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Vermont Gas Systems Arrow Gold Adoption Success "For us, high accuracy GPS and  mobile GIS is an essential tool.  It will become as prevalent as fire extinguishers and leak soap; another tool in an employee’s toolbox to help them

  How GNSS Data is Helping a National Park Clear Snow from Unmarked Alpine Roads     One of Anatum's Client's Gets Creative!

Missouri has thousands of miles of trails for walking, biking, equestrian, and motorized activities. To better map the trail locations, we decided to implement the use of Esri's Collector app paired with the Eos Arrow 100 for its high accuracy. Within the first year, the database has grown from 600 GIS miles to 6,200 miles through a collaboration of various trail managing agencies throughout Missouri.

Recently I had the pleasure of being a guest on the Archaeology Podcast to discuss today's GNSS technology. Give it a listen to learn more about the current state of GPS and GNSS technology and how it relates to archaeology in the field. 

Why your GPS data doesn't line up with your aerial imagery is a common question. This article discusses the various reasons for this discrepancy. 

This article is aimed at the question of updating or not updating the OS for your mobile mapping device. Ideally, we could all update our devices used for mobile mapping without worrying about any unforeseen software bugs, but that just isn't the case. There will always be the potential for a software bug to inhibit our ability to collect field data with our mobile device. This article focuses on the best practices for determining when and if to complete an OS or mapping software update.

Tired of slow setup and breakdown times with your pole-mounted Arrow receiver?  Do you have to get in and out of your truck multiple times a day?

Using Mobile GIS equipment and workflows with cloud computing can streamline data collection and management for field staff and allow managers to make more timely and informed land management and conservation decisions. These workflows also greatly increase the efficiency of reporting. Not only can these solutions save man-hours and money, but also reduce potential human errors introduced by recording field data on paper and then having to manually enter that data into a computer database.

Sulphur Springs Valley Electric Coop transitions to Moblie GIS with iPads, Arrow Gold RTK receivers, and Esri Collector for ArcGIS to update the location accuracy of more than 34,000 assets in less than two months time! Learn more about how the accomplished this feat.

This article will break down the nitty-gritty of today’s GPS equipment and how to use the newest Bluetooth-enabled GPS receivers with your phone or tablet to get the best out of your Mobile GIS field data collection.

Anatum's very own Matt Alexander teaches the technology portion and explains GPS technology and user best practices alongside the Esri staff with their focus on Collector for ArcGIS.

To capture horizontal (horizontal datum NAD83) and elevational data (vertical datum NAVD88), the university needed to determine first the required accuracy and if there was an affordable technology solution that could accomplish the task. By working with the GNSS experts at Anatum Field Solutions and their review of Bluetooth GNSS options, the EOS Arrow 200 RTK-GNSS using Esri’s Collector app, paired with an existing campus base station transmitting centimeter-level RTK corrections via the Internet, met all requirements for horizontal accuracy. 

Users can now power up their Esri Collector with automatic GPS satellite metadata fields collection. Use Collector to capture horizontal & vertical accuracy from your external GPS or GNSS receiver.

Ready to move from old-school GPS handheld data collectors to high-precision tablets?  Ready to work in real-time between field collection staff and office management?  Already an ESRI ArcGIS user?  Get ready to learn how Mobile GIS can make your life easier and more efficient!

Is Renting your field equipment like GPS and rugged tablets a better financial decision than buying?

Well, that depends, but the answer is likely Yes.

Anatum’s depth of experience working with Esri’s Collector and GNSS Equipment for Mobile GIS Solutions for enterprises was published in Fall 2016 edition of Esri News for Water & Wastewater

Adopting Mobile GIS Solutions
Important lessons learned from six years of implementations and thousands of hours in the field.

Esri's free app Trek2There is a simple app with little functionality; however, it does something clients ask us about from time to time.  How do I navigate to a location with Collector?

Esri has been chasing the rest of the mobile GIS app world for a long time.  But, with this summer’s update that adds on-the-fly datum transformations, Collector catapults itself above almost all competitors in the GNSS interface category.  We are excited to spend more time in the Collector work flow with RTK equipment, but hope that Collector continues to develop additional functionality to keep up with competitors that have more robust data forms.

One of the things professionals have to get used to when they switch from submeter handheld GNSS equipment to mobile GIS workflows with submeter GNSS receivers is their antenna.  The important thing to keep in mind is the antenna needs to “see” as much sky as possible and preferably at all times.  Below we present a few methods for working with the external antennas used with Bluetooth GPS and GNSS receivers.

At Anatum Field Solutions, our group prides itself on being both agnostic to equipment manufacturers and using this equipment in the field.  We don’t do as much field work as we did working as biologists and environmental consultants before we started this company, but we still do a lot of field testing of equipment both independently and with our clients around the United States. 

As an agnostic reseller and rental company of GPS equipment for use with Mobile GIS workflows, it is important that we know how the market performs.  There are a multiple Bluetooth-capable GPS and GNSS receivers on the market now and we tested and compared them in real-world settings on our GPS Test Course.  These field tests compared the accuracy and precision of Bluetooth submeter-rated GNSS receivers under conditions that ranged from open-sky to heavy canopy cover. 

Recent technological advancements in the form of tablets with mobile GIS software paired through Bluetooth with external GPS receivers are providing new opportunities to aerial surveyors that can substantially increase efficiency and accuracy while simultaneously reducing potential impacts to wildlife.  GPS receivers that we have used include the Arrow 100 for submeter accuracy and the Bad Elf GPS Pro with 2.5-meter accuracy.  The appropriate GPS receiver depends on your projects accuracy requirements.