The increasing number of Global Navigation Satellite Systems means more choices — and more confusion — for the user. Knowing the capabilities and schedules
of each can help you make more informed purchasing decisions, including when (and when not) to upgrade existing equipment.
The Institute of Navigation’s Global Navigation Satellite Systems (ION GNSS) conference is one of my two favorite industry events of the year; the other being the ESRI conference. At ESRI, I mix it up with GPS technology users, listen to what they are doing and what they want to do with the technology. At ION, I listen to GNSS designers and researchers.
I had a great visit at the ESRI User Conference earlier this month. If you recall last year, I wrote:
“As much as surveyors, engineers, and constructors may not appreciate geographic information systems (GIS) technology, at some point everyone should attend at least the ESRI Survey/Engineering Summit and the first couple of days of the ESRI User Conference held every summer in San Diego, California. This is not a GIS sales pitch. It’s a networking sales pitch. When other conferences are struggling to maintain attendance levels, the ESRI conferences seemingly never fail to grow in attendance. This year, it attracted some 15,000 people from 120 countries. That means gobs of GIS people, and also gobs of surveyors and engineers.”
The statement rang true this year too. Even in today’s economy where conferences are severely impacted or even cancelled due to travel budget cuts, the ESRI User conference still attracted ~11,000 people this month.
In my column earlier this month, I discussed the use of consumer GPS receivers for GIS data collection. Remember the analogy I used?a Volkswagen Beetle wasn?t designed to run in a Formula One race? This column is going to focus on the Formula One cars, not the Volkswagen Beetles. In other words, it will focus on the GPS receivers on the market that are designed for GIS data collection. I will refer to them as GPS/GIS receivers.
Three categories of GPS are used to populate GIS databases: consumer-grade receivers, GPS receivers designed specifically for GIS data collection, and survey receivers. This month, I discuss consumer-grade receivers. In a new issue in two weeks’ time, I?ll cover the class of GPS receivers designed specifically for GIS data collection.
What can you say about RTK Networks, except wow! They have popped up everywhere and continue on a path of rapid growth. In the last five years, I’d say it’s clear that two GNSS technologies have changed the survey/construction industry more than any others; machine control and RTK networks.
Thanks to those who attended my webinar last month entitled A Buyer’s Guide to GPS/GNSS Survey Equipment. I received many questions during the webinar and answered a few during the event. As with my webinar last October , I’ll post the questions and my comments here.
I wish I could share with you what I’m seeing right now. I’m on a scenic train in Alaska, traveling from Anchorage to Fairbanks. From someone who usually travels by air, scurrying through airport security at the last minute, this is the way to travel…truly relaxing. The special cars of the Alaska Railroad are built with large picture windows for soaking in the scenery. The train will stop for residents who flag it down and need a ride to the next town. The conductor will even stop the train for picture-taking if the view warrants, which it did when we saw a wolf trying to chase down three sheep on a rock slope along a river.
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