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 | Mapping-grade GPS | 12 | 1m (stationary); 2.5m (kinematic) |
| EOS | Arrow 100 | Survey-grade GPS | 4 | 60cm |
| EOS | Arrow Gold | Survey-grade GPS (RTK) | 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 Field Maps | iOS, Android | ArcGIS Online/ ArcGIS Field Maps | Arrow 100 & Gold | iOS/Android + EOS Arrow | Link | Sign in to ArcGIS Online |
| 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
- Arrow 100/Gold + Field Maps/Survey123 |
|
| Multiple types of features (point, line, polygon) and attributes | - Open/Urban
- Dense cover |
- Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor + Collector
- Arrow 100/Gold + Field Maps/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 + Field Maps |
Drones
| Make & Model | Nickname(s) | Use |
| DJI Phantom 4 Pro | Paul, Phippsburg | Principle survey mapping drone with upgraded cameras from the Phantom 4 series, and five-directional sensors. Most suited for landscape imaging and more stability in stronger winds |
| DJI P4 Multispectral | Plants | Survey-grade high precision drone with 1 RGB camera and a multispectral camera array (Red Edge, and Near Infrared) |
| DJI Phantom 4 RTK | Phenom | Real-time, centimeter-level accuracy for optimized low altitude survey mapping |
| DJI Mavic Pro | Pie | First in the Mavic series, a lightweight, maneuverable drone that has the same 4K camera, and smaller FOV than the P4 |
| DJI Mavic 2 Zoom | Ponder | Notable for its aerial photography/cinematography capabilities - a 1/2.3-inch 12-megapixel sensor with up to four-times zoom, including a two-times optical zoom (24-48mm) |
| DJI Mavic Air | Pearsall, Pioneer | Portable and compact 4K drone with various flight modes |
| DJI Mavic Air 2S | Pika, Pademelon | Most suitable for everyday aerial photographers/cinematographers, features 1-inch CMOS sensor, capable in shooting hyperlapse, wide-angle, 180°, sphere, and various autonomous functions |
| DJI Mavic Mini | TBD | Light (<250g) and safe drone without FAA-registration requirement |
| DJI Mavic Mini 3 Pro | TBD | Same lightweight as the Mavic Mini, the Mini 3 Pro has improved obstacle sensing, increased flight time, gimbal that allows low-angle and vertical shots |
| DJI FPV | Pandemic | Immersive, first person view drone |
| DJI/Ryze Tello | Pterry | Mini drone for education and coding for programmable flying |
| DJI Goggles | n/a | First person view goggles with camera control; compatible with P4 Pros and Mavic Pro |
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 | 10.8.2 |
| ArcGIS Pro | Desktop GIS integrated with ArcGIS Online; including Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributions driver for Access and Excel, ArcGIS Maps for Adobe Creative Cloud | 3.0 |
| 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 | 1.20.08 |
| Google Earth Pro | Virtual globe that can support GIS data, geocoding, image overlays | 7.3 |
| QGIS | Leading free and open-source GIS software | 3.24.3 Tisler |
| Pix4D | Photogrammetry software for drone mapping; 2 floating licenses | 4.8.0 |
| Drone2Map | Esri photogrammetry software for drone mapping; Basic is included, and 5 named user advanced licenses | 2022.1 |
| DJI Flight Simulator Enterprise | Drone flight simulator; only installed on #9 | 1.4.0.0 |
| Inkscape | Free and open-source vector graphic editor | 1.2 |
| Adobe Creative Cloud | Version 6 |