 2,020 The bridge data is combined with data from more than 130 meters (6,630 feet), the bridge includes a cable-stayed main span ground monitoring stations in the Natural Resources Canada of 850 meters (2,800 feet). The bridge provides 10 lanes of traffic (NRCan) Provincial Strong Motion network. In the event of an as well as a multi-use pathway for pedestrians and cyclists. The earthquake or other event, engineers can quickly implement bridge provides 42 meters (140 feet) of navigational clearance, emergency response measures. which ensures ample space for ships on the Fraser River.

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Aerial Imaging in Antarctica It was quite an adventure: an all-or-nothing mission to map a research station in Antarctica.

ike numerous countries around the world, Ecuador’s geology, glaciology and microbiology, among other dis- mapping agency, Instituto Geografico Militar (National ciplines. The Maldonado Base began operations in 1990. LMilitary Geographic Institute of Ecuador, or IGM) is a Currently it operates for three to four months during the technical institution within the country’s military establish- Antarctic summer and is scheduled to begin year-round ment. The IGM is responsible for developing the national operation in 2016. Faced with the tight timeframe and mapping and the geographic and cartographic files of the unpredictable conditions, IGM wanted to know if a small, country. The Institute also provides services in the scientific lightweight unmanned aircraft could provide a suitable fields of earth sciences orthomosaic of the Ecuadorian research base and the surrounding area. In 2013, the IGM was actively looking for an unmanned aerial mapping solution to anchor an aggressive cam- Ivan Pazmiño, the owner of Instrumental & Optica, a Trimble paign to update Ecuador’s official cartography. The work geospatial distribution partner in Ecuador, agreed to supply provided IGM with an opportunity to put an unmanned a Trimble UX5 Aerial Imaging Rover, Trimble Business Center aerial solution (UAS) to the ultimate test: to map the area sur- software (TBC) and a technician to assist in the month-long rounding the country’s scientific research base in Antarctica. mapping operation at the Maldonado Base. One of the key It would be one of the first times that a UAS had been capabilities of the UX5 is its ability to reliably deliver mapping used in Antarctica. and surveying data, operating in rugged terrain and virtually any weather conditions. The Trimble UX5 solution includes the UX5 aerial imaging rover with a high-quality camera, Ecuador’s Pedro Vicente Maldonado Base is situated at a launching catapult and Trimble Access™ Aerial Imaging Guayaquil Bay on Greenwich Island in the South Shetland application running on a Trimble Tablet rugged PC to plan Islands, just a few miles off the coast of the Antarctic and monitor the automated flight. Each flight’s image data Peninsula. Named for an internationally prominent Ecuadorian is downloaded to the TBC Aerial Photogrammetry Mod- scientist who lived in the first half of the 18th century, the ule, which performs automatic aerial photogrammetry base supports scientific research programs in biology, adjustment and produces 3D, colored point clouds,

Technology&more -2- northernmost of the South Shetland Islands. After another two-day weather delay, the team embarked by boat to the Maldonado Base on Greenwich Island, roughly 50 miles away.

The Maldonado research station receives three expeditions of people each year. The first group arrives in early January to open the base and prepare it for the arrival of the scientists. The UX5 team would be members of the third expedition, the last of the 2014 season. The total expedition comprised 38 people including biologists, micro-zoologists, cartographers, weather experts and soldiers. Accommodations were cramped; four men shared a 1.8 m (6 ft) square room, sleeping in bunk beds.

The IGM team, left to right: Captain Juan P. Gómez E., Jorge Berenguela, Lieutenant Rafael Peña, Geodesist José Sarzoza and Sergeant Carlos Gómez For several days after arrival, base safety regulations pro- give a thumbs-up to the successful completion of its Antarctic mission hibited the team from going outside due to bad weather. Although the UX5 was capable of performing under difficult conditions, the people were another matter. On many occasions, the base commander prohibited personnel from working outdoors during periods of extreme cold, high winds or heavy precipitation. To complicate matters, the team would conduct aerial photography over snow and ice—one of the most difficult challenges for photogrammetry. The weather finally improved to allow human outdoor activities and the UAS team launched the first flight. Conditions were challenging–5ºC (23ºF) and winds of 10 to 15 knots with unpredictable gusts. The first flight was a success; the UX5 landed smoothly after covering the entire scientific base in about 25 minutes with an overlap of 80 percent at an altitude of 100 m (250 ft).

Prepared using the Trimble Business Center Photogrammetry Module, Bad weather again kept the team confined indoors for this orthophoto of the Maldonado Base was taken by the UX5 from an several more days. Then, when they could finally launch the altitude of 100 m (330 ft) second flight, it was aborted after just seven minutes when the weather suddenly changed for the worse. Again, the digital surface models and orthophotos. The deliverables team spent several days waiting for the weather to moderate allow users to create surfaces, perform volume calculations and allow them to leave the immediate base area. Time was and other measurements. running out and the final objective to fly the entire peninsula was still unmet. Timing was critical. Planning commenced in late November and the expedition needed to leave in February in order to The weather finally improved and Berenguela and the team be completed before the Antarctic winter set in. They had quickly took advantage. Everything worked as planned: the less than three months to prepare. UX5 climbed to 180 m (600 ft) and flew for 45 minutes, cover- ing the entire peninsula with the planned 80 percent overlap. Pazmiño selected Jorge Berenguela as the technician to When the aircraft landed, the entire IGM team embraced in make the expedition and fly the UX5. An experienced UAS a “mission-accomplished” group hug. They had overcome pilot, Berenguela had flown its predecessor, the Trimble challenging conditions and narrow weather windows to Gatewing X100. Berenguela completed training and achieve their goals. certification on the UX5 from Trimble shortly before the departure to Antarctica. With the flights completed, Berenguela processed the images in TBC. The resulting ortho-rectified, georeferenced The mapping team consisted of Berenguela and four IGM photomosaics of the peninsula and the base area were beau- scientists. Departing Quito, Ecuador they flew to Punta tiful and provided excellent detail. In spite of the difficult and Arenas, Chile, where they waited three days for the weather rapidly varying weather, the UAS had proven its worth. to clear—a preview of things to come. From there, a C130 See the original article in xyHt, Sept. 2014: www.xyHt.com military cargo plane took them to King George Island, the

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technology&moreRising Expectations In the wake of devastating earthquakes, a New Zealand company uses a customized solution to help restore a Christchurch landmark.

e Puna o Waiwhetu is a striking landmark on the edge of the city’s cultural precinct. When the gal- Tlery opened in 2003 it stood in stark—somewhat controversial—contrast to the 19th Century gothic revival architecture of the city’s existing cultural buildings. But the gallery differed in more than just appearance—Te Puna o Waiwhetu was also built to withstand the earthquakes to which Christchurch was susceptible. Earthquake Engineering Put to the Test On September 4, 2010 Te Puna o Waiwhetu took a vigorous 7.1 earthquake in its stride. It even temporarily housed the Civil Defense emergency response headquar- ters before re-opening to the public within a few weeks. However, on February 22, 2011 the gallery’s construction Each of the 124 columns stopped about 2 m (6 ft) below the foundation. and engineering were put to the ultimate test. A violent 6.3 aftershock hit the city, wreaking additional havoc on already-weakened buildings, city infrastructure and land. Despite minor damage the Christchurch gallery stood strong, with every pane in the glass façade remaining intact—within 30 minutes the gallery was once again the Civil Defense emergency headquarters. But the ground beneath Te Puna o Waiwhetu had liquefied and settled unevenly. Over time the gallery became bowed in the middle. The Repair Plan: Float the Gallery Up In August 2013 Mainmark Ground Engineering, a compa- ny with extensive experience in correcting building levels, set up headquarters in the underground car park of the gallery. It would perform all its re-leveling work from this confined space. In a process called jet grouting, Mainmark’s team drilled Personnel from Mainmark prepare the rapid-setting grout. 124 small (200 mm [8 in]) holes through the foundation to a depth of 6.5 m (21 ft). They then piped high-pressure grout-jacking process) provides hydraulic lift,” says Deller. grout into each hole. The grout mixed with the natural soils “Only a small amount of material is injected at each pass, around it to create a column of about 4 m (13 ft) diameter. at each location, so lifting is gentle and widespread. By pumping grout into multiple spaces at the same time, we JOG Integrated Computer Grouting technology, where slowly float a building up a millimeter at a time.” rapid-setting grout is injected into the space above each column, was then applied to re-level the building. Every step of Mainmark’s process was controlled above ground “JOG (an acronym for Japanese terminology for the with a computerized system operating the grout injections.

Technology&more -4- A 50-inch display allows the onsite surveyor to view numerous The onsite surveyor and Mainmark personnel view the same data in real time via points in the Trimble 4D Control software. the Web interface.

Monitoring Progress and Measuring Success Customized Output Streamlines Grout Injection In some places the gallery was 182 mm (7 in) too low, in others Manson monitored the Trimble 4D Control data on a 50-inch just 40 mm (1.6 in), and in still others it had to be raised 90 mm screen that displayed every prism at once. Raw data was (3.5 in). To determine how much grout to inject and when, displayed in the Trimble 4D Control Web interface and overlaid Mainmark needed to precisely know the gallery’s position over a plan of the gallery floor showing Mainmark’s grout at any given time. If a section of the gallery was raised too injection points. quickly, the foundation would crack. A traffic-light alarm system was set up in Trimble 4D Control Mainmark approached positioning solutions provider Geosys- Web. If one injection point deviated 4 mm (0.16 in) from its tems New Zealand Ltd with a vision of the monitoring solution surrounding points, it would change from green to yellow on they needed. They also hired Patrick Manson from Kevin screen. Often a yellow alert would indicate a simple survey O’Connor and Associates as a surveying consultant. issue such as line-of-sight to a target being temporarily blocked. If the point deviated by 8 mm (0.3 in), then it would A self-leveling monitoring network was not possible due to turn red—Mainmark would isolate the offending injection the nature and structure of the underground car park, so five locations and investigate. robotic Trimble S8 monitoring total stations were installed inside the gallery’s car park. Each instrument was connected This easy-to-interpret traffic-light system reduced the risk via WiFi to a central access point and had its own power supply of damage to the building and facilitated communication and router. A sixth total station was located outside. Approxi- between all personnel. mately 290 prisms were installed on the walls, columns, floor and around the perimeter. Representing the Future Mainmark successfully corrected the gallery’s levels in less Trimble 4D Control™ software controlled the instruments in than three months. Going forward, the company plans to use measuring rounds of angles to each point. Each round deter- their Trimble monitoring solution on projects in other regions mined the exact positions of the prism targets approximately around the world. every 45 minutes. To capture and process the same informa- tion using a “dumpy,” or conventional level, would have taken Meanwhile, Te Puna O Waiwhetu will stand strong at its at least four hours. re-opening in 2015, right on schedule. Following the tragic loss of the city’s heritage buildings to the earthquakes, the gallery Because the total stations were moving with the floor, each now represents Christchurch’s hope for the future. real-time round measured relative displacements only. So the surveying team checked control—and determined lift—three See the feature article in The American Surveyor, Oct. 2014: times a day. They used a Trimble DiNi® digital level, which took www.amerisurv.com just 45 minutes.

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The Roads of Pemba A surveyor’s journey to a distant and different land.

ust off the east coast of Africa, the island of Pemba is part common and I was a very impatient child. My father paid me of the Zanzibar archipelago of the nation of Tanzania. In 100 Schillings for every 15 minutes in which I sat still and was J2009, the regional government initiated an US$11 million quiet during the seven hours we had to wait. If you asked me (€8.2 million) project to rehabilitate roughly 45 km (28 mi) of today, I would never do that again for so little pay.” rural roads to improve safety and maintainability. As part of the project, the Swiss company GRG Ingenieure AG was hired When he arrived in Pemba, Holzer rechecked his equipment to develop post-construction information on the roadways. to make sure everything was in good order. Then it was off to GRG assigned surveying engineer Adrian Holzer to conduct the neighboring island of Zanzibar, where he met the project the field surveys on Pemba. leader from Switzerland. Armed with a letter of reference from the Ministry of Transport, the two went to the office of Before traveling to Pemba, Holzer completed initial planning for the Minister for Surveys and Mapping, where Holzer began to the work. Faced with limited information on the roads and con- learn about how things work on the islands. “The Minister was ditions, he scoured numerous sources to find information about away,” Holzer recalled, “and no one in the office knew how to the project. But compared to other projects he had worked on, find the data we needed. We were steered to several different many details were still uncertain. With only one month to plan offices. Eventually we happened to meet a man from Finland and prepare for the work, Holzer needed to rely on his experience who explained how land surveying is organized in Pemba and and flexibility to get the job done. “Part of the road construction Zanzibar.” was not even finished,” he said. “Although there was a lack of basic information, there were many ideas floating around. In my Finally, Holzer’s task was defined. He returned to Pemba and discussions with other surveyors, some approaches began to the next day got down to work. He was to map more than take shape.” 40 km (25 mi) of road, developing information on horizontal alignments, longitudinal profiles and civil structures such Holzer’s route to Pemba took him through Dar es Salaam on as bridges, culverts and drainage structures. He also needed the Tanzania mainland. He was not traveling light. Because of to capture locations and data on distinctive objects such as the short time frame, he carried his equipment as baggage. mosques, power lines and antennas. He would use RTK for all His “luggage” included two Trimble R8 GNSS receivers, a TSC2 of the surveying. Holzer was now on his own—a one-person controller, a laptop computer, a base radio for RTK and a gen- crew, functioning far removed from the familiar terrain and erous assortment of cables, chargers and accessories. Holzer culture of his home in Switzerland. said that the waiting room in the Dar es Salaam airport brought back memories. “Twenty years ago I sat in the same room while An unexpected challenge quickly emerged: eating. There is a traveling with my father,” he said. “He worked as a physician in large Muslim community on Pemba and Holzer had arrived in Tanzania and made regular trips to Zanzibar. Flight delays were the month of Ramadan. During the day, food is not available

Technology&more -6- and he needed to persuade the cook to give him some basic items to sustain him. “Eating was only possible in the car,” he said. “Anything else would be considered impolite.” Holzer also needed to plan his work to come near a mosque at mid-day, allowing his driver to participate in noon prayers.

With a routine established, Holzer began to make progress, measuring sections of road each day while dealing with the rural region’s high temperatures and dust. Because he carried a low-power radio for his RTK base station, Holzer frequently moved the base station as the survey progressed. His work frequently attracted onlookers, including crowds of children. When working in forested areas he changed position often, lifting the receiver and looking towards the sky while waiting for a signal. “I thought the people watching me must be thinking I had lost my mind,” he said, “but I was mistaken. In talking with the spectators, I found Pemba residents pose with surveyor Adrian Holzer. Holzer’s work often attracted most of them knew what a GPS receiver is. They even asked me curious onlookers. precise questions about the accuracy of the instrument.”

In order to put his own survey into the national coordinate system, Holzer needed to measure some permanently marked control points. He obtained documentation for the control, which was in surprisingly good condition. However, using the documentation was not an easy task. Holzer hired a local surveyor, who easily navigated to the control points.

Holzer said he and the surveyor quickly developed a bond as they found and measured the needed control. Even after Holzer had collected sufficient data, the surveyor insisted on visiting more control points that lay in scenic locations. Convinced by the gleam in his counterpart’s eye, Holzer agreed to go along and see the other points. They were, he recalled, “exceptionally beautiful places.”

After a month on Pemba, Holzer had completed his fieldwork. His data included roughly 4,000 individual points on about After sunset, Holzer could dine with his local colleagues. 40 km (25 mi) of Pemba roads. He captured centerlines; culverts, ditches and bridges; electric facilities, radio and cellular antennas; and stone gabions. He also collected the location of the mosques along the roads.

While on Pemba, Holzer used Trimble Business Center to analyze each day’s data. With a return visit out of the question, Holzer needed to be sure everything was in good order before leaving the island. Using a local coordinate system, he confirmed that his work was accurate and complete. Final processing and adjustment to the national coordinate system would wait until he returned to Switzerland.

With the work complete, Holzer flew to Zanzibar, where the celebration marking the end of Ramadan was underway. He filled his mind, and stomach, with the colorful scenery and festive food. It was a happy end to a successful journey. A typical deliverable from Holzer’s survey included plan and profile views See the original article in The American Surveyor, Aug. 2014: of a Pemba roadway. www.amerisurv.com

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A Broad Solution for Italy’s Narrow Streets Geospatial solutions help reduce light pollution and energy use.

ith urban activity accounting for 80 percent of tion. In addition, due to safety concerns, I sought to reduce worldwide energy consumption and carbon the number of operators out on the street,” Manta said. Wdioxide (CO2) emissions, the European Union in 2008 committed itself to a 20-percent reduction of CO2 In July 2013, in an effort to improve its surveying emissions by 2020. To support local action, the European process and take part in a viable commercial venture, Union has promoted the Covenant of Mayors (CoM), a Gemmlab and its partner company Crisel acquired the movement designed to endorse and support the efforts newly-released Trimble MX2, a vehicle-mounted spatial deployed by local authorities to implement sustainable imaging system that combines high-resolution laser energy policies through the submission of Sustainable scanning with precise positioning to collect georefer- Energy Action Plans (SEAP). enced point clouds. In early 2014 Gemmlab rolled out its own mobile surveying system: a vehicle equipped At the end of 2011 an ESCO (Energy Service Company) with the Trimble MX2, a LadyBug 360° video camera for composed by several CoM members enlisted the services digital imagery and Trimble AP20 GNSS-Inertial System of Gemmlab, a firm based in Padua, Italy, to help put a SEAP to sync data to the route. into practice. This would involve a census of the street lighting systems within several towns. The effort would prove useful In operation since April 2014, Gemmlab’s system has for local authorities to the redevelop the overall public system, provided extraordinary benefits and allows for the sur- with the aim of better managing energy consumption and veying to be carried out directly along the streets. In the reducing light pollution. event that the team of two operators (reduced from four) encounters an inaccessible road, they can still perform a “Practically speaking, for me and my staff, the challenge was manual survey. In general, however, the surveys can be to collect an enormous amount of spatial data in a relatively performed from the vehicle: the team can drive through short time period, in towns of varying population and land- the narrow streets and alleys of medieval towns that are scape” said Gemmlab owner Giovanni Manta. otherwise inaccessible with vans or similar vehicles.

When the census began in early 2012, the teams in the During data acquisition, the Trimble MX2 acquires 360° field, composed of 4 operators, manually surveyed the point clouds of the surrounding scene. At the same time, streetlights with Trimble Juno® 3D handhelds. They cap- the video camera collects high-resolution imagery of the tured GPS coordinates or—when urban canyons rendered scene, providing additional information for data analysis. GPS signals unavailable—marked streetlights directly on The information is stored and pre-processed with a laptop the map. computer located inside the vehicle.

“I was seeking out new ways to speed up the process, reduce Once in the office, Gemmlab’s staff uses Trimble POSPac™ costs and improve the accuracy of data collection and utiliza- software to improve GPS accuracy of the vehicle’s

Technology&more -8- trajectory using RINEX data from the regional GNSS network. They then convert the information into data ready for feature extraction. The data is processed through Trimble Trident Imaging Hub software, which enables information classification and extraction from digital imagery and point clouds.

Gemmlab’s GIS team then produces 3D shapefiles ready to be unified into a single geodatabase. The precision of data deliverables—about 8 cm (0.3 ft)— is well within the range specified by the customer. The spatial features of the database are necessary to locate and access each and every streetlight and its associated attributes (address, road width, distance between each light pole, pole heights, etc.) within CAD and GIS environments. Local specialists working to optimize street lightning energy consumption and reduce light pollution can rely now on a solid information base upon to carry out their analysis.

The use of the laser scanner with digital imagery and GPS, as well as the ability to create GIS and CAD data deliverables, is a good example of the increasing role of technology integration. The integrated approach increases overall throughput by avoiding manual data entry in the office and provides additional op- portunities for utilizing the field data. For example, it is possible to use the database as a road graph layer or represent graphically the terrain and its features.

In 2012-2013, during the first phase (about 14 months of actual work) the survey was carried out manually with handheld devices. Gemmlab’s team identified 36,233 streetlights within 33 municipal- ities. The integrated survey solution doubled that daily productivity. In early 2014 the new survey approach involved five towns: in about 35 days of work between April and June the operators covered an average of 110 km per day, collected 7,441 points and approximately 575 Gb of data. The work rep- resents an increase of 20 percent over the estimates of 5,980 points made by the municipalities. In addition to bringing speed and higher precision, the solution provides the ability to retroactively verify data as well as increases the safety of the operators in the field.

The project is ongoing. Thanks to a combination of strategic planning and a unique technological vision, Giovanni Manta and his team expect to survey all the streetlights of the towns included within the SEAP by the end of 2014. In about seven months of work, they will collect the same number of points that once took more than a year to complete. The census will provide authorities with data deliverables that will help the implementation of sustainable policies at a local level and will eventually foster European Union’s commitment to a 20-percent reduction of CO2 emissions by 2020.

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technology&more

Picture Perfect An imaging rover delivers solid results on a complex project.

eaving through the Miami suburbs, the Cutler Drain survey key cadastral points in the 21 subdivisions that front canal system was built in the 1960s to provid drain- the canal and develop a map of the canal right-of-way as well Wage and water management in south Florida. Owned as profiles and cross sections of the canal. In addition, GCY by the South Florida Water Management District (SFWMD), the needed to provide locations of all improvements and planted Cutler is made up of several individual canals and comprises landscaping in the right-of-way, its adjoining maintenance 22 km (13.5 mi) of navigable waterways that support fishing easement and within 3 m (10 ft) of the easement. and small boats. It would not be an easy project. “It’s a challenging area for this One of the canals, the C-100A, runs though residential areas type of surveying,” Barnes noted. “It’s all residential with a great and includes two small lakes. Over the decades erosion and deal of fences, improvements and landscaping. There’s a huge wear have caused changes to the canal, resulting in sloughing number of things to locate and not a lot of room to work in.” and changes to the shape of the canal, and the District wants to be sure that it is not creeping out of its right-of-way. GCY planned to use a Trimble R10 GNSS receiver connected to the Trimble VRS Now™ service for locating improvements in To solve the problem, the District is developing plans to reha- the more than 250 back yards along the canal. But the volume bilitate the canal to bring it back to its original design. Planning of information encouraged them to look for a faster approach. the rehabilitation calls for detailed information on the C-100A Young and GCY Vice President Pete Andersen decided to use a canal itself and how it relates to the properties that lie along Trimble V10 Imaging Rover to speed up the work. The Trimble its path. To gather the information, SFWMD Surveying and V10 works by capturing 360° panoramic images that can be Mapping Administrator Rick Barnes called on GCY, Inc., a Florida used to precisely measure the surrounding environment. GCY professional surveying and mapping firm to survey 6.1 km (3.8 mi) opted to integrate the V10 with a Trimble R10. Alternatively, of the C-100A canal and surrounding properties. According to they could mount a prism atop the rover to capture the GCY president George (Chappy) Young, GCY was required to rover’s position with a total station. The panoramic images

Technology&more -10- are processed using photogrammetry techniques built into Trimble Business Center (TBC) software.

“The Trimble V10 equipment utilized in that environment could reduce our field labor time,” Young said. “Any time we canreduce our field labor cost—even at the expense of possibly increasingthe time in the office—the comparison is an advantage.”

GCY assigned two crews to the field work. Moving from one back yard to the next locating all the improvements, they quickly found that the imaging rover could radically speed up the work. Rather than collecting individual points using RTK, the crews could shoot photographs from a few locations. Because the V10 uses the same field software and workflow as Trimble GNSS and total stations, images could be captured with no additional time or steps. Without the need to walk to each object, a crew could complete a backyard in minutes. “When we did our estimate on the location of improvements, we figured it would take nearly two hours per lot per crew,” Young said. “But it turned out to be more like 20 minutes per lot.”

At the end of each week, the crews returned to Palm City and downloaded their data to the TBC computer. A CAD technician used the TBC photogrammetry module to automatically detect and generate tie points and register multiple photos into a single model. From there, technicians could “survey in the office” to develop coordinates for points, lines and polygons. Descriptors for the individual improvements were assigned from the same feature code library used by the field crews. To check the accuracy of their work, the GCY teams measured Lucas Young operates the Trimble V10 Imaging Rover and Trimble R10 GNSS along the C-100A canal. Young needed only seconds to capture RTK position and check points that would be easy to identify in the photos. The 360° panoramic images. accuracy of the photo-derived points consistently met the project requirements.

In two months of work, the two crews used the imaging rover to collect roughly 98 percent of the needed information. As the fieldwork for locations wound down, the crews filled in missing data and completed cleanup and checking on the improvement locations. GCY used TBC to prepare an assortment of deliverables including hardcopy drawings and softcopy CAD files.

Even before the work wound down on the C-100A, Young and Andersen began to identify new projects for their V10. “I think it would be perfect for ALTA surveys,” Andersen said. He said other applications could include pre-pour verification for Panoramic images were downloaded and processed in Trimble Business Center concrete forms. software. The software displays locations of photo stations and tie points; individual points can be selected and computed as needed. Young is proud of his company’s ability to invest in new tech- nologies. As a new technology comes along, Young looks at Young compared the Trimble V10 with his company’s past it to compare potential productivity gains to the cost of the investments in early GPS systems. “There’s an advantage to each equipment. He’s confident that their investment in the V10 will acquisition,” he said. “You can’t be afraid of investing in innova- turn out well. While the savings in field time are somewhat off- tion and new technology. Looking at the dollar investment in set by increased work in the office, the technology has already the V10 and what it’s already done for us, it’s been a no-brainer.” produced a significant net gain. And the ability to use photos to measure additional features without returning the field will See the original article in xyHt, Sept. 2014: www.xyHt.com provide long-term benefits.

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technology&more With the arrival of the first-ever laser scanner, and graduates’ laser scanning expertise, Uzbekistan may finally be able to survey, inventory and map all of Uzbekistan’s many historical monuments, such as Khiva’s city walls, shown here. Photo credit: Bela Markus.

Masters of Education

t might not have made headlines, but a small contingent tional classroom structure with an online learning platform for of Uzbekistan graduate students made academic history all teachers and students to use. The eight-pronged core cur- Iin September. riculum incorporates best practices in the areas of GIS, remote sensing, geospatial technology, data acquisition, spatial analysis, Indeed, when these students took their seats in their respec- field work, geodatabase management and visualization. tive classrooms, they became the faces of the country’s first crop of students set to receive a Master of Science in Geoin- Each university also established a new GIS computing lab to formatics degree. For the first time ever, masters students serve as a learning system extension for the masters students’ can now obtain this niche degree at three Uzbekistan uni- research and field work. versities: the Tashkent Institute of Irrigation and Melioration (TIIM), Tashkent’s National University of Uzbekistan (NUU) Teacher training began in earnest in June 2013 and several and the Tashkent Architecture Building Institute (TABI). A targeted training sessions were conducted in Hungary, Tash- fourth partner university, the Karakalpak State University kent and Salzburg with support from the European partners. (KSU) in Nukus, is developing a summer school program. To supplement classroom teaching with hands-on learning Funded through the European Union’s TEMPUS program, of up-to-date geospatial tools, the project partners issued which supports the modernization of higher education in an RFP to equip all four partner universities with needed non-EU countries through university cooperation projects, technology. In October 2013 they selected Trimble to supply the two-year masters program will provide a comprehensive geospatial/surveying equipment and initial training. course of study, as well as the opportunity to experience a range of advanced geospatial technology and how such New Perspectives tools can be used to address the country’s real-world issues. In March 2014, Trimble delivered eight total stations, four GNSS rovers and base stations, several handheld GPS units, “The entire geoinformatics masters program was designed one laser scanner, eight automatic levels, eight laser distance around a needs analysis from university department heads measurement devices, and field and office software for the and industry project partners who will potentially be major first two-week teacher training session in Tashkent. employers of these graduates,” says professor Bela Markus, a TEMPUS project manager and head of the Land and Professors from the Royal Institute of Technology in Stock- GeoInformation Knowledge Center at the University of West holm led the training, splitting their time between classroom Hungary. “These graduates will be able to offer the most up- instruction and hands-on field workshops. They began with to-date skills and knowledge of key spatial technology. We the newest “toys:” the Trimble TX5 3D laser scanner and the see big potential for them.” Trimble R4 GNSS rover.

Pioneering Curriculum After learning the proper installation and setup procedures, A groundbreaking educational platform for Uzbekistan, the the teachers were given the opportunity to scan the cafeteria Master of Science in Geoinformatics course combines a tradi- building on TIIM’s campus. Back in the GIS lab, they learned

Technology&more -12- Uzbeki educators work with a Trimble R4 GNSS rover. The training included a field workshop with the Trimble M3 total station.

how to use Trimble RealWorks® software to process the im- Along with urban sprawl there has been constant construc- age data into point clouds and how to understand, analyze tion of homes, buildings, roads and bridges but there have and integrate the 3D information. not been adequate resources to plan, monitor and manage all of this development. Graduates can help provide the With the Trimble R4 GNSS receivers and Trimble Slate geospatial foundation needed to better prepare and execute controllers, the hands-on training focused on surveying a needed development. range of features around the campus and using Trimble Business Center survey software to successfully post-process Due to excessive pressure on its land and water resources, the data. Uzbekistan is struggling with the detrimental consequences of land degradation and water shortages. Masters graduates In addition to the laser scanning and GNSS exercises, the have the opportunity to use geospatial information and teachers were taken to a variety of locations to test and application techniques to help map soil erosion and salinity, learn the features of the Trimble M3 total station and the plan irrigation networks for agriculture and water resource Trimble DiNi digital levels. However, since the initial training management. session was relatively short, teachers will have continual op- portunities to learn the new technology through additional With the graduates’ laser scanning expertise, a long-standing training sessions and on their own time as the equipment desire to survey, inventory and map all of Uzbekistan’s many will be housed in the GIS labs. historical monuments may also become a reality.

“The teachers were amazed by the 3D scanner and its abil- Although it will be a few years before the partner universities ity to produce such powerful results so quickly,” says Odil can gauge the success of the masters degree, being able to Akbarov, director of the Land Tenure Development Center witness the first-ever group of geoinformatics graduate stu- at TIIM. “They could immediately see how the scanner tech- dents take their seats in September was its own triumph. nology and GNSS will benefit many infrastructure issues the country is facing.”

Real-world Opportunities Indeed, the geoinformatics masters program was specifically designed to match some of the core land, water, infrastruc- ture and environment issues in Uzbekistan with a workforce who can help resolve these challenges.

For example, as a developing country Uzbekistan faces signif- icant pressure from urban sprawl as its population continues to grow. Although efforts have been made to computerize land registration, the lack of skilled professionals in digital mapping and GIS has required this process to be done As part of their training, the educators created a point cloud of the TIIM manually. MSc graduates can fill this gap and help bring cafeteria building. automation to land management.

-13- Technology&more Day in the Life technology&more technology&more

technology&more

Maximum Flexibility A solo surveyor in South Africa keeps a major project on track.

new bridges, ramps and structures, and the contractor provides hen the call came from a former employer, Stephan its own survey teams. Van der Merwe’s job is to check their work van der Merwe immediately knew that he was on positions and elevations for new structures as well as verify not looking at a simple project. The South African W earthworks quantities. He provides his results and reports to National Roads Agency (SANRAL) was working to redevelop MHP. The day-to-day work on the project provides challenges the intersection of two major highways northeast of Durban. in logistics, surveying and human interaction. Known as the Mt. Edgecombe interchange, it was a complex job that would challenge van der Merwe’s abilities as a survey- The logistics can be daunting. Construction documents require or, consultant and innovator. He was up to the challenge. that the new interchange, which joins South Africa’s N2 national freeway with the four-lane M41 highway, be constructed while Van der Merwe completed his studies to become a professional keeping all traffic lanes open. For safety reasons, workers are land surveyor in 2002, graduating with a four-year degree from not allowed to walk across the highways. Simply moving from the University of Natal, Durban. He then joined MHP Geomatics one part of the project to another (the two highways divide the in Durban, where he worked under the supervision of a pro- site into quadrants) requires advance planning. “It’s very tricky fessional land surveyor. “At MHP, I completed the training and to get in and around sites when you need to set up on control experience required to write the exam and become registered points or measure for resections,” van der Merwe said. “You can’t as a professional land surveyor,” he said. “Over four years, it just quickly cross the road.” He described one situation that provided me with good experience in all the different aspects requires him to drive 10 km (6 mi) to move between two points of land surveying.” His experience broadened when he spent that are 30 m (100 ft) apart but in different quadrants. Part of an additional four years working with a geomatics supplier his daily routine involves finding ways to manage his control covering the southeastern part of the country. The work pro- and setups to reduce the need to travel while still meeting the vided the opportunity to gain a deep understanding of several demands for prompt checking of the contractor’s surveying Trimble technologies, which he would soon put to good use. and construction work. The next step was to begin his own practice. “I’d been itching to To handle the surveying tasks, van der Merwe uses a Trimble put the technologies to use for myself,” van der Merwe said. He S8 total station and Trimble R4 GNSS rover with a TSC3 con- developed a business model based around technologies that troller running Trimble Access software. He doesn’t need a enable him to handle all aspects of a project. It’s proven to be base station, because all his work takes place in areas covered a streamlined and effective approach that gets him involved in by South Africa’s TrigNet real-time network. As a solo surveyor, different projects quickly. “My clients like the fact that they deal van der Merwe makes heavy use of his total station’s robotic with one person,” he said. “They know that their project is in safe capabilities. He said that his most important piece of hardware hands because every phase is handled by the same individual.” is his MultiTrack prism, which makes sure that the S8 only locks onto his prisms. “On a site with multiple survey crews, it’s been On the Mt. Edgecombe project, van der Merwe works as a sub- a great help,” he said. contractor to MHP, which serves as the surveying consultant for SANRAL. SANRAL hired a construction contractor to build the

Technology&more -14- Van der Merwe said that working alongside the contractor’s As the project proceeds, van der Merwe is looking forward surveyors is a valuable experience. “On projects similar to this to a new challenge. The interchange includes a new bridge it’s not unusual to encounter some disagreements between that will be the longest incrementally launched bridge in the consultant surveyors like me and the contractor’s survey- South Africa. The horizontal bridge structure is constructed in ors,” van der Merwe said. “My strategy is to stick to the data and segments on site and pushed (or launched) over the road to let everything else fall in line with that. It’s worked out very well its piers. The shape is complex—the bridge follows horizontal in that regard. For example, they appreciate me checking their and vertical curves and has a superelevation to provide for the work on major structures, because it provides an additional designed traffic speed. During a segment push, van der Merwe check that a bridge won’t be built askew. So from that point of and the contractor surveyor will be set up on independent view it works well. When it comes to earthwork quantity there benchmarks. They will make sure that the bridge is following have been a few frustrating moments, but we work through the correct trajectory and monitor the piers to watch for any any differences. There’s a good energy happening.” unexpected deflection. The bridge’s complex geometry makes computations tricky—van der Merwe expects that he will On the jobsite, no two days are the same for van der Merwe. come up with new methods for monitoring the trajectory of He may have a general idea of what he’ll be doing at the start the segments. of the day, but flexibility is key. Tasks like pre-pour checking of concrete formwork are often scheduled in advance. But a lot Van der Merwe credits his success to his flexibility. “I think it’s a of smaller things have less notice. “In many aspects I feel like a mindset to do things differently,” he said. “You’ve got to have an firefighter who’s on standby; when the phone rings you’ve got innovative way of thinking. Fortunately for me, the technology to be in your gear and ready to go,” he said. is there to help satisfy my mindset that there’s always a better way to do something.”

-15- Technology&more technology&more technology&more Capturing Amache’s technology&more Life Story

Amache’s last standing structure is surrounded by flags marking locations of artifacts.

very other summer since 2008, Bonnie Clark has brought Japanese descent had passed through the camp. students and volunteers to the Amache Japanese EAmerican WWII internment camp in southeastern Today, barbed wire still rings the central camp area, along with Colorado to hold history in their hands. most building foundations, and remnant landscaping created by Amache internees, including living trees they planted. As Although four field seasons have yielded thousands of rem- one of the most well-preserved relocation camps in the U.S., nants of the internees confined experience, the teams’ ability Amache offers untold treasures to archaeologists and histori- to spatially connect their findings has garnered the most sig- ans. Clark’s crew strives to identify and protect as many as they nificant fruit: the ability to write the collective life story of the can, and to share their research findings through interpretive former camp. displays for the many visitors drawn to this National Historic Landmark. “Every field study brings us new insight into how the internees adapted under duress,” says Clark, associate professor at the To achieve that goal, as well as to provide hands-on teaching University of Denver’s (DU) department of anthropology. moments to students, Clark launched a four-week, intensive, “However, all of the objects we have discovered would lack any archaeological field school in 2008. Since then, 39 undergraduate context without the ability to accurately map their as-found and graduate students and 25 volunteers—many of whom location with GPS technology. The ability to map allows us to are former internees—have contributed to the digging and see activity in space. For example, finding four marbles within a surveying at Amache. mess hall garden tells us that this was a play area for kids. Those connections are key to accurately documenting the internees’ According to Clark, the intense timeline coupled with 29 city experience at Amache.” blocks to survey, graduate student-led teams and tempera- tures that regularly rise above 100° F (38° C), has made Trimble Teachable Moments GPS technology a critical element for their success. Opened in late August 1942, Amache was located 1 mile (1.6 km) outside the small town of Granada, about four Locating and Mapping Life hours south of Denver. One of 10 such internment camps, The 2014 field season brought a mixed crew of 17 to Amache Amache’s 1-mile-square (2.6 km2) core contained 29 barracks to predominantly focus on 3 unexplored barracks blocks. blocks, each of which contained 12 barracks, a recreational hall, a mess hall and a combined bath house and latrine. At Clark used existing control points to establish control with its peak, Amache housed just over 7,300 detainees; by the the GeoXH™ 6000 handheld, and to confirm the validity of time it closed in October 1945, more than 10,000 people of the GPS data, she tested the accuracy of the data at a range

Technology&more -16- of observation times. At 90 seconds, the accuracy over a stationary point was 10 cm (0.3 ft)—sufficient for their research and, most im- portantly, their time crunch.

By 6:30 each morning teams were in the field. Walking at 2-m (6-ft) intervals, they meticulously searched the ground for artifacts such as shoe heels, porcelain pieces, shards of glass, or remnants of toys, as well as features of interest such as sidewalks, activity areas or landscaping. When they found an object, they marked it with a pin flag—it was not atypical to have 200 flags clustered in one block. Once the block was flagged out, the crew then returned to collect data on each item. At Students comb the fields in search of artifacts. each flag, one person analyzed the item, while another photographed and logged it, and the third recorded its exact coordinates with the GPS handheld.

Each afternoon the graduate student supervisors performed quality control on the GPS data and uploaded it to a colleague off-site who used Trimble GPS Pathfinder® Office software to further perform quality control and post process the information. He exported the data into GIS software to create user-friendly maps, enabling them to visualize their findings and plan more field work.

By the end of the field season, Clark and her teams had surveyed 3 blocks, bringing the total explored blocks to 21. They identified, documented and mapped about 500 artifacts and 50 features with the Trimble GPS devices. A usu, used to pound mochi, a sweet sticky rice traditionally prepared Singular Stories, One Collective Experience for the New Year. With each new find, they dug a little deeper into the 7,000 personal stories scattered across the wind-swept terrain.

Stories such as those undoubtedly left in what remains of a sumo ring, found in a noticeably flat area within an otherwise rolling topography. Referencing that against oral history and photographs, Zachary Starke, whose thesis research focuses on traditions practiced in camp, was certain they had found the ring.

There is the back-story to a handful of small childrens’ toys, including a handmade, miniature glass pitcher lying in the thick sand next to a Christian church—glass work they had not seen before—leading them to believe it was a make-shift play area similar to a sand box.

A significant surprise of the season was the remains of what Clark’s crew believes was a laundry line, a rarity in the camp. Positioned Bonnie Clark uses the Trimble handheld while student Coby Main digs. behind one of the barracks were lumber, wire and buttons. Further convincing evidence was the oral history from a gentleman whose mother had asked him to collect lumber for a line from a nearby construction area. The laundry line remains were found behind the barracks in which he lived.

Clark will have to wait until the next field school to uncover more of the Amache story. Until then, she will continue to connect the spatial dots of life left at and under her feet to weave together a dignified example of the human spirit at a decidedly undignified time in American history. See feature article in The American Surveyor, Sept. 2014: www.amerisurv.com Excavated remains of a Japanese bath called a “furo.”

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technology&more New Deliverables in Transportation Information Mobile systems combine images with LiDAR and positioning data.

eospatial information has long played a key role in trans- portation. Historically, mapping and surveying applications Gfor design and construction of transportation infrastructure have expanded to include the use of spatial data in corridor planning and optimization as well as construction inspection and quality control.

Today, transportation operators can make even wider use of geospatial information. Spatial data is combined with information about fixed and mobile assets and shared via in-house and Cloud- based applications. Decisions and activities on maintenance, repair and lifecycle management can be made using accurate, up-to-date Georeferenced images are essential for transportation planning and information. And a new set of deliverables—asset performance— construction. can provide the basis for improving an organization’s financial and operational health.

Many of the traditional functions of geospatial information have experienced radical changes. For example, aerial photography has been extended to include airborne digital mapping systems that can combine digital photographs with LiDAR. Tools such as Trimble eCognition® object-based image analysis software automates the work of identifying and extracting objects and features in an image or point cloud.

With airborne data in hand, planners can assess potential routes for new transportation corridors. It’s a complex process that blends topography and environmental concerns with socioeconomic aspects including land ownership, historic preservation and urban constraints. Alignment planning solutions such as Trimble Quantm® software enable planners to analyze and balance tech- nical and social issues as well as control costs for construction, Imaging adds new capabilities to construction measurements. operation and maintenance.

As transportation infrastructure moves into construction phases, geospatial technologies take a more familiar role and 2D and 3D grade-control systems provide important productivity gains. GNSS and total stations produce precise data for positioning, qual- ity control and reporting. In addition to heavy civil construction, geospatial technologies have moved into building construction. Design-build systems utilize building information management (BIM) and modern construction techniques for stations, mainte- nance facilities and support buildings. Solutions such as Tekla® and Trimble Vico speed planning and construction by providing Images and advanced software can cut costs and increase safety for constructability analysis and estimation in a virtual construction bridge inspection.

Technology&more -18- Rapid, precise measurement cuts cost and downtime in track maintenance. In-vehicle displays deliver status and work orders to mobile workers. environment and robotic total stations help ensure accurate organizations are blending geospatial information into their layout and installation. operations management and enterprise resource planning. For example, fleet operators use routing and scheduling systems to Once the buildings and infrastructure are in place, transporta- improve asset utilization, reduce fuel consumption and control tion agencies turn to maintenance and operations. In working overall transportation costs. In addition to route optimization, with assets that have service lifetimes measured in decades, the fleet management solutions can track operator performance lifecycle activities use geospatial technologies to help maximize and manage information ranging from scheduled maintenance performance and control costs. Faced with long lifecycles, aging to the emergence of mechanical problems. infrastructure and limited funding, transportation agencies must make complex decisions on repair, upgrades or replace- New Deliverables for Transportation ment of their facilities and assets. By using an array of geospatial When discussing geospatial technology as a measurement tool, information, planners can set priorities for repair, remodeling most people think of it as measuring positions and dimensions and replacement. in two or three dimensions. But geospatial systems support oth- er tangible types of measurement. By combining positions with For example, bridge inspectors must follow established proto- data such as time, driver logs, inventories, vehicle information cols to collect information that provides a consistent picture and customer feedback, an organization can develop a detailed of a structure over time. Digital forms running on rugged field picture on the activities and productivity of its assets and human computers help gather accurate information, which can be resources. This ability to measure performance is one of the quickly checked and recorded into maintenance and planning most important new deliverables of geospatial technologies. databases. Visual information is important for inspections as well. Imaging systems such as the Trimble V10 Imaging Rover For example, many organizations may not understand the myr- enable engineers to capture large volumes of information on a iad of sources that contribute to operating costs. With detailed structure. The rover captures high-resolution panoramic images data in hand, an organization can gain a deeper understanding that can be georeferenced using GNSS or optical methods. In of its cost structure. By analyzing and modeling the information, the office, Trimble Business Center software uses the images it’s possible to identify opportunities to reduce cost or intro- and photogrammetric processes to produce the individual duce more efficient work processes. Then, as new processes are points, objects and dimensions needed for detailed analyses. implemented, the results can be quickly measured to gauge For inspection or cataloging of larger areas, geospatial pro- the accuracy of the model and effectiveness of the change. fessionals can use aerial and land-based mapping systems to In an era of rising cost and constrained revenues, even small gather images and LiDAR data to produce 3D information along improvements in performance can affect the bottom line. This transportation corridors. ability to quantify details of business operations illustrates a unique capability of geospatial technology—it can measure the To this point, we’ve looked at how geospatial systems support impact it has on an operation. the work of the people who create and maintain transportation infrastructure. But there is another, much larger group of people Geospatial information can be used to improve efficiency in who also benefit from geospatial systems in transportation. the development, operation and use of transportation infra- structure. Data from the same systems that helped facilitate Geospatial Information and the Transportation Enterprise the improvements can be used to determine how well they While the creation and lifecycle management of transportation are working. By serving as the hub for this cycle of measure-im- infrastructure is essential, we must remember that transporta- prove-remeasure, geospatial technologies become the driver tion infrastructure exists to enable the movement of people for continuous improvement in the transportation sector. and goods. In addition to the general public, this “user segment” includes public and private organizations such as bus lines, See the original article in Geospatial World, May 2014: trucking and freight companies, and railway operators. Many www.geospatialworld.net

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technology&more

Automatic by Nature eCognition Automates Vegetation Mapping

very day, when Europe’s roughly 12 million farmers step all vegetative features on each parcel by type and height. onto their fields, they face a challenging duality: produce Without an LPIS, states cannot apply for CAP aid payments; Eenough crops to feed some 500 million people and equally and without a way to effectively archive and update the infor- protect the environment. mation to ensure claims can be validated, farmers and states risk financial penalties. To aid European farmers in this challenge, the European Union (EU) established the Common Agriculture Policy (CAP), which With deadlines looming, and significant subsidies on offer, provides agricultural subsidies and other financial programs to Germany’s RLP AgroScience saw the opportunity to use support both farmers and the landscapes on which they work. advanced spatial technology to automate this monumental As the farming and consumer populations have grown, so too task in order to help its local authorities meet the EU’s require- have the CAP’s financial obligations—payments to farmers are ments. Using available aerial imagery, digital surface models estimated to reach more than € 277 billion (US$ 372 billion) in and image analysis software, RLP AgroScience created an 2014—and its need to sufficiently manage the program. operational system that completely automates the process of mapping and classifying vegetation. Developed in conjunc- To help it meet its daunting mandates, the EU adopted an Inte- tion with local authorities, the automated system allows for grated Administration and Control System (IACS) to improve the the quick production of precise, standardized classification efficiency and accuracy of aid applications for direct CAP pay- datasets—the root layer of the vegetative features in the LPIS. ments to farmers. These direct payments are targeted rewards for both crop production and meeting “cross-compliance” rules, The first of its kind in Germany, RLP AgroScience’s system has which stipulate efficient agricultural practices aimed at pre-serving not only proven that large-scale, automated and repeatable biodiversity, soil quality and the environment in general. landscape-feature classification is possible, it has the operational seeds to possibly grow this system beyond its regional borders. To comply with IACS, member states need to create geoda- tabases that uniquely identify each farmer, their individual Perfect Timing parcels of agricultural holdings and aid applications specific to A non-profit institute owned by the Federal State of Rhineland- each parcel. A critical element of IACS is that states develop a Palatinate, RLP Agro-Science, based in Neustadt an der Weinstrasse, Land Parcel Information System (LPIS) to accurately map their has been undertaking applied research in the areas of agriculture agricultural land at a very high resolution, as well as classify and the environment for more than 20 years.

Technology&more -20- One of its particular focuses has been on developing a meth- odology to automatically map and classify vegetation using geospatial imagery and Trimble’s eCognition software—a solution that was timed perfectly to help the Rhineland-Palat- inate Ministry of Agriculture prepare for the demands of IACS.

Under IACS, state authorities need to map their landscapes well enough that they can prove—from their computer screen— that any farmer’s aid claim is accurate. This requires that every bush and tree on the ground has its geospatial counterpart in the LPIS.

For the Rhineland-Palatinate Ministry of Agriculture, that meant inventorying and classifying individual vegetative features across 19,000 sq. km (7,336 sq. mi)—a volume of vegetation that wouldn’t be feasible to classify with manual digitization meth- ods, jeopardizing their ability to meet application deadlines. The map indicates the Rhineland Palatinate region mapped using ALEK. applications for CAP aid on time. And with ALEK’s repeatable “Manual digitization is not only incredibly tedious, it’s subjec- platform, RLP AgroScience has the ability to quickly integrate tive—15 people can interpret the same object 15 different new data, run new classifications and allow for any unexpected ways—and is prone to error,” said Dr. Matthias Trapp, RLP CAP-compliance rules issued by the EU. Agro-Science’s head of environmental systems. “With eCog- nition’s objective image analysis, we can create standardized, Although a number of elements were key to creating its reproducible results in a fraction of the time. Its speed, accuracy successful solution, it is perhaps the reliability of a consistent and data flexibility allowed our small team of image analysts to vegetation-mapping system within the highly variable nature develop a fully automated, and repeatable large-scale vegeta- of agriculture that has enabled the operational ALEK solution to tion mapping system at no additional data cost to the ministry.” take root in Rhineland-Palatinate. And as it grows, it may begin to deliver crops of classifications to other EU regions as well. An Exercise in Keystrokes Aptly titled “ALEK,” (Automatic Landscape Feature Classification), See the original article in POB, Sept. 2014: www.pobonline.com RLP AgroScience’s automated classification system combines customized eCognition and ESRI workflows to classify and map the entire region. Using existing 20-cm-resolution, ortho- rectified aerial images and digital surface models, eCognition methodically and automatically analyzes the imagery to identify and separate vegetation from non-vegetation. Based on physical properties and pre-defined, region-specific rules, it then determines each vegetation type such as trees or hedgerows. And finally, it delineates each vegetative object and produces georeferenced vector datasets of all classified vegetation. Those vector classifications are then ingested into ESRI ArcGIS to create EU-compliant data for the local ministry of agriculture’s LPIS.

With the ALEK system, RLP AgroScience was able to pre- cisely classify and map the entire 19,000-square-kilometer Rhineland-Palatinate region in 3 months. The system signifi- cantly reduced the time, resources and costs that would have A true-color image from eCognition distinguishes different types of vegetation. been needed to manually produce the required datasets. (RLP AgroScience estimated it would have needed 15 full-time Hedge Vegetation < 50 m2 technicians and a full year to manually digitize that volume of vegetation). Tree Row Orchard / Fruit Tree

By transforming months of manual classification work into an Grove / Coppice Overhanging Vegetation automated exercise in keystrokes, RLP AgroScience is enabling the local authorities to build their landscape feature layers of Individual Tree Forest the EU-required LPIS, verify farmers’ claims and submit accurate

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technology&more

Rapid Return

A project in England sets a new standard in railway renewal.

he highly traveled section between Warrington GNSS base station, which kept costs down. “The quality of and Preston of the UK’s West Coast Mainline rail the GNSS positioning meant that we could position the Tcorridor required the renewal of three miles (five rail panels within 15 millimeters of final position and, in km) of track among four major junctions. In an intensive, fact, only needed to tamp once, saving us much-needed nine-day continuous spell, the Innovation Team at Net- time,” McAteer stated. work Rail completed the work almost 16 months earlier than proposed—and avoided disrupting rail travel. More Trimble’s GEDO Vorsys pre-measurement system also importantly, Network Rail, the organization that runs, reduced tamping runs. The solution utilizes two track- maintains and develops Britain’s rail systems, achieved this mounted trolleys working together, one with a Trimble considerable feat by grading the sites with machine con- S-Series total station and the other with the prism and trol; reduced tamping runs using real-time data; shared all control unit. The trolley sensors measure the gauge data across work processes; and monitored and recorded (distance between the running edge of the rails) and the track movement data via video. What’s more, the work set cant (superelevation of the track), and continually transfer a new standard in the UK for switch and crossing renewal: the data wirelessly to a Trimble TSC3 Controller. GEDO at the time of handback, or return to service, trains could Vorsys field software running on the TSC3 combines the operate at 130 km/h (80 mph), a 60-percent increase over data from the sensors with 3D positions from the total the normal 80 km/h (50 mph) handback speed. station to enable real-time data to be displayed live in the field. This solution provides the high level of accuracy As a long-term user of machine control for rail work, Track required by the railway industry with operational speed Engineer Colin McAteer applied a single-mast 3D Trimble and flexibility. GCS900 3D Grade Control System on site dozers—a relatively new way to work in switch and crossing and Measurements are made using georeferenced control line renewal. McAteer and his team were confident points positioned along the track. Since the full track that the single-mast system would be sufficient for the design geometry is stored in the TSC3, GEDO Vorsys dozer operators to dig the formation and place ballast at field software can calculate and display the lift and slew +/-15mm (0.6 in) precision using GNSS or at +/- 5mm (0.2 in) values to final design, the cant and gauge information, with a Trimble Universal Total Station (UTS). The switch and all the significant points where the track geometry from antenna to prism could be made in just 10 minutes. changes—a substantial time and accuracy advantage The single-mast systems were run off a single Trimble over manual recording.

Technology&more -22- “Trimble Vorsys doubled our sampling rate and halved our survey time,” McAteer explained. “We could sample every 5 meters (16 ft) compared to every 10 meters (33 ft) with pegs. We were therefore easily surveying 500- to 600-meter (1600- to 1900-ft) stretches in just 40 minutes rather than the half-day-plus it would have taken with traditional methods.”

Additionally, the speed raiser report, which included horizontal and vertical tolerances along with twist and gauge parameters, provided an extra level of confidence that allowed the handback engineer to open the track at 130 km/h (80 mph).

“The ballast and formation data is prepared in Trimble Business Center software as is the root data that goes into Vorsys,” McAteer explained. “TBC also allowed us to visualize the design beforehand with the drive-through function, which enabled us to spot issues on the DTM.”

This combination of interchangeable technologies proved to be ideal on Network Rail’s corridor job. “Our engineers are all working from the same design data and using the same software interface whether they are carrying out a grade check or an as-built survey,” McAteer said. “This brings familiarity, which means the team can skip between tasks seamlessly. There is no additional training required and that cuts site downtime and improves the quality of work.

The precise efforts and rail work process advancements allowed construction to wrap up quickly. After the track reopened, independent monitoring provided a clear indication that the track was behaving normally under load—a prime consideration in the decision to go with an 80-mph opening. The track achieved full operating speeds of 110 mph (180 kph) in just 7 days. “We pushed the barriers,” McAteer said, “and thanks to a combination of great systems, great people and great teamwork, we delivered the UK’s first-ever 80-mph handback.”

See the article in xyHt, October 2014. www.xyht.com

-23- Technology&more technology&more technology&more A Fast technology&more Flow of Data

f you need some information about the water and sewer To provide precise navigation for its field technicians, South- system in Southaven, Mississippi, ask Ray Humphrey. He’s aven uses a Trimble GeoExplorer® 6000 series GNSS handheld Ithe one person who knows everything about Southaven’s and Trimble TerraSync™ software. The real-time precision of the pipes, pumps, manholes, meters and valves. Trimble handheld aids crews in locating crucial valves buried by landscaping or in flooded intersections. The City of Southaven lies just across the border from Memphis, Tennessee. From 2000 to 2010, suburban expansion and the strong Southaven’s Utilities Division is planning to share the benefits Memphis economy helped Southaven to grow from 29,000 of its new solution. The city’s fire department can utilize infor- to 49,000 residents. Along with the growth came new and mation on fire hydrants, valves and flow rates. Engineers can expanded infrastructure including roads, utilities, and recre- use the data to identify areas of inflow and infiltration into the ational amenities. sewers. And the accurate position information is invaluable for the utility technicians who respond to 10 to 15 requests for As director of the Southaven Utilities Division, Humphrey utility field locations each day. oversees the operation and maintenance of the water and sewer system that serves roughly 45,000 people in the city’s Humphrey expects rapid payback and long-term benefits from 88 sq. km (34 sq. mi). With his deep knowledge of the Division’s the GIS and Trimble GeoXH 6000 handheld. “Knowing what facilities and operations, Humphrey recognized that the city you have and where it is in real time is invaluable,” he said. “We and its residents would benefit from a GIS-based approach to can easily share accurate information across departments and help locate and manage the utility system assets. throughout the city.”

Humphrey knew that GIS could assist the city in two ways. See the original article in POB, Aug. 2014: www.pobonline.com First, Southaven would maintain accurate, up-to-date data on its water and sewer facilities. Second, the information would be immediately available to people who need it, within and outside of the Utilities Division. The city teamed with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) in a joint effort to produce a comprehensive study of the city’s water and sewer systems.

Southaven contracted local consulting firm Civil-Link to gather data and implement a GIS on nearly 25,000 valves, meters and manholes. Civil-Link used data collected with Trimble R10 and R6 GNSS systems to develop a GIS. Using feature libraries on their Trimble TSC3 controllers, the teams captured data on valves, meters, hydrants, manholes and pump stations.

Civil-Link crews send field data directly to the office for pro- cessing, quality control and transfer into Esri ArcMap software. Civil-Link then developed a custom website for Southaven. Using smartphones or tablets, Southaven Utilities Division staff can log into the website to view maps and access information in the field at any time.

Technology&more -24- technology&more technology&more PHOTO CONTEST technology&more

ur Facebook fans have spoken once again: after our editors chose the top three photos and posted them on Facebook (www.facebook.com/TrimbleSurvey), our fans chose the top two winners. First place—and a Trimble O jacket—goes to “RTK on the Glafkos River,” Second place—and an iPod Shuffle—goes to “Trimble Sunrise.” See the other prize-winning options, and be part of the action: check out Trimble Survey Division on Facebook for the next issue’s photo contest winners, and vote for your choice.

“RTK on the Glafkos River” Submitted by Andrew Mintzas, Civil Engineer. “I was helping a friend, George Pachis, with a surveying project to define the Glafkos River, which is the largest river in the area near the city of Patras, Greece. The two of us did the entire job in RTK mode. We used two Trimble R10 GNSS receivers, one as a base station and one as a rover, plus a TSC3 controller, for three days, two Trimble total stations for two days, and took about one more week to finish and process the project. We always had 15 to 20 satellites (GPS and GLONASS) in view. The photo is of one of the many small steps over which the river flows on its way from Mount Panachaikon to the Gulf of Patras and the Ionian Sea.

”Trimble Sunrise” Lewis Taylor captured this image on Memorial Day 2014 on Folly Beach, South Carolina. “I am a professional civil engineer with 16 years experience and started a side photography business in 2013. A former co-worker and friend, Justin Brown, was starting his own survey company, Anchored Surveying. Justin uses Trimble equipment for design surveys, ALTAs, flood certificates, and layout/staking for contractors. He asked me to help him to get professional-quality marketing photos for his new website. I chose several locations around the Charleston, SC area that we visited to set up his equipment for photo shoots. The first stop was on Folly Beach at around 5 a.m. to catch the best light at sunrise for several photos. This photo was set up to have Justin stand behind and look through the instrument. Before I had Justin step into the frame, I snapped this photograph as a test shot and it turned out to be a great picture.”

Enter the Photo Contest for the next issue of T&m. Send your photo at 300-dpi resolution (10 x 15 cm or 4 x 6 in) to [email protected]. Be sure to include your name, title and contact information.

-25- Technology&more technology&more

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technology&more SHARE YOUR STORY IN TECHNOLOGY&MORE Each issue of Technology&more includes stories about If you’d like to be profiled in Technology&more, please people who use unique and innovative approaches to send us a brief paragraph highlighting your story. Include solve challenging problems. Whether you work in the your name, contact info and a photo or two. Send your big city or back country; on large or small projects; at information to [email protected]. We look a factory, farm or construction site, tell us about your forward to hearing from you and potentially spotlighting work—and we may share it with others. your story in Technology&more.

Third place photo contest winner “Canyon Vision” taken in Mohave County, Arizona, US by Clifton Clark.

To subscribe to Technology&more (it’s free!), go to: www.trimble.com/tmmag. Contact us via email at: [email protected]. View Technology&more online at www.trimble.com/tmmag.

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