DeLorme Professional Weblog

As further evidence of the increasing importance of map data in DeLorme’s product lineup, this month’s Reseller Spotlight focuses on Spatial Energy, a Boulder, Colorado-based company that provides digital imagery and other spatial products and services to energy companies worldwide.

Many of Spatial Energy’s customers utilize the innovative Spatial on Demand™ service through which vast archives of aerial and satellite imagery, topographic maps, digital elevation models, and other datasets can be searched and displayed within a wide array of compatible GIS applications. Spatial on Demand significantly reduces management and operational costs, streamlines workflows to improve efficiency, and creates a global resource for imagery users.

In partnership with Delorme, Spatial on Demand subscribers now have access to DeLorme’s World Base Map data through a Web Mapping Service. Data technicians at DeLorme processed the original vector maps into a series of raster tiles ensuring that the display of the DeLorme data in third-party applications precisely matches the high cartographic standards seen natively in DeLorme software.

DeLorme began developing its World Base Map product in 2007 and since then has embarked on a major production effort to ensure the quality of the maps meets the expectations of its customers. The World Base Map is a complete global dataset that provides coverage for every county in the world. It was built and is maintained using a consistent and uniform process thus setting a new standard in worldwide mapping.

Comparisons of the DeLorme World Base Map to competitor and publicly available data, especially in developing regions, prove the advantages of the DeLorme World Base Map in currency, positional accuracy, and level of detail.

DeLorme World Base Map’s Unique Features
The DeLorme World Base Map offers unique features not found in competing base map offerings including:

• Vector roads and hydrological layers accurately drawn against satellite imagery and SRTM for consistent worldwide coverage
• Authoritative depictions of worldwide country boundaries including disputed boundaries
• Administrative districts, where available
• Topography for the entire world including north of 60° compiled from SRTM and other map sources

The Data Sets include:

• Vector line data-roads, railroads, runway lines, ferries, hydro lines, contours, boundaries
• Point data-populated places, geographic names, airports, exits
• Polygon data-hydro polys, urban areas, landmarks, boundary polygons, land-use land cover

Spatial Energy leads the industry in the acquisition, delivery, and management of spatial data. Global energy companies not only rely on their products and services to find and acquire the best data at the best value but look to Spatial Energy to help manage their data assets and make them available to users wherever they work. DeLorme is pleased to be partnering with Spatial Energy to ensure that the same high-quality topographic maps that DeLorme software users have come to depend on for many years are now available to Spatial on Demand subscribers.

For more information, visit www.spatialondemand.com

The form-based GIS data collection capability of the Earthmate PN-Series GPS receivers has been receiving glowing reviews from a wide variety of sources. Most agree that the GIS industry has been waiting for an inexpensive and easy-to-use alternative for the mobile GIS market. For Eagle Information Mapping, Inc., a Houston-based GIS and mapping solutions provider serving the oil and gas industry, the PN is a perfect fit. During a recent conversation with Vice President Tracy Thorleifson, I asked him why he chose to add the PN to Eagle’s list of products and services.

When did you first learn about XMap and the capabilities of the PN-Series GPS receivers?

Eagle has been aware of XMap and the PN-Series GPS devices since their introduction. Although most of our work involves the implementation of corporate, enterprise-level GIS systems, several of our clients have made use of XMap as a “light weight” application for field users for years. And a considerable number of our clients’ field technicians already use PN-Series devices for navigation in the field, even though these devices may not yet be integrated into enterprise workflows.

What do you think the PN offers that other devices cannot provide?

Eagle is really excited about the integration between the PN devices and the SPOT Satellite Communicator. Many of Eagle’s clients work in areas that are out of cell phone coverage. Integration with the SPOT Communicator makes it possible for us to implement simple communication and limited data transfer from just about any location. This can help streamline workflows in day-to-day operations, and in emergency situations this capability becomes extremely useful.

How well do you think the PN and XMap fit into the existing GIS infrastructure for your customers?

In the past Eagle’s client base has typically utilized high-cost, complicated, survey-grade GPS units for field data collection. This has limited the penetration of GPS-based field data collection in these organizations. However, most field technicians spend most of their time working at facilities or locations that have previously been surveyed—there’s no need to collect survey-grade GPS coordinates every time such a site is visited. Rather, the GPS device is simply used to help locate the facility. This makes a low cost, simple device like the PN-Series GPS unit an ideal alternative for field data collection. Our goal is to dramatically increase the use of GPS-enabled field data collection with our clients using PN-Series devices running XMap Forms tailored to the client’s data collection needs.

What value are you able to offer your customers that they would not receive if they purchased a GPS device through another supplier?

Eagle’s strength is in enterprise GIS, workflow management and data management. Collecting data in the field is just the first step of many in making sure only high-quality information enters your corporate GIS system. Eagle’s workflow management tools help companies manage data capture, quality assurance, and quality control workflows, and do so in a way that is highly configurable and 100% audit-able. This helps our clients establish the rigorous Management of Change (MOC) environments that are increasingly required by federal and state regulatory authorities.

About Eagle Information Mapping

Eagle Information Mapping, Inc., has been an Oil and Gas solutions provider since 1991 specializing in Pipeline and Exploration & Production GIS. Our Philosophy is simple—we are dedicated to our customers and we continually provide state-of-the-art technology and unsurpassed service through integrity, dedication, and ingenuity. For more information, visit  www.eaglemap.com

Those of you who follow the DeLorme Professional Newsletter will hopefully be familiar with the functional capabilities XMap Forms. In recent editions, we have described the procedure of creating a form, for establishing constraints within a layer, for deploying a form and any accompanying data to multiple XMap users utilizing XMap’s synchronization process, and for sending data to and from the PN-Series GPS receivers. Upon reflection it would appear that we neglected to cover what is perhaps the most important aspect of XMap Forms functionality: How is it used?

At the risk of jumping in at the deep end, this article will bypass the XMap Forms setup process and discuss the use of this technology in real world situations. If you would like to read more of the background information, refer to this article from the November 2009 newsletter or visit the XMap Forms page on xmap.com.

The following are some examples of XMap Forms at work in a variety of fields.

Oil and Gas Pipeline Inspection and Maintenance

One of the challenges in the energy sector is that a lot of work is done in remote and often inhospitable environments. DeLorme has addressed some of the specific concerns of the oil and gas industry by developing GIS tools that are ideally suited for field technicians and that provide a mechanism for collecting and submitting data to a central GIS. XMap’s synchronization tool, which offers an efficient means to transfer updated, location-specific data to work crews at the jobsite, becomes even more powerful when those same technicians can remotely collect information about their field assets and automatically integrate this data in to an Enterprise database at the corporate office.

In this context, XMap forms functionality transforms the Professional version of XMap from a field data viewer into a powerful data collector. These field-based personnel do not need to have an intimate knowledge of the workings of a GIS; instead, they simply fill out the required information about a pipeline at each location using preconfigured dropdown lists and simple text entry. XMap Forms, as an add-on feature of the synchronization process, empowers field technicians to become direct participants in the process of building and maintaining the company’s GIS infrastructure.

Natural Resource Management and Habitat Monitoring

When considering the protection of areas of environmental concern, two key questions must be addressed: Where is it? and What is it? Thankfully, the form-based data collection on the PN-Series GPS receivers can help answer both questions. GPS has long been an important component of the field biologist’s toolkit. When collecting data on such things as nesting sites, it is critical to note specifically where each nest is located as well as any additional site-specific information. Most GPS receivers offer limited data collection functionality and usually allow only a label and a brief comment to be assigned to each collected waypoint. Any additional information must be hand-written and manually assigned to each point back at the office or lab. Needless to say, this process is highly susceptible to human error and to the creation of incorrect data that may impact any derived scientific study.

The PN-Series GPS receivers are comparable to many handheld GPS devices on the market today in terms of price and ease of use. The distinction lies in the fact the entire process of field data collection, including the collection of a complete set of attributes for each point, can be performed in the field. The structure of the data collection form ensures that each attribute is consistent and it allows the resulting data to be directly integrated into a GIS, eliminating the need for any manual transfer of additional detail from handwritten notes.

Crime Mapping and Evidence Collection

In recent years, GIS has found a firm foothold in the field of criminal investigation and forensic analysis. It is often the spatial nature of the collected evidence that provides the essential clues for solving the crime. To ensure this process works effectively, evidence must be accurately cataloged, preferably onsite, so a robust location-based data collection device is essential. The PN-Series GPS receiver works well in this situation because it is rugged, waterproof, and compact. Furthermore, using XMap Forms offers the means to create a complete database of information about the crime.

Criminal investigators are usually called into action at a moment’s notice, so having a preconfigured form is strategically important. Because forms reside on the external SD card inserted into the PN-Series device, a library of different forms can be created and the appropriate form activated for a given situation.

Highway Maintenance and Repair

Anyone who lives in the northern tier states of the U.S. or any similar cold climate zone will attest to the fact that the roads take a beating in the winter months. Come spring, work crews are quickly deployed to patch the potholes and, if necessary, resurface the pavement. Before this work is undertaken, a thorough inspection process must be performed to ascertain which areas are of most concern and to document the level of damage, often with accompanying photographs.

XMap Forms deployed on a laptop computer in the inspection vehicle is ideally suited for this task. Each damage location can be quickly assigned as a GIS point and, using a series of preconfigured attribute fields and drop-down lists, the relevant information can be attached to each location. Photographic evidence can also be associated with each collected point after uploading images from a digital camera. The form interface offers a simple upload button which copies the photograph or any other file into the GIS database.

After the inspection work is complete, XMap’s synchronization function automatically transfers the points and the accompanying photographs to the department’s GIS administrator. With immediate access to this information, maintenance managers can allocate resources quickly and effectively.

Utility Pole Data Collection

To the layperson, all utility poles seem to be the same, but to a utility technician, each has its own characteristics and hardware configuration. Cataloging this information is essential for maintenance planning, service upgrading, and emergency preparedness. Collecting data on utility poles can be a laborious and time-consuming process, but using XMap Forms on either a laptop computer or on a PN-Series device, the process is not only faster but much more accurate.

Many of the attributes associated with a utility pole inventory will be consistent for each pole. For instance, most of the poles might be owned by one specific utility agency or company, so it is inefficient to manually add this attribute for each point. XMap Forms offers a simple solution for this. If necessary, each field can be assigned an initial or default value in XMap, which means the form can be pre-populated with the most common values and edited only if needed.

While most poles are likely to be adjacent to a road, allowing the collection of data by vehicle, there are occasions when the technician is required to venture off-road to gather the necessary information. In such situations, XMap Forms on both the in-vehicle laptop and on the handheld PN-Series GPS receiver can be used to populate a single GIS layer with pole data. At the end of the day, the technician simply merges the data from the PN and the computer and a complete GIS dataset is created.

These scenarios describe some typical uses for XMap Forms technology; however, there is virtually no limit to the ways in which this innovative data collection tool can be put to work. As always, we want to hear from you. If you are interested in sharing an account of how you use XMap Forms, please email prosales@delorme.com with the details.

Ian D. Browne is a paleontology graduate student at Oklahoma State University Center for Health Sciences studying the faunal response of small mammal communities to periods of intense global warming that occurred between roughly 14.5 and 17.0 million years ago. Before making any meaningful conclusions about these communities, Ian needed to field-check the location of museum fossil sites and previous geologic interpretations.

Several factors complicate this task:

• The field area in California’s Mojave Desert is topographically complex
• It has been heavily dissected by faults, which have obscured many of the geologic relationships between the different sedimentary layers
• Research first began in this area a century ago and in the intervening years, many museums and universities collected large numbers of fossils and numerous geologic maps have been created. Needless to say, accessing and analyzing all of this data is time-consuming.

On his first research trip into the field, Ian was armed with little more than a topographic map and an old handheld GPS receiver, whose limited functionality simply allowed him to determine his location as a set of UTM coordinates.  Due to the topographic complexity of the area, Ian found it difficult to maintain his positional reference on the map, so his first year’s field work was not very productive. Ian needed a better GPS receiver that provided field access to his GIS data.

Back at OSU, Ian built a GIS database for his area of study using ESRI’s ArcMAP. This helped organize and synthesize the years of collected data and maps that have been accumulated by various research and exploration teams. Before his second trip, Ian discovered the Earthmate PN-40 GPS receiver, the latest device from DeLorme. It offered mobile access to aerial imagery and USGS topographic maps downloaded from the online DeLorme Map Library. Since the USGS topographic maps downloaded from Map Library are scanned and geo-referenced versions of the same paper quadrangle maps he had carried during his previous field trip, it was like having a “you are here” dot that he could use to quickly determine his location on the map.  This significantly decreased the amount of wasted time on the second trip, but there was still a disconnection between his field work and his ESRI GIS research.

While Ian was on his second research trip, DeLorme introduced the Earthmate PN-40 ESRI Extension, which proved to be the final piece of the puzzle. This extension generates a raster image of a map view in ArcMAP, which is then uploaded to the PN-40 as a base map. This was an ideal solution for Ian as he was able to generate a single file, which incorporated the relevant GIS layers and provided an extremely useful alternative to the standard aerial imagery or topographic maps. This inexpensive tool provided an easy way for Ian to utilize the work he had performed in ArcMAP in a field environment. Ian also used DeLorme’s XMap to import ArcMAP-generated shapefiles and convert them for direct transfer to the PN-40.

“With the PN-40 I was able to access a hundred years worth of field data and digitized geologic maps,” said Ian after his latest research trip, “All while standing on top of a ridge being pummeled by a cold December wind. Access to this much information on the ground allowed me to quickly assess the validity of previous researchers interpretations, making it possible to do the sort analysis in the field that historically had to be done at the end of the day back in camp, or more commonly back in the lab. Currently, I’m digitizing more maps and can hardly wait until spring when I can get back out into the field with the Earthmate PN-40 and the PN-40 ESRI Extension.”

This type of utility in a small, easy-to-use, handheld device is the sort of thing that could barely have been imagined just a few years ago. The combination of ArcMAP and the Earthmate PN-40 provides a powerful GIS data management tool and field-based access to GIS layers.

For more information on the Earthmate PN-40 and the ESRI extension, visit: www.delorme.com/esri

The following is a first-hand account of a successful rescue operation in the Glacier Peak Wilderness of the Cascade Range in Washington State. Justin Mitchell, the Operations Leader for Bellingham Mountain Rescue, describes how the Earthmate PN-20 GPS receiver proved its mettle in extreme conditions.

On August 27th, 2008, just before midnight, I received a call from Don, an operations leader from the Skagit Mountain Rescue team. They needed some help from Bellingham Mountain Rescue for two climbers reportedly stuck on a ledge somewhere near Spire Point. The climbers were near the end of completing the “Ptarmigan Traverse,” a five-day thru hike in the North Cascades and were stuck on a ledge in bad weather with 100 ft visibility, not knowing exactly where they were.  I called and woke up one of our SAR deputies from the Whatcom County Sheriff’s Office (a pleasure to wake them up instead of what is typically the reverse) to let them know we’d been requested. I then got to work putting a team together and downloading maps to my PN-20. Spire Point is located quite a way into the North Cascades, and with the normal road/trail system being washed out, I knew there was going to be quite a bit of bushwhacking and/or route-finding. It also meant our chances of getting back in there and finding them quickly without helicopter support was slim.

We met at “base operations” at the Concrete airport the next morning to discuss our options. Volunteers showed up from Skagit, Tacoma, and Bellingham mountain rescue teams. Despite the long distance involved, a team would go in by foot since the weather did not look favorable for a helicopter. The Bellingham team would continue to help at base ops but be on hot standby in the event a helicopter option became available. We were able to communicate with the stranded climbers a couple of times via cell phone and the situation was not good—they were extremely cold, wet, and showing signs of hypothermia. The cell phone, however, did provide us with a lat/long to start off with via its E911 feature. The coordinates did not initially make sense, although I was able to enter them into my PN-20 using a variety of different formats, until finally noting that they had come in via the degrees decimal format. Bingo—the coordinates put them near the summit of Spire Point (degrees minutes format N48° 19.042′, W121° 4.247′). So from there, we were able to come up with some possible scenarios and hone in our initial search area.

Luck was on our side. Although the mountains were still socked in, the weather was clearing somewhat and a Navy helicopter arrived to possibly help. We collectively gathered around our USGS maps and came up with a plan—we would follow the valleys in towards Spire Point, keeping well under the cloud ceiling, and try one of three different “insertion points” on alternate sides of the mountain for a drop off. And from there, we’d climb up near the top of Spire Point as quickly as we could to search for the climbers. This was clearly our best option given the time it would take for the first team to get in there on foot. Moreover, another weather system was on its way in and promised to bring worse weather than this one. As we loaded onto the helicopter, I entered the three insertion points as waypoints into my PN-20, wondering if we’d even get to use them.

The flight in was interesting. We followed roads and valleys into the area, keeping a close eye on the weather ceiling. And one by one our hopeful insertion points were shut out by the bad weather. All the while, though, I sat next to the side door of the helicopter with my PN-20, keeping track of where we were relative to our insertion points. As we exhausted our last option, though, I asked the pilot to head back west and try another option. I had seen a small lake on the topo map of my PN-20 that just might be accessible via a small side valley. We rounded the corner into the valley and I asked the pilot if he’d be comfortable poking his nose just over the trees at the head of the valley. We were just below the ceiling but he agreed since it was basically our only hope. As we skimmed over the trees, Itswoot Lake appeared with a perfect little landing zone on the south end of the lake (N48° 17.870′, W121° 5.319′).

The rotor wash on the Seahawk helicopter (basically same as a Blackhawk but in Navy terms) was tremendous as they took off and accelerated the wetness of the rain. We quickly donned foul weather gear, oriented ourselves with a map and compass, and headed up the mountain. Visibility was minimal, and the higher we got up Itswoot Ridge, the more rainy, windy, and cold it got. None of us had ever been here before either so our maps, compass, and altimeters were crucial to route-finding. And although we’ve trained ourselves not to rely on a GPS, the PN-20 and its integrated maps were outstanding for confirming our location and route. We got up to just under the summit of Spire Point and set up camp on the Dana Glacier in the dark. Our voices were hoarse from yelling and whistling, and our bodies were tired and hungry from battling the elements. We felt pretty good about the progress we’d made but also knew first hand the weather these climbers had gone through. We went to sleep with hopes of finding survivors in the morning.

Morning came quickly and the winds had calmed down a bit, but visibility was still quite challenging. As we loaded up our tents, we resumed our yells and whistles, and to our surprise heard a very faint yell back! Tracking the direction of the yells was difficult because of various echoes involved, but we made our way north along the Dana Glacier and eventually found the lost climbers cold, wet, but otherwise alive, and very happy to see us (N48° 19.384′, W121° 4.115′). As we fed them some hot food, they explained how they’d huddled in their one remaining sleeping bag all night and were going to head back down the north side of the mountain if help had not arrived by that afternoon.

We gathered all their stuff and headed back down the way we’d come up, meeting the other rescue team along the way. A helicopter soon arrived to take us and our rescued subjects back to warmth, safety, and their loved ones.

I shudder to think of the consequences if we hadn’t have found them when we did, especially given the colder and more intense weather system that was hitting the area the very next day. The expert flying provided by our local Navy base was certainly key to us succeeding with this mission, but equally as important was knowing exactly where we were at all times via the maps on my Delorme PN-20. I truly believe it contributed to two saved lives, and I look forward to even better capabilities on the PN-40.

For more information on Bellingham Mountain Rescue, visit www.wcsar.org/bmrc/.

To read more about the Earthmate PN-Series GPS receivers, click here.