GISCafe Weekly Review : March 29, 2018

Esri recently introduced its new software release of Survey123 for ArcGIS mobile application with Spike, a laser measurement solution offered by ikeGPS. Field data capture and asset inspection activities just got easier with the integration of Spike into Survey123. Spike allows users to measure hard-to-reach physical objects from a distance simply by taking a photo with their smartphone or tablet. Survey123 with Spike runs on Apple iOS and Google Android smartphones and tablets.

Users can then capture real-time measurements from that image, including areas, elevations, distances between two points, and GPS/GNSS location. With just a single mobile device, fieldworkers can locate the correct asset, record measurement data, and report accurate data directly back to the office using this low-cost application.

Roberto Avila , Ph.D. GIS Applications & Data Services Unit Manager with Colorado Department of Transportation, spoke with GISCafe Voice about the integration and how the DOT is making use of the technology.

Avila said that he had used Spike and realized that it would be a vast improvement over using specialized measurement equipment and paper maps to measure and collect dimensions for all kinds of surveying, asset and facilities management, field asset inventories and inspections and damage assessment, plus disaster response operations. He felt that the DOT would be more likely to use Spike if it was integrated into the Survey123 release rather than being used separately from that application.

The Colorado Department of Transportation manages and maintains a great number of physical assets along Colorado roadways, and has already benefited from beta testing of this solution. “We have been beta testing it since November or December and developing applications groups who are using it,” said Avila. “These are engineering, environmental and other groups who see its potential. We’re using it in facilities, for areas and volume, to measure the rough length of culverts and bridges, and how much damage is caused by natural events.”

Avila said they were already using Esri’s Survey123 forms to conduct field assets data collection on signs, curb ramps, outfalls, bridge asbestos inspection, cattle guards and other assets. The ability to collect sign panel dimensions (height and width) as well as the height of the sign post through the use of Spike has been a game changer. The CDOT is now able to incorporate Spike measurement capabilities into some of the current apps like sign, facilities, and rip-rap providing a tremendous increase in efficiency, monetary savings, and a safe data collection environment for CDOT workers.

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