SurveyLab
An all-in-one mapping tool developed by a Wellington company is revolutionising the way survey work is done around the world.
SurveyLab's hand-held data collection device allows operators to quickly and reliably determine the coordinates of a point from a position up to 1,000m away. Before the advent of the IKE (It Knows Everything) device, people conducting surveys had to carry their laptop, GPS device, external antennas and all their other equipment up to their target to get its coordinates. When surveying a disaster area, dense bush or a warzone, this has disadvantages. But even in safer, less challenging, situations, being able to get the coordinates of an object from a distance, has very real advantages. GPS uses signals from orbiting satellites to work; the accuracy of a fix can be severely compromised if these signals are obscured or interfered with by a tall structure or natural feature. SurveyLab's IKE device gets around this problem by allowing for a clear shot everytime.
SurveyLab's IKE in action
(Click to enlarge)
What sets IKE apart, inventor Leon Toorenburg says, is that it incorporates a digital camera that takes a photograph (up to 1280x1024 pixels) at the same time as a fix on an object is made, which is stored in the device's database. Surveyors have always accompanied their survey data with sketches, paintings, or photographs. The advent of digital photography sped things up, but one fundamental problem remained: what guarantee was there that the data captured corresponded with the image portrayed? With IKE, crosshairs captured on the image correspond with the recorded coordinates, both in temporal and geospatial terms.
