Members of our Smith community are welcome to borrow GPS equipment for teaching and research. Please consult the following details and contact Tracy (htien@smith.edu) to schedule a time to learn how to use the equipment and pick up. If you’re interested in incorporating drones in your teaching or research, please contact Jon (jcaris@smith.edu) and review our campus UAS policy.
EQUIPMENT
GPS & Laser Rangefinder
Make | Model | Type | Units Available | Accuracy |
Bad Elf | GNSS Surveyor | GPS | 12 | 1m (stationary); 2.5m (kinematic) |
Bad Elf | GPS Pro | GPS | 1 | 2.5m (stationary) |
Trimble | Juno SB | GPS | 17 | 2.5m (stationary); 1-3m (differential corrected) |
EOS | Arrow 100 | GPS | 4 | 60cm |
EOS | Arrow Gold | RTK GPS | 2 | 1cm |
LTI | TruPulse 360 | Laser Rangefinder | 2 | n/a |
LTI | TruPulse 200x | Laser Rangefinder | 2 | n/a |
Data Collection App
Name | OS | Web Editing | Compatible GPS | GPS Pairing | User Guides | Access |
Fulcrum | iOS, Android | fulcrumapp.com | Bad Elf Pro & GNSS Surveyor, EOS Arrow 100 & Gold, full list | iOS + Bad Elf; Android + Bad Elf | Link | By request |
ArcGIS Collector | iOS, Android | ArcGIS Online | Bad Elf Pro & GNSS Surveyor, Arrow 100 & Gold, full list for iOS & Android | iOS/Android + Bad Elf/EOS Arrow | Link | Sign in to ArcGIS Online |
ArcGIS Survey123 | iOS, Android | survey123.arcgis.com & desktop | Bad Elf, EOS | iOS/Android + Bad Elf/EOS Arrow | Link | Sign in to ArcGIS Online |
iCMTGIS PRO | iOS | n/a | Bad Elf, EOS Arrow | with an EOS | Link | By request |
Recommended GPS & Data Collection Pairings
Purpose | Accuracy | Conditions | Recommended Pairing |
Points and attributes | Open/Urban | Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor + Fulcrum | |
Multiple types of features (point, line, polygon) and attributes | - Open/Urban
- Dense cover |
- Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor + Collector
- Arrow 100/Gold + Collector/iCMTGIS PRO |
|
Pre-defined single feature and attributes | - Open/Urban
- Dense cover |
- Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor + Survey123
- Arrow 100/Gold + Survey123 |
|
GCP for drones | RTK/PPK | Open | Arrow100/Gold + Fulcrum |
Base Station
We maintain one of the National Geodetic Survey's Continuously Operation Reference Stations (CORS) - HAMP. Here's the direct data link, and please contact Tracy (htien@smith.edu) or Jon (jcaris@smith.edu) for information on how to access the RTK differential stream.
SOFTWARE
The following GIS/photogrammetry software are currently installed on SR104 lab computers. Details on access here, and for those that have a limited license (such as Pix4D and DJI Flight Simulator Enterprise) are by request. Our ArcGIS Online organization is: https://smithcollege.maps.arcgis.com/.
Program | Description | Version |
ArcGIS | Includes ArcMap, ArcCatalog, ArcGlobe, ArcScene | 10.7 |
ArcGIS Pro | Desktop GIS integrated with ArcGIS Online | 2.4 |
ArcGIS Earth | 1.9 | |
ArcGIS Maps for Office | Visualizations in Excel and PowerPoint | 5.0 |
GeoDa | Free and open-source GIS for exploratory spatial analysis and basic spatial regression analysis for point and polygon data | 1.12 |
Google Earth Pro | Virtual globe that can support GIS data, geocoding, image overlays | 1.9 |
QGIS | Leading free and open-source GIS software | 3.8 Zanzibar |
Pix4D | Photogrammetry software for drone mapping; 2 floating licenses | 4.4.12 |
Trimble GPS Pathfinder Office | Trimble land surveying software for post-prcessing GNSS data; use with any Trimble units | 5.90 |
DJI Flight Simulator Enterprise | Drone flight simulator; only installed on #9 | 1.4.0.0 |