GeoSpatial Experts introduced the ArcPad Edition of its GPS-Photo Link photo-mapping software. Designed primarily for mobile GIS users, the GPS-Photo Link ArcPad Edition automatically links digital photographs to existing or new ArcPad records while the user is in the field.
“GeoSpatial Experts created the ArcPad edition for the growing numbers of GIS users who capture or edit geospatial data working onsite in their project area,” said Rick Bobbitt, President of GeoSpatial Experts. “This new edition saves time and improves the efficiency of field work for anyone who uses ArcPad by allowing them to link photos to geodata in the field without going back to the office.”
The GPS-Photo Link software automatically links digital photographic images with GPS location data and then accurately maps the photographs in their correct georeferenced locations on a GIS layer. In addition, GPS-Photo Link creates web pages in which the watermarked photographs are integrated with satellite imagery, street maps, or other GIS-based mapping layer. The software enables users to display their photo locations as icons in a Google Earth map layer and add arrows indicating the directions in which the photos were taken.
The new version runs inside of ESRI’s ArcPad software on any standard field data collection device, personal digital assistant (PDA) or mobile GIS system that can communicate with a GPS receiver. The photo-mapping software also requires a Bluetooth or WiFi compatible digital camera, such as the Ricoh 500SE, which wirelessly transmits photos to a data collection device.
As the user takes digital photos, GPS-Photo Link ArcPad Edition automatically creates a new ArcPad record and georeferences it to the correct location in the GIS data layer. Multiple photos can be linked to the same record, allowing the user to take pictures from several angles and store them as attributes. Once the record is created, the user can proceed to record other attributes in the ArcPad interface screen.
In the map update mode, the ArcPad Edition enables users to take existing GIS data with them into the field and access records from any ArcPad layer. GPS-Photo Link lets them acquire new digital photographs for inclusion in the attribute fields of a given feature. Other attributes can be updated in standard fashion using the ArcPad menu. Once the user returns to the office, the ArcPad files can be uploaded with the photos into the GIS for immediate updating of the appropriate data layers.
“The ArcPad Edition of GPS-Photo Link is a fast and easy way for mobile GIS users to build a historical record of georeferenced photographs showing the condition of features in the field at specific times,” said Bobbitt. “This is a great tool for utility and municipal GIS users who repeatedly map assets and their attributes.”
For more information on GPS-Photo Link, visit www.geospatialexperts.com.
Source: GeoSpatial Experts