Network corrected real-time is a technological approach to high precision GPS/ GNSS positioning that has been theorized about, studied, experimented with, and implemented in various academic, scientific, and commercial forms for nearly a decade.
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In late 1999 the folks from SECO were clearing out some old imported auto-levels that had been a total disaster due to poor compensator design and manufacturing. But all was not lost. One of the cool features on the auto-level was a circular bubble that was viewed by looking straight into the bubble from the side rather than from above (perhaps an original design from a Kern instrument). Project Manager (and self-avowed pack rat) Mike Copeland hated to have to throw away the useful bubble assemblies, so he stripped them out and set them aside. Some time later he picked up one of the assemblies (second from left below), and when holding it in a comfortable upright position, an idea sparked—the assembly could be used on a survey rod! It didn't take long to work up a sketch and meet with SECO's machinists to make a prototype.
Heads Up!
Not only would the newly-designed survey rod be more comfortable for the user, but a new safety feature was gained as well: the rod person would no longer have to look down as traffic whizzed by. This, in turn, would also benefit the instrument operator, who wouldn't have to wait for the rod person to look up in order to send a signal.
The rest is history. The Heads Up Rod Level has now been on the market for eight years--and is available in several different form factors--but there are still many surveyors out there who are not aware of it. Copeland and his longtime colleague at SECO, Rusty Hartland, always enjoy demonstrating the level at trade shows due to the interest and excitement it generates. They also like hearing the stories surveyors tell about things that happened to them while looking down at bubbles.
So fellow pack rats, take heart! The makings of the world's next great gadget may be just a shelf away.
A 251Kb PDF of this article as it appeared in the magazine—complete with images—is available by clicking HERE
Editorial: Surveyors Get the Point
For me, the 6th annual ESRI Surveying and Engineering Summit represented a sea-change. While earlier meetings I attended were designed to attract surveyors into the world of GIS, the trend has taken hold and surveyors everywhere are busy incorporating GIS into their work flows. I like the way .... Read the Article
Point to Point: Can Retracements Be Confidential?
Do your clients have a right to expect that the survey you conduct for them will be confidential? Let's assume for a moment that mandatory survey recording laws did not exist (and indeed, they do not exist in most areas) and that no other obligation to divulge the results of the .... Read the Article
WowFactor: TPC Desktop 2008 Global Background Clearing
TPC Desktop 2008 is all about making it easier to work with your survey data and drawings. It's about doing less work and getting more done. Their new Global Background Clearing is a good example. We put a lot of information on drawings. Take a typical ALTA or site survey-- they can ... Read the Article
Wildfire Maps Keep Agency Missions Blazing Forward
Blazing out of control wildfires have been sweeping across northern California this summer just as they did last fall in the southern region of the state and many times previously, leaving in their path death and destruction. These fires are ... Read the Article
Applanix: Solutions for Mobile Mapping and Positioning
It's a given that Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) don't work everywhere, for example if the signals are sufficiently blocked by such things as tree canopy, or urban canyons. Because of the need to locate things everywhere, a great deal of .... Read the Article
RTN-101: Mapping (Part 14)
Much of what surveyors do is essentially mapping, and much of mapping is/could/ would/should be characterized as surveying. But what certainly raises the blood pressure of many surveyors is when one puts the two terms in the same sentence, as I have just done. The debate over.... Read the Article
The Marriage of GIS and Land Surveying (No Shotgun Needed)
Too often the GIS professional and the surveyor are at odds; a hoity-toity GIS guy looks askance at a muddy-booted surveyor who wants to pin him down on accuracy and ... Read the Article
Software Review: I-Site Studio 3.0 and 4400 Laser Scanner
It seems that every surveying magazine now overflows with stunning 3D images of everything from people, to cars, to historic landmarks, to infrastructure. Point clouds of intricate structures and shapes naturally captivate the geometrically adept mind. But what about the ... Read the Article
Product Review: SECO Poles and Prisms
Tired of prism pole slippage and non-adjustable prism pole bubble levels? Tired of tilting prism target assemblies that slip as you are walking back to the instrument or having to lift the prism pole out of the bipod ring, or not being able to adjust the "spring" out of ... Read the Article
Vantage Point: If Not Now, When?
June was a difficult month. A friend less than a year older than I am quickly succumbed to a resurgence of breast cancer. A colleague three years younger suddenly died of complications related to diabetes, although he had looked fine just a few months ago when I last saw him. Such events make ... Read the Article
Surveying `Da Situation: The Last Straw
It is bad enough that we've already had to endure months of election campaign rhetoric, but I read an article awhile back that was the last straw. I happened to be scanning the newspaper when I came across a piece reporting that the rock star Bruce Springsteen had ... Read the Article
• 15th Annual GeoTech - October 7-8, 2008, NOAA’s Auditorium and Science Center in Silver Spring, MD. Hosted by Potomac Region of the American Society of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing and co-hosted by the NGS, 1 day of Workshops taught by experts, and 1 day of Technical sessions.,
• GITA's First Annual GIS for Oil & Gas Conference - Calgary - Nov. 6-7, 2008, Calgary Marriott Hotel, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The GIS for Oil & Gas Calgary Conference will build on the momentum from GITA’s GIS for Oil & Gas Conference held in Houston, Texas, every September.
• GITA's “How to Financially Justify Your Geospatial Projects” Two-day Workshop - Nov. 13-14, 2008 in Denver, Dec. 11-12, 2008 in Tampa. All types of organizations now have a unique opportunity to learn from GITA’s landmark research project, “Building a Business Case for Geospatial Information Technology: A Practitioner’s Guide to Financial and Strategic Analysis.”
• Geography in Las Vegas - March 22–27, 2009. Join 8,000 geographers, GIS specialists, and environmental scientists from around the world in Las Vegas for the very latest in research, policy, and applications in geography, sustainability, and GIScience, during the annual conference of the Association of American Geographers.
• California Land Surveyors Association 2009 Conference - March 28-April 1, 2009, Hilton San Diego Resort (Mission Bay).
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, (707) 578-6016.
• SPAR 2009 - March 30- April 1, 2009, Hyatt Regency Hotel, Denver, Colorado. SPAR 2009 will focus on best practices for using 3D imaging technologies to design and deliver capital projects as well as operate, modify and maintain production, manufacturing and infrastructure assets.
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