Members of our Smith community are welcome to borrow GPS equipment for teaching and research. Please consult the following details and contact the Spatial Data Specialist 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 Kala'i (lellis@smith.edu) and review our campus UAS policy.
EQUIPMENT
GPS & Laser Rangefinder
| Make | Model | Type | Units Available | Accuracy |
| Bad Elf | Flex Mini Extreme | Mapping-grade GPS (RTK) | 2 | <25cm |
| Bad Elf | GNSS Surveyor | Mapping-grade GPS | 6 | 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 |
| DJI | D-RTK2 | Base Station | 1 | n/a |
Data Collection App
| Name | OS | Web Editing | Compatible GPS | GPS Pairing | User Guides | Access |
| ArcGIS Field Maps | iOS, Android | ArcGIS Online/ ArcGIS Field Maps | Bad Elf, EOS | iOS/Android + 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 | with an EOS | Link | By request |
| Fulcrum | iOS, Android | fulcrumapp.com | Bad Elf, EOS | iOS + Bad Elf; Android + Bad Elf | Link | By request |
Recommended GPS & Data Collection Pairings
We are happy to assist folks in understanding what combination of apps and tools to use. We generally recommend the following as guiding principles:
- If you are hoping to crowd source spatial information via a shareable form in areas with consistent internet connection and do not want users to login or download additional apps, we recommend Survey123.
- If your work requires you to use a high accuracy GNSS/GPS receiver with a potential need to collect data where internet connection is not present or may be spotty, we recommend FieldMaps.
Both Survey123 and FieldMaps integrate nicely in the ArcGIS Online ecosystem with the biggest difference between the two being the data intake process.
| Purpose | Accuracy | Conditions | Recommended Pairing |
| Points and attributes | Open/Urban | - Arrow 100/Gold or Bad Elf Units + Field Maps/Survey123 | |
| Multiple types of features (point, line, polygon) and attributes | - Open/Urban
- Dense cover |
- Bad Elf GNSS Surveyor + FieldMaps
- 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 or iCMTGIS Pro |
Drones
The SAL uses and maintains (more or less) a variety of drones from the Mini 3 Pro to the Mavic 3 Enterprise. Most of our drones are used for mapping and we look forward to working with students and faculty to support research efforts that need high spatial resolution imagery. Our partners in the drone space include the Geosciences, Biology, the Imaging Center and the Botanic Garden.
Some of our work can be found by search on "drone" on this website, or Vimeo channel, or in the ArcGIS Online Gallery.
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 Kala'i (lellis@smith.edu) for information on how to access the RTK differential stream.