Pen-based mapping - Then and now
History
Case History : Facility Survey
During the early 1990s, industries and government agencies increasingly began to
demand information technology that would support graphic facilities and utilities
mapping. Management executives recognized the advantages of having information that
allowed a vision of a facility rather than a list of facts. Graphic layouts offer rapid
analysis; database accuracy and flexibility lend the ability to explore and change a plan in
an instant. So facilities management increasingly required databases that could be built
rapidly and that generated site layouts, facilities and utilities representation, and survey
results in graphic form.
At Woolpert, Information Technology and GIS teams were beginning work on a project
that would reveal the feasibility of such a process. The undertaking was a facility
utilization survey of over 2.6 million square feet, comprising 237 separate facilities at
Fort Belvoir. The project schedule did not allow the surveyors to collect data on paper,
submit the data for electronic composition, and then recheck the results. The surveyors
needed to input the data electronically to achieve the necessary level of efficiency.
Using Gateway’s Handbook computer, a 486 keyboard-based “sub-notebook,” crews
began to attribute database information for the survey. At just 2.2 pounds, the hardware
was extremely portable-very helpful for collecting floor plan data. A technician from
the group wrote a program in Clarion that supported data input screens and management.
Graphics were created through storing the data in dBase 3 and using C++ to manage the
graphical interface. However, the short battery life of the computer wouldn’t support the
necessary software. In response, the IT team optimized the software to run on a 2-
megabyte RAM card. This allowed the hard drive to be shut down, doubling battery life;
by carrying a single spare battery, the surveyor was prepared for a full workday.
The results of this process were mixed: The accuracy and speed desired were attained and
the databases and CAD files supported the base’s user interface. But there was a general
opinion that the process could be improved. For example, although facilities were fully
attributed with each characteristic—from physical characteristics to content status (such
as classified documentation>the system mapped just one room at a time. Floor plans
could be joined to form a full picture only if every measurement was exact. In addition,
using both hands to attribute the database—through keyboard entry-was awkward. The
team wanted to conquer the limitations of the process, and began to source more
adaptable software and more powerful hardware.
The New Generation of Hardware, Software, and Programming Ca~abilitY
After coming that far, the team was ready to take the process even further. Technology
was rapidly catapulting hardware and software capability to new heights. CPUS were
faster; hardware and memory became less expensive. New processors were being
released at regular intervals and software offered more power and the flexibility of
object-based operation. The pen-based computer, although in its infancy, was beginning
to offer capabilities equal to tasks such as database/CAD integration. And for the first
time, GPS capabilities were available in Windows. As a result, surveying and mapping
software afforded rapid customization through off-the-shelf software, such as Visual
Basic, C++, and Delphi. Because of these developments, a better field survey system was
possible.
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