The Geospatial Newsletter from KOREC

Spring 2015

Stop Press: Coming soon...the much awaited major update of Trimble Business Centre software

Mensurawitwit

this issue: ■ Product Focus - eCognition

Essentials

■ K-Mobile - ‘workflow’

customisations

■ Using the TX8 camera kit

■ Academy Geomatics tell us

why they switched to Trimble

New Trimble R1 GNSSBYOD - ‘Bring your own device’ with the new Trimble R1 GNSS

Coming soon to KOREC is Trimble’s latest GNSS receiver. The Trimble R1 BYOD offers professional grade accuracy using consumer devices – and it fits in your pocket!

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) users such as utilities, maintenance teams and service industries who carry out professional data collection, inspection, and asset management tasks can now collect reliable high-accuracy GNSS positions using their smartphone, tablet device, or embedded data collection handheld or tablet—anywhere in the world, thanks to the Trimble R1.

This pocket-sized, lightweight GNSS receiver provides accurate positioning information to mobile devices via a wireless Bluetooth connection. Battery life is 10+ hours to allow for all day in the field.

There is also the option to take up Trimble’s ViewPoint RTX service either via IP (requires network connectivity) or via L-Band (satellite) when using Trimble Mapping & GIS software or API for submetre accuracy—even in remote locations.

The R1 has moved the game on by taking the technology normally only found in high end Trimble receivers and packaging it into a small lightweight device that gives consistent submetre accuracies!

KOREC opinion: The R1 will allow many businesses to become more accurate and thus more efficient. We cannot ignore the rise of smartphones and tablets within digital mapping and the R1 assists not only Android, Windows and iOS users, but existing Trimble users too. The R1 will specifically make a huge impact in new land parcel identification schemes being rolled out across Europe over the next 24 months”.

Tim Over, KOREC mapping consultant ■■■

Boost your own device!

RealWorks included...A KOREC supplied FARO Focus X 130 now comes with Trimble RealWorks included.

The smallest, lightest, 3D laser scanner available just got even better because now it’s available from KOREC with Trimble RealWorks 3D scanning software included. RealWorks is powerful office software that transforms laser scanner data into exactly what we require, compelling 3D deliverables. Sophisticated data management and visualisation capabilities combined with a high level of automation quickly produce accurate results for all types of scanning projects.

Focus X 130 features

• Versatile and cost-effective solution

• Compact, lightweight, and portable

• Integrated colour camera for creating photorealistic scenes

• Intuitive touch screen interface ideal for new users

• WLAN remote control

• Trimble RealWorks included for processing and deliverable creation

“Only RealWorks could offer us all the versatility we

required in a single package”.

Daniel Moon,

Tripoint Surveys

The Geospatial Newsletter from KOREC

KOREC launches ‘Total Care Package’We are excited to announce the release of our new Total Care Package. All customers now have the opportunity to take out a 3 year or 5 year package on KOREC supplied purchases, from new, with a view to keeping equipment fully maintained and costs fixed. The package covers:

• Pre-booked annual service and calibration

• All non-damage repairs

• Wear and tear

• Replacement equipment whilst unit is in for warranty work or service

• Firmware and software upgrades

• Free carriage, to and from the workshop, within the UK

For further information, please contact your KOREC sales consultant. ■■■

KOREC MX2 videoIn the last issue of Mensura we brought you up to date with our enhanced mobile mapping portfolio which now includes:

Trimble MX8 – established high-end technology (available as KOREC service through K-SERVICES).

Trimble MX2 – flexible, portable and easy to use and now supported by our latest KOREC commissioned video which is available for viewing on the KOREC YouTube channel.

Trimble MX7 – coming soon, mobile imaging on a budget.

New: Active Track 360 TargetNow available – Trimble Active Track 360 Target for Trimble S-Series robotics, GNSS or V10.

The new AT360 active tracking target will allow compatible Trimble instruments to track your target with greater ease and efficiency. A lightweight (just 640g including the battery), reliable and easy to use solution for robotic surveying, it utilises Trimble’s industry leading active tracking technology and has an integrated 360° active LED ring for tracking and reflective foil for distance measurements.

The LED’s emit one of eight unique ID channels which can be selected from the panel to ensure that the correct target is tracked every time on a site where multiple targets are used. This unique Trimble technology also assists in maintaining target lock where adverse tracking conditions may exist and eliminates the potential for false lock onto other reflective surfaces. ■■■

Awards!KOREC awards prize…

Congratulations to Teresa Taleti of Nottingham Trent University who won the KOREC prize for Best First Year BSc Civil Engineering student. The award was presented by Chris Harris our Strategic Account Manager for Geospatial & Deformation Monitoring.

…KOREC wins prize!

The recent Trimble Partner Conference in Chantilly, France, saw a successful year for KOREC recognised by Trimble with an award for Global Excellence in Geospatial Sales 2014. The award was presented to KOREC CEO, Alan Browne, by Erik Arvesen VP of Geospatial Division. Thank you to all of you who helped us towards this globally recognised achievement.

EventsRailtex 2015: KOREC will be returning to Railtex, the renowned UK showcase for technological innovation across all sectors of the rail supply market. The last exhibition attracted over 8,000 visitors, and this year’s event, set against a backdrop of continuing investment in rail and significant ongoing projects, looks to be equally well supported.

Running alongside the exhibition is the show’s seminar program where KOREC’s rail expert, Matthew Lock, will be presenting on “Innovative Rail Infrastructure Monitoring and Survey Solutions”

See KOREC on Stand R17 at Railtex 2015, NEC, Birmingham, 12-14th May.

GeoBusiness 2015: KOREC will once again be represented on the Trimble stand L1 at the GeoBusiness show which returns to The Business Design Centre in London on 27-28 May 2015. We are also delighted to announce that KOREC’s Sion Rowlands has been selected to present during the conference’s prestigious two day program. His talk is entitled “GNSS – avoiding the obstacles to productivity”. Trimble will also be a part of the program.

Product Focus eCognition EssentialseCognition Essentials is new Trimble software for geospatial and remote sensing professionals performing land cover mapping tasks using imagery.

In the months since its launch, the KOREC mapping team has been fielding enquiries covering a diverse range of application areas including tropical medicine research, agriculture and environmental, not to mention UAS owning survey companies keen to extract more meaning from their aerial imagery.

Where once object based image analysis was a highly complex task with a slow learning curve, software development in this area means that it is now possible to easily transform image data into usable intelligence thanks to the hard coding of all the standard rules of land use and identification. This software can now create polygons, identify shapes, map them and link them ready to export as a GIS ready layer – rules no longer have to be created, they exist already. The guided workflows that transform image data into actionable intelligence are intuitive and all our new users report how easy it is to progress from first time use to a proficiency that can bring early commercial advantage.

Boosting potato crops:

This example is particularly useful because it illustrates what can be done with RGB imagery from a standard UAS camera. When potato plants emerge in March, fields are flown and the aerial imagery used to do a crop count. eCognition Essentials is then used to identify each plant. The fields are flown again regularly and eCognition will be used to check the percentages of plant and soil as they grow. This information can be displayed in QGIS* (open-source desktop GIS product) and a grid added to show areas of low coverage. The positions where there is the least crop coverage can then be extracted and used on a Trimble GNSS to navigate to the targeted plants and provide them with the extra fertiliser required to boost their growth, maximising yield and reducing fertiliser costs.

An unlimited free trial is available now at http://geospatial.trimble.com/eCognition-Trial_Request-Essentials-2014.html

Analysis builder window in eCognition Essentials

eCognition Essentials is used to check the percentages of plant and soil as the potato crop grows

KOREC ReportsTried and tested – the Nodal Ninja TX8 camera kit

In the last issue of Mensura we announced that the Trimble TX8 3D laser scanner was now available with an external camera kit capable of providing images of a quality in keeping with the TX8 itself – the most precise laser scanner in our industry. This announcement generated some interesting feedback and a couple of understandable concerns, namely “it takes too long to use an external camera” and “won’t it take too long to colourise the scan afterwards”. We decided to test it out for ourselves.

Mark Poveda, Geospatial Sales Manager, KOREC Ireland, undertook the trial carrying out a scan of Georgian house facades in a Dublin street. Scans were completed from seven positions using the TX8 at a range of approximately 70m. No targets were used - software automatically matched the scans back in the office.

Built-in scanner: Using a high quality scanner with a built in camera, it would take 3-5 minutes to capture a full panoramic image and 5-6 minutes for each scan. A built in camera would offer only 1-3MP images and no control over exposure and quality although no set up time is required.Total time: between 8 and 11 minutes for each colourised scan.

TX8 with Nodal Ninja camera kit: Mark carried out the work with a Nikon D5100 16.2MP digital SLR camera and the Trimble TX8 scanner. The photos took just 1 minute, including set up of the bracket, plus 3 minutes for each scan. Back in the office it took 1 minute to colourise each scan station.Total time: 4 minutes for each colourised scan.

Mark concludes, “Field to office, it was unbelievably quick, but what really stood out was the quality of the images, exactly

what a scan of this calibre deserves. I had complete control in the field, irrespective of lighting conditions, plus the ability to stop the process if traffic impeded the line of sight – something a built in camera can’t accommodate. My conclusion is that the TX8 camera kit provides better, photo realistic

scans for easier visualisation and modelling and in less time than a

scanner with a built-in camera.”

Colourised scans using the TX8 and camera kit

Mensura | Spring 2015

Customer story

‘snapshot’ of the beach state for the client. The team has extensive local knowledge of the area and knows that certain beaches can change state on a daily basis. For Academy it is therefore vital that their utilisation of both manpower and equipment is geared towards maximum data capture.

In particular the new Trimble GNSS technology has lent itself to the beach survey work. Beach topographic surveys and profiles are undertaken with a quad bike and with a series of two person teams using the new Trimble R10 GNSS (along with two older GPS rovers from another manufacturer) either with Trimble’s VRS Now service for real-time RTK corrections or with the Trimble R6 used as a base if mobile coverage is poor.

With only a small window to work in, usually two hours either side of the posted low tide time, Mark has been delighted with the R10’s performance. “The Trimble base / rover set up has been really great and the team love its reliability. With the amount of satellites the R10 can track, you just know that you are going to be able to measure the difficult areas such as those close to cliffs where traditionally we would have had to set up a total station. The xFill* feature has also been fantastic when surveying near cliffs or sea walls, it just seems to kick in seamlessly without the surveyor noticing making the whole process so much quicker. We only find out later in Trimble Business Center when we’re processing the data. On a more basic side, the size and weight of the R10’s have been particularly useful, especially at low tide when extensive areas of bare rock and slippery seaweed pose a hazzard”.

Once captured, all the survey data is downloaded, stored, backed up and checked on a daily basis. Beach profiles are fully drawn and overlaid on previous Cell 1 data to check for any issues or major changes. Topographic surveys are also overlaid on previous surveys and checked for errors or major shifts in topography. A report is then drawn up containing information related to control used, weather, sea conditions and any comments from the surveyor.

Back in the office Mark reports that the Trimble Business Center processing software has been straightforward to use as has the Trimble Access software running on the TSC3 data loggers for both the GNSS and robotic instruments. “Both the instruments and the software have been easy to switch to and intuitive to use. Just a quick run over with the instructions and then the survey teams are out there working. The process of moving to Trimble from another manufacturer’s instruments has been easy thanks to KOREC’s support in the form of demos, open days and consultant support. For us the end result is productive instruments that are easy to use and ridiculously future proof”!

* The Trimble R10 includes an electronic bubble that appears on the

controller display so that all measurement information is displayed in

one place.

* Trimble xFill works seamlessly to ‘fill in’ for gaps in the RTK or VRS

correction stream by leveraging a worldwide network of Trimble GNSS

reference stations and satellite data links.

About Academy Geomatics

In 2001 Academy Surveys became Academy Geomatics Ltd to reflect the growth of the company and the change in focus within the industry from traditional surveying to modern techniques of data capture. Based in the north east, the company offers a wide range of expertise in all aspects of spatial measurement and its services cover operations as diverse as topographical surveys and metrology, pipeline route surveys, river surveys, measured building surveys, proof surveys and dimensional control. www.academyg.com

Switching Up!Why Academy Geomatics made the switch to Trimble’s S3 and S6 robotic total stations and R10 GNSS

???

Survey technology is developing all the time. Sometimes the developments are industry changing - the arrival of robotic total stations, GPS and 3D laser scanning - sometimes simply additions or improvements to what’s already there. Investment in new technology requires research, demonstrations, trials, comparisons and purchasing decisions. New workflows need to be established and new instrumentation learnt. These can seem distractions to the day to day running of a survey practice, but for those prepared to invest, the paybacks include increased field productivity, increased work, new clients and better margins.

Based in the north east, Academy Geomatics has recently updated its existing fleet of total stations and GPS with instruments intended to be both a sound investment for the future and capable of meeting the existing challenges of their day to day projects. Director of Academy Geomatics and responsible for the company’s survey instrumentation is Mark Anderson. During the last 12 months he has purchased Trimble S3 and S6 robotic total stations, two Trimble R10 GNSS, Trimble TSC3 data loggers with Access software, an R6 base and Trimble Business Center processing software. These new systems will replace older instruments and those from another manufacturer.

Robotics first…

Mark’s initial investment was in the robotic S3 and S6 total stations. “My immediate concerns on using robotic instruments were practical ones - the safety of the Academy team and the security of un-manned kit”, explains Mark. “Once I was sure that new workflow procedures could be incorporated to avoid these issues I then concentrated on what the S3 and S6 could bring to our business. Were the tracking and targeting capabilities sufficiently robust? Would they work in trees? How easy would it be to lock back onto the target?

“An initial demo from KOREC at our offices allayed these concerns and we followed this up with a weeks’ hire of the kit which was hugely useful. We were able to see the instruments working in our environment using our workflow and on a real site. Seeing how well the instruments tracked in trees and undergrowth and how easy it was to re-acquire the target if lost gave a much more useful comparison against our old instruments. The S3 with its track lights is very powerful in trees for seeing sight lines and re-acquiring targets and both instruments are also very impressive in the early evening winter dusk. We were quickly able to adapt our work practices to suit the strengths of the instruments and became more productive in just that single week.”

Mark cites the speed of the instruments as being particularly noteworthy. “The slight speed increase noted in the spec sheet of the S6 is noticeably appreciated out in the field, especially when taking rounds of angles! Additionally, the on board electric fine bubble makes setting up a whole lot easier and quicker and eliminates any juggling around with the TSC3 whilst trying to level it up. The coaxial camera on the S6 is proving to be useful as well, not just to re-find the target, but also to take

panoramas and pictures so that the client can be provided with extra information as well as the survey data. Many clients appreciate that extra step for quantitative information and find it very useful if they have not visited the site itself.”

…GNSS next

With the Academy Geomatics team familiar with the new Trimble robotic technology and TSC3 loggers, Mark concentrated his efforts on updating the GPS fleet. Although the team was familiar with another manufacturer’s instruments, Mark had seen the Trimble R10 featured in a

survey magazine and demonstrated at a KOREC event. Having decided they were ready to upgrade, a further demonstration was arranged at Academy’s offices. “A demo at our office from the KOREC sales consultant really helped to show how good the R10 was at tracking satellites and maintaining lock in difficult locations. With the kit being

lighter and easier to use than previous equipment, it was easy to be won over,” continues Mark. “Although we did look at other options that would have integrated better with our old GPS kit, the Trimble GNSS looked far more rugged and also offered up some useful new features. The eBubble* is great for QC, the quick release mount means you don’t have to worry about the surveyor plate spinning the antenna onto the pole, the antenna is small with the SIM card high up and the whole thing is reassuringly rugged!”

Delivering on site – Coastal Monitoring

Academy Geomatics is a multi-disciplinary practice that offers a wide range of expertise in all aspects of spatial measurement including coastal monitoring. Since 2002 the company has been working in coastal regions on the Cell 1 monitoring programme. The programme is managed on behalf of the North East Coastal Group and is funded by the Environment Agency, working in partnership with the maritime Local Authorities and other relevant bodies. The latest framework agreement runs from 2012-2016 and covers the coastline from the Scottish Border to Flamborough Head on the Yorkshire coast. The programme monitoring schedule includes a partial measure in the spring and a full measure in the autumn which demands beach profile surveys, beach topographic surveys, clifftop lines and clifftop points. The partial measure includes a selection of these. In addition, ad hoc and post-storm surveys are undertaken by Academy when required.

Academy aims to collect the most survey data possible in each tidal window to provide a comprehensive

“...productive instruments that are easy to use and ridiculously

future proof!”Mark Anderson

Section profiles at Gosswick Sands (near Holy Island) shown in TBC

Contact us:

T: 0845 603 1214E: info@korecgroup.com www.korecgroup.com

For further information on any of the products or services mentioned in Mensura,

please contact your nearest KOREC Sales Consultant or visit our website Stay in Touch

IRE: 01 456 4702

K-Mobile updateOur K-Mobile data capture software customisation service is fuelled by your ideas and you’ve certainly kept us busy during the first quarter.

Recent requests have seen a particular emphasis on streamlining workflows - a simple way to open up new revenue streams and opportunities. All the projects below cost less than £2k to develop so do please get in touch with your ideas at info@k-matic.com. No request is too small!

Completing the full work order management cycle

A UK customer requested additional external database querying functionality in the K-Console desktop application in order to complete their ‘work order management’ cycle. This involved adding more complexity to the type of query that can be performed against an external MS Access database.

The customer is now able to perform a query such as:

…show me all the assets in an inspection area

…where the defect is ‘defect 1’ or ‘defect 2’

…ignoring anything where the last inspection date was less than two weeks old

…or where the comment was ‘comment x’ or ‘comment ‘y’

This sort of query is quite complicated to construct, but once in place, allows the operator to perform the query by quickly filling in the dropdowns on a simple form.

The results of this query can then be assigned to a field user with the rest of the K-Mobile system allowing navigation / asset update / inspection adding and syncing back to the office – all off the shelf K-Mobile functionality.

Automating task assignments

A customer in Ireland has requested some backend integration with an existing Oracle Database.

This oracle database is maintained internally and they already have processes in place that allow members of the public to report ‘problems’ such a litter, graffiti, sick trees etc, via a simple mobile phone app.

Again, a method is in place to allow someone in the office to review these submissions and decide if an inspector needs to be despatched. Our involvement begins at this point. The customer requested that we add in a function that allows the K-Console application to monitor this Oracle database looking for any submissions that have been marked as requiring a site visit.

A K-Mobile job would then be created and the appropriate K-Mobile field worker informed of the new assignment - 100% automation!

TB tests

We have a long standing relationship with a 3rd party company who provide their own application for recording tests performed in-field by farm animal vets.

Their existing workflow involves them returning to the office every night to sync their device with a PC in order to submit their day’s work to a government portal.

We’ve helped streamline this process by providing a cloud transfer mechanism that removes the need for the field based vet to ever have to return to the office to receive new work or send in test results.

....contact KOREC

Typically these developments take just 1-2 days and cost is based on this – smaller requests may even be added to the software for free!

With the launch of the R1, we thought it would be useful to clarify exactly where it lies in the KOREC mapping portfolio. Below we’ve rounded up our best-selling Trimble handhelds and the graphic shows clearly the Geo 7 as the star performer in the range!

Which mapping handheld?

Asset Management Data Collection

Perf

orm

ance

Geo 7SeriesGeo 7Series

Juno 3 Series

Juno 5 Series

R1(BYOD)

NomadYuma 2

• Technical news

Hardware updates

Thermal camera option for eBee and eBee Ag

The new thermoMAP camera enables the eBee and eBee Ag to capture thermal video and still images, allowing you to create full thermal maps of a site (for example, to map water distribution, check irrigation systems or assess the functionality of solar panels).

eBee camera upgrade

The standard RGB camera supplied with the eBee, eBee Ag and eBee RTK has now been upgraded from 16MP to 18MP.

New camera for Trimble UX5

Improved data capture down to 2 cm (0.79 in) resolution is now achievable with the Trimble UX5 thanks to an upgrade to the camera from a 16MP Sony model to a Sony a5100 24MP camera.

Software updates

New Trimble Access Pipeline module

One of the most time-consuming challenges pipeline surveyors face is the collection of pipe attribution detail and recording the information with weld positions. Save time by automating these common pipeline survey tasks

with Trimble Access Pipelines. Data is available for checking at every step in the process and all recorded attributes are stored with the survey data.

GNSS Firmware v5.00

This latest firmware release is supported on the following receivers: R10/R10 LT, R8 Models 3-4, R6 Models 3-4, R4 Models 2-3, Net R9, R5 and R7 Model 2. A warranty date of May 2014 or later is required to upgrade to this latest version. For best results, users should upgrade to Trimble Access 2014.20 or later when using Receiver Firmware version 5.00.

Trimble TX8 Firmware v1086, eCognition v9.0.3 and RealWorks v9.0.0.313 updates have been released to improve system performance.

Top tip

To ensure optimum graphics performance when using RealWorks v9, check that it is using the highest specification graphics card installed on the PC. To check which graphics card RealWorks is using, select Help then About. An information dialogue will display a list of the graphics cards found on the PC and indicate which one RealWorks is using.

If the higher specification card isn’t being used, then open the control panel for the higher specification graphics card and select RealWorks as an application to use with it. For help with this, consult the graphics card manufacturer or contact KOREC Support on 0151 931 6700 / 6722.

If you can imagine a tweak or an enhancement, that is going to save you (or your mobile workers) just 1/2hr a day, then a day of development would pay for itself within a year.

….And just a final note on what a difference this can make. We were involved in a data capture program that involved capturing 28 million addresses. Somebody suggested a change in workflow that would save 5 seconds at each location, big deal!. But multiply 5secs x 28million addresses x the labour costs alone and that = £750,000 saving.

That’s a saving worth having!

Query results screen