Surveyors can waste a lot of time and money trying to solve computer problems. In this Surveyor 2 Surveyor support group, let's help each other find solutions to Computer Problems.
I am looking for a feature list that surveyors would like to have in the their data collectors and survey computers in the field. I am building a application that will be very inexpensive and wont need 2K computers. It will run on your android cell phone or android tablet. So you can have a data collector for a couple hundred dollars (your cell phone is just doing duty) or with a $150 Android Tablet with a 5 inch screen to a as much as you want for a state of the art tablet. But the key to this is I want to make a great application with unique and outstanding features for a price that is in the 200 to 300 dollar mark. Some of the features I am looking at is Instant data share (Even file for a copy protection on this) Where all people on a crew can sync there data with each other in the field and with the home office in real time. (As the point is saved it will be uploaded by means of Internet connection IE wifi or cellular. This is a two way sync pulling the data back from any other device and the home office. The application will also do least squared in the field. By request of my uncle a PLS here in Michigan who requested this software and is my Guinea Pig for the software. When he was looking for new software and the software was $2K+ I think that is insane. Now this is not my Day job this is my free time project. But if I can make a living doing it I would do it for a living and help every one here I would. So start giving me feature request. Argue the features pros and cons. I am trying to build a great application for all of you. I have 2000 Surveyors here to let me know what you want and need. So help me give it to you.
Dan
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The ability to enter, store, then stakeout horizontal and vertical alignments for pipes, roads, etc.
Eventually with the ability to setup templates and roads (corridors) then stake the same by pcode.
Good luck on your project!
It would be great to see a data collecting software for android, soon there will be available the Panasonic Toughpad a rugged tablet in 7 and 10 inch size.
I think that any new field sofware needs to have good graphics, to use maps on the field, to use .dxf input or attached .dxf files for staking out. Different types of stake out methods, different choices to draw the map already on the field. Sure these are only few features, and I was not thinking too much, but I will try to collect my ideas and share it with you.
Hello everyone Sorry I have been away for about half a week. I have been building the future of survey software.. OK I know I am full of poo. But how about a good inexpensive program. I am building that.
Sounds good Nick (If its OK if I call you that?). I own a computer company and Panasonic is actually late to the game for a rugged android. But they will probably do a great job. They make some tough stuff.
Just so everyone has a weekly update on my software. It is crashing on a regular basis.. Thank you thank you the applause is wonderful.. BUT... It is doing some great stuff already. I am getting data from total stations by Bluetooth and can take a point and calculate a new point and set a third point from it with the same accuracy as a TDS recon but I calculate it faster and that is on my Android phone. I can set multiple points and inverse and turn and shoot sideshot and a few other functions.
It is bastard ugly right now. There is no polish on it. It 's crash issues are with import and export of Data like COOR rinex data for GPS, DXF, It does do CSV, Text and Excel with no issues. I am trying to learn the Rinex data format and seeing as I have never worked with it before I think I am dumping data into the wrong fields for calculations. But this is a work in progress. if anyone is artistic I am looking for Icons (what the little pictures of things should be) as well as the software Icon.
FYI if you ever want to use this software you have to have a Device with a 3.7" Screen or larger (I just can not fit the data on a small screen. I tried with an LG Vortex and I have big fingers I just could not work the screen well. It is doable but not recommended. You will need Android OS 2.2 or 4.X I am not supporting Android Prior to 2.2, 80% of devices are 2.2 and above. So that should cover most and the rest I hate to say will need to upgrade. I just can not support everything to everyone. I will support 2.2 for at least the first couple versions 1.x 2.x that will cover this year 2012 and 2013. then we shall re evaluate the 2.2 family. Tablets run 3.x and 4.X they can run 2.X software but I can not evaluate what 3.x will do as far as looks for the 2.2 version of the software. I dont currently have a tablet that has 3.x to test on. But when I get 1.x beta rolling I will probably buy one for testing. But I am not spending the money on toys when my time and money can be better spent on getting a working copy out the door and the better half happy. SHE WOULD KILL ME IF I BUY ONE IF I AM NOT MAKING MONEY OFF THIS YET. Shes feisty.. I get "dagger eyes" when is start programming at midnight because I get a moment of clarity or idea for making the software work better.
I have have just over 200 hours into this software but I have learned allot (Writing applications for Android, Syncing data over unstable connections (ie Cell), and Bluetooth communications for applications) and I hope that it will benefit us all because I have not tried allot of these techniques and even other programmers I have talked to have not tried to learn all three at the same time in one application.
Dan
Greetings,
Dan, It would be really great if you would be able to put out a beta of this as you progress. I think that you would be able to get a lot more feedback--just a thought! I'm a hands on person and having something to look at would be helpful, and give more ideas as to what would be good to have.
Some things that I would like to see would be:
Inverse functions--Point to Point, Point to Line
COGO functions--Bearing Bearing intersect, point in direction, intersection, offset
Repetition shots--multiple shot capability with the option to ignore elevations
Along with your Shoot, Turn & Store, would be distance offset (ie shoot the prism and have the ability to put in a distance offset left or right to a feature--say a fence line)
Thank you for your posting this, and working on this project!
Dave
I will post create something in the near future prob mid to late feb. it is in Alpha (Pre Beta) right now. Click a function and it may not be there and crash the software state. but it is coming along. I do have a LONG ways to go to create a survey pro or microsurvey application. But it will come along.
PS what android device do you have? so I can make sure to line you up as a tester. I will be keeping it very small the first few times but you are my first guinea pig outside of my uncle to volunteer.
Dan
Hi Dan,
I've got a Motorola DroidX, and hopefully soon a Droid Razr.
Dave
I am not getting a lot of help here this is disappointing. Well I hope more people can start tossing stuff at the wall so it sticks. Here is what I have going so far.
Feature set
Multi-Language
SQLite Database
Touch to continue survey line (One this is as best I can describe it (Remember I am not a surveyor) is when you are doing lines such as EM or CL you can touch the drawing on your screen (You get a real time drawing in 3D as you shoot points) and when you shoot your next point it will continue that line to that next point.) I remember when I was a rodman in College I would do Top of Bank Bottom of Ditch Top of Bank Ect... Well we would walk a straight line across the road. This would also build the line down the road and color code all the CL Edge of Metal ect together.
OpenGL 3D Mesh of your survey/drawings (Open GL is what modern video games use. Think PlayStation or Xbox) in the field before you leave the field they are rendered shot by shot in real time. No waiting to see what you have when you get back to the office. You will be able to zoom in/out and rotate the graphics in any direction.
FieldSYNC - I am calling this the sharing of data in near real time (WIFI and or Cellular connection required) with the home office and other survey teams in the field. All data has AES encryption on it and can be viewed as soon as it is saved across the network by any other user on the project (not all users of the software. just those in your company/team that you want to access the data) if a connection is not available the data is cached local until a connection is available (All data is stored local on the SD "Secure Data" Card for the entire survey regardless of connection availability). When the data is sent up to the remote server at the home office all changes are downloaded back to the remote user and the drawings are updated in real time. This changed data is merged and stored in the local database on the SD card with all other data until deleted by the survey team at a time of their choosing. The limit of the database is only limited by the size of the SD card currently that's 16 GB on some or 32 GB on most android devices or about 100 Billion Data points in my database for a 16GB. Basically you can have every survey point and GPS point you have ever had and never have to purge or delete your data.
Least Squared - Well this was requested by my uncle for which this whole project started. I have not even started this feature but it WILL be in version 1.0 at some level.
Shoot turn and store (Building corner, Telco Pole, ect)
P-Codes
COGO
Triangle Solution
Resection
GPS Localization - Tentative
Import/Expot from Database on the SD card would be CSV, Text, ASCII, EXCEL, other formats to follow as I learn how to import and export them. :) IE Rinex, COORS, DXF and others.
Import and Export can also be done on the FieldSYNC computer in the office and all data is sent to the field unit by wifi or cellular to the unit.
All great ideas! I'm glad to see this post. It is nice to know that field data can be collected and shared almost instantly with the office and visa versa. My main concern at this point is that in areas with spotty cell phone coverage, there may be an interval of time between data gathered and data shared. If a surveyor has to wait to get to the top of the hill to share the data, and the phone gets dropped in some water that fries the phone, is there some sort of backup?
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