Infrastructure and Asset Management using Mobile Technology

Infrastructure and Asset Management using Mobile Technology

Raymond D. Thierrin, P.E.
Vice-President, Geo Informational Services
100 Corporate Drive, Suite 205
Lebanon, New Jersey 08833 United States

Introduction
Public works departments, public utilities and private corporations are becoming more and more reliant on automated processes and computer based decision support. Asset management technologies such as geographic information systems (GIS) and relational database management systems (RDBMS) are gaining widespread approval, due both to the rapidly declining costs of enabling technologies and the desire to remain competitive. The large growth in the implementation of infrastructure and asset management systems over the past few years has created a compelling need for current and accurate data to base those decisions on. This data is best maintained directly in the field, at the "point of contact". Pen-based and handheld computers show significant appeal as the platform of choice for these field data collection and management applications due to their ease of use and widespread availability.

Enabling Technologies
The development of hand held and pen based computer applications for asset inventory data collection and mapping, field engineering, infrastructure management, and construction inspection is made possible through the integration of a variety of enabling technologies. The integration of enabling technologies such as mobile computing platforms, speech to data capture engines, handwriting recognition, freehand sketching and signat~e capture, digital imaging) GPS/GIS mapping and wireless data communication is made easier through the use of a variety of software applications and rapid application development software tools.

Computing Hardware
A discussion of the myriad of computing solutions available for use in the field could easily occupy the entirety of this paper. Most of the vendors that deal with global positioning system (GPS) and survey data collection devices have single focus handheld data collection hardware that work well in the field based on small screen text only input. In order to focus on business standard software applications, the discussion on hardware will be largely bounded to hardware designed to support graphical user interfaces (GUI) that enable end users to readily assimilate information, such as those based on variants of the Windows operating system environment. In addition, these devices support a variety of technical and business applications, which allow them to be considered as true business decision support tools.

There are several hardware vendors that produce high quality and robust field platforms that readily support a variety of applications. These platforms can be divided into two major categories, notebooks and pen tablets. Notebooks have become the staple of the mobile business traveler, running Windows 95, Windows 98 and Windows NT. However, most notebook computers cannot take the daily rigors of the typical field worker. Several vendors such as Telxon and Panasonic, among numerous others, have developed ruggedized notebook computers that have such features as magnesium screen cases and shock mounted hard drives. These types of devices have found increasing acceptance in utility companies and in public safety applications. One of the practical issues with notebook computers is that the majority of them come with color screens, usually active matrix. Most people who have attempted to take a color laptop computer in the field know how difficult it is to see the screen in bright sunlight. Some vendors have developed anti-glare coatings for the color screens that mitigate some of these issues. Color screens also tend to have higher power consumption, a major drawback in a mobile environment.

The pen tablet has been a significant component of field automation technology over the past few years. The concept of the pen tablet is simple, take the concept of a pen and paper and make it digital. The pen tablet has been able to remove some of the difficulties in having a casual computer user deal with a computing device, a keyboard and a mouse. The pen stylus becomes the main program navigation tool and input device. Most of the platforms do allow typing through the use of an on-screen or virtual keyboard, as well as always improving handwriting recognition tools. The nature of the pen interface allows for other data capture tools, such as pen freehand sketching and redlining as well as signature capture. Vendors such as Fujitsu, MicroSlate and Hammerhead have been producing pen tablet systems for several years, with both monochrome and color screens available. The best screen technology for outdoor use is currently the monochrome transflective variety, however by the time this paper is presented, several vendors will likely be delivering color transflective units. This technology will bring a larger audience to pen based computers. In addition, support of industry standard operating systems like Windows, including Windows NT makes these systems compliant with many organizations' information technology (IT) strategies.

It becomes difficult to review field computer technology without some discussion on handheld computers. The recent advances in handheld computer technologies, with such platforms as the pen-enabled 3Com's Palm Pilot and the Microsoft Windows CE based HPCS and palm-size PCs, has enabled enterprise data to be distributed to the mobile work force. Because of the small form factor, these types of computers can be put into a shirt or jacket pocket and taken out when needed to review, enter and modify data. The Palm Pilot has been the market's leader since its inception, even with a proprietary operating system. Undoubtedly, Microsoft's decision to enter the market was based on their vision that Windows functionality is desirable across all computing platforms. The initial release of Windows CE, with vendors like Sharp, HP and

Casio, has been improved over time to their Jupiter technology and the release of the Handheld PC Professional device. This Windows CE device has more of a sub-light notebook form factor, with some vendors like Vadem going to a convertible notebooldslate form factor. These sub- $1OOOdevices allow somereasonable high-end functionalityto reach the field. Other field technologies have become evident in niche markets, such as manufacturing and maintenance that hold some promise for the future. A new breed of system called a wearable computer, which are battery-operated devices that can be worn on a person's body on a vest or belt. The companies that manufacture this type of technology, such as ViA Computers and Xybemaut Corporation, incorporate such interfaces as head mounted or PDA-type displays, voice activation or arm mounted keyboards. Because of the advances being made in circuit board design and component miniaturization, it is possible to deploy field systems that sport Pentium class processors and high-resolution screen technology. This type of solution would be very appropriate for field workers that require a high degree of mobility and computing power, but are unable to carry a unit 100°/0 of the time.

Speech Input
The use of speech input has long been viewed by many in the computing industry (like Microsoft's Bill Gates, among others) as potentially the most natural of computer interfaces. The ability to navigate through programs and utilize voice as an input tool is functionality offered by several vendors, such as IBM's ViaVoice and Dragon Systems's Naturally-Speaking products. Many of the continuous speech recognition engines still require a significant amount of setup and configuration and a fairly robust operating environment (usually Pentium MMX class machines). These applications are used primarily as dictation tools for business executives (usually the most frequent early-adopters) who develop a significant amount of correspondence and reports. Both of the vendors listed above offer development tools that allow software programmers to embed voice capabilities into custom applications.

Software companies have developed applications for field automation that utilize voice as a data input tool. Datria Systems, Inc. has an application called VoCarta that combines speech input and mapping with a variety of other input devices, such as GPS and digital imaging. Best utilized as a mass data collection tool, the user utilizes a pre-defined set of objects and modifiers, called VoCabs, to populate data sets. By using pre-defined sets of objects rather than a 10,000 word vocabulary, the accuracy increases from about 90°/0 with most voice applications to close to 100'Yo.Designed as a field application, it is also ideal for paper to digital data conversions.

Digital Imaging
The use of digital cameras as a mainstream business tool for photographs and video has become a reality. As with all emerging technologies, a larger user base and reductions in manufacturing costs has caused the level of innovation to increase and the prices to come down. Once relegated to photojournalists requiring instant processing and transmission of images, digital cameras are now being marketed to the Nintendo GameBoy and Barbie generation. The negatives of digital imaging, file size and image resolution are being mitigated with image compression software algorithms and better CCD sensor technology. Vendors who made names for themselves in traditional film technology, such as Kodak, Olympus and Fuji, are also the leaders in digital imaging. New innovations have included the ability to capture voice notes along with the digital images, to annotate photos with notes with a pen stylus and combining still images and motion video on the same devices. Cameras are available in the sub-$1000 range that generate photographs that are comparable to an 8" x 10" photograph. Other innovations include the wide availability of digital memory storage devices, such as ATA and Compact Flash Cards, and the affordable CD recorders that are available.

Another issue with digital imaging as compared to film photography has been the quality of the output. Several vendors have developed ink-jet and dye-sublimation printers that closely approximate film photography. However, where a software application focuses on image retrieval through a database, the use of digital cameras makes the process a lot more streamlined.

Global Positioning Svstems/Geo~raPhic Information Systems
Global positioning systems (GPS), a product of the US Department of defense, has finally become a commercial way of capturing positional data. A variety of off the shelf mapping applications, such as those developed by DeLorme, utilize GPS as a navigation tool. In-vehicle navigation devices have become the "must have" option in many upscale automobiles.

Recreational hikers and fisherman have begun to rely on GPS for enhancing their activities, enabling them to store their favorite "spots" and navigate back to them at a later time. Unfortunately, it seems that this commercialization of GPS technology has done little to educate the public on such issues as accuracy and precision, as well as some of the practical limitations of GPS, such as its limits on use in urban cities.

Much of the data being utilized and managed by corporate America relies on its location. Making coordinate information part of the database enables the data to be utilized within mapping applications, such as GIS. Many decisions are based on the proximity of pieces of data to other pieces of data. The installations of new utility appurtenances are usually based on where existing ones are located. The removal of older systems must take into account where other systems are located, so that they are not darnaged in the construction process.

The use of GIS in automated mapping and facility management is a topic onto itself, but advances in software tools has allowed often voluminous GIS and CADD data to be segmented and published to field units utilizing Web browsers. ESRI and Intergraph, among other vendors have developed browser and HTML (HyperText Mark-up Language) technologies that will allow the market to go towards "thin client" type system architectures. Web based publishing allows users at remote sites access to GIS based databases. GIS data can now be distributed to all users, those in the office and the field.

Wireless Data Communication
In the past few years, there has been tremendous growth in the area of wireless communications. Cell towers have been erected all over the place, low orbit satellites have been launched, and a variety of firmware products have been developed to data-enable software applications. The maturation of this technology has enabled utility companies to take advantage of mission critical applications, such as emergency vehicle dispatch and routing. The major limitations to the widespread use of the technology are the cost for the hardware and subscription services, and the sometimes-limited bandwidth. Many of the available services charge by the size of the transmission, or packet, versus per minute charges like cellular phones. The bandwidth and transmission transfer rates make all but simple text transmissions problematic. This limits the use of wireless data, and currently the sending of digital images and mapping files is largely limited to private networks where traffic and bandwidth are less of a problem.

Case Studies
The best way to illustrate the processes and implementation issues in using mobile computing technology for infrastructure and asset management is to showcase a few case studies and prototype applications. Although most of these applications are geared towards public works assets, the parallels to utilities and related industries should be obvious.

Sign Inventory and Mana~ement System - County De~artment of Public Works
The sign inventory and management system was implemented to consolidate sign panel information on County Roads to enhance the inventory, management, and maintenance responsibilities of the County. The field systems were based on Fujitsu Stylistic 1200 pen computers with interfaces to global positioning system receivers and color digital cameras. The system, based on the SIGNview product by CarteGraph Systems, Inc., includes the implementation of an on-line Manual of Uniform Traffic Control Devices (MUTCD) standardized sign library, which could be attached to any sign record. The sign locations were being collected with sub-2 meter real time differential corrected Racal GPS equipment so that the sign locations could be displayed in conjunction with the County's existing county GIS base mapping. The sign management system provided for an interactive interface that allows the end user to "click" on a sign location and the database record for that sign will appear.

The system provided an interactive history log form which details the work order number, crew, activity, reasons for activity, and supplemental information. This work history information is associated with each sign panel so that it is possible to rollback the history logs to a specific date. Field personnel walking alongside the roadway, with vehicles used to travel between locations, collected much of the data. The use of a mountain bike was experimented with, with good results. The GPS receiver was mounted in saddlebag on the back of the bike, with some modifications made to the antenna so that the rider could easily get on and off the bike. The field mapping environment was based on CarteGraph's CARTEmaster product, which allowed the use of AutoCAD base mapping CADD files in conjunction with the GPS based sign locations. This visualization tool allows for on the fly navigation and quality control of the collected GPS points.

Outdoor Advertising Inventory and Mana~ement System - State Department of Trans~ortation
This project included the development of a comprehensive client-server relational database management system to be used by the Department for the tracking of outdoor advertising sign structures, the facings associated with the structures, and the permits associated with the facings, as well as the management of junkyard facilities. For field operations, a system was developed that will run on Panasonic ToughBook ruggedized notebooks that will allow for the updating of sign information and the acquisition of new sign information directly at the sign location in the field in an Microsofi Access database. The field systems include a variety of data collection technologies, such as wide area differentially corrected global positioning systems (GPS), laser range finders and digital cameras that connect directly to the field computer for downloading of information directly in the field. The revised and new database records are taken from the field and synchronized with the master database at the Central office location. The office system is based on an Oracle database engine, servicing Central office and District offices over a wide area network.

Several technical issues had to be overcome with the development of the system. Outdoor advertising signs are typically on private property, making access to the signs impractical to get a good GPS coordinate. This required the use of a combination of GPS and handheld laser devices to remotely locate the signs, as well as the development of software code that guided the user through the process.

Bridge Inspection System - City Department of Transportation
The agency required a system that would enable in-house staff to annually inspect the bridges in their jurisdiction. An application was developed for the field acquisition of data, including the capture of extensive note fields and digital images. The application was developed using Microsoft's Visual Basic development tool and runs on Fujitsu Stylistic 1200 pen computers running Windows NT. Using this system, field inspectors are able to download inspection information from either current or past inspections, and continue working on an existing inspection or create a new inspection record. One of the safeguards that had to be built into the system was a series of checks to ensure that the while the bridge record was deployed to the field, no one in the office could update the record. In addition, h was necessary that synchronization be done between the remote datasets and the office datasets. These fwctions were accomplished using Access's data synchronization tools.

A unique problem that was overcome was the way that images were linked to inspection fields. A single digital photograph could be utilized to illustrate and document several observed defect in the bridge, without the need to store multiple copies of the image in the database.

Street Tree Inventory - City Parks Department
The decision to place urban trees throughout a large metropolitan area ofien comes with a large price tag. Street trees represent a cost comparable to placing a traffic sign, and typically require a greater degree of annual care. The problem being tackled here is to inventory 300,000 street trees and develop a comprehensive condition assessment on an annual basis. This task, given the traditional pen and paper method, was largely unmanageable given the existing forces available. The solution developed was a pen based computer application using the VoCarta speech to data engine.

Pen based computing was not a new concept for this city, already using a few for their code enforcement people and their water department. The pen computers being used were Fujitsu Stylistic 1200s, which had the necessary built-in sound system with microphone and speaker inputs. The city found that using pen-based computers was a great way to leverage their existing ESRI GIS databases. City personnel helped to decide what features were included in the object vocabulary. One of the issues to be evaluated was the utility of using GPS in the downtown area. It was decided that in many areas the parcel level base mapping was sufficient in accuracy to locate the trees where GPS wasn't appropriate.

Construction Sim Management System - City Demrtment of Transportation
Construction signs are one of the most important aspects of communicating information to the motoring public. In heavily urbanized areas, it can represent a significant problem in terms of maintenance and operations, through such things as accident damage and vandalism. Most largescale construction projects are designed within a CADD environment, so naturally extending the value of the CADD files through the construction phase makes considerable sense. A construction sign management system was developed to run on a Fujitsu pen computer using PenMetrics' FieldNotes. This software application allowed a clear marriage of CADD graphics and database management tools. The purpose of this project was to enable inspectors to conduct

A daily inventory of construction signs throughout the project area to ensure compliance with contract documents. The system enabled the generation of reports to the client and contractor to call attention to "action hems", and provided status reports of events related to maintenance and protection of traffic.

Traffic Signal LED Redacement Program - City Detmrtment of Streets
A city was undertaking an extensive signal system upgrade where traditional signal lamps were being replaced with brighter and power conscious LED lamps. Due to the sheer volume of lamps to b e replaced and the need to track LED warranty information, it was decided to implement a comprehensive pen computer based inventory and management system to support the City's traffic signal upgrade program. The system was based on CarteGraph's SIGNALview product running on Fujitsu Stylistic 1000s. Workflow procedures were implemented that would allow a field engineer to go into the field and catalog existing street intersection and traffic control device information including such items as street names, location of signal support poles and signal heads, signal head and lens configuration, and controller information. Procedures were implemented so those digital images of the intersection's elements could be collected directly in the field into the specific database record. Bar code technology was utilized by having individual LED lenses identified with a unique bar code ID, which was read into the field system database through the use of a portable laser bar code scanner. Specific field data collection forms were developed so that the same system could be used by traffic signal maintenance crews to locate the intersection and pertinent signal head information and to record the installed lens' bar code directly into the database along with the installation date for warranty purposes.

The project also included the development of procedures to track signal timing information along with the intersection's controller information, as well as developing power consumption calculations from the timing data. This information is extracted into an Access database for development of required reports.

Culvert Inspection Promam - County Department of Public Works
The purpose of the project was to develop an application that could be utilized to conduct the field inventory and inspections of culverts in the county. The application would be used to develop a comprehensive culvert database that includes data tables for culvert inventory data and also inspection data to evaluate the culvert's overall condition.

The objective of the culvert inspection database is to collect sufficient data to inventory and evaluate each culvert. Based on this database, an overall assessment of the culvert inventory would be developed on a periodic basis as well as the ability to develop a response plan to maintain the culverts. The application aids in decisions of inspection intervals, maintenance schedules, repair or replacement of culverts, and also potentially identifies culverts that are at risk for road failure. The revised database will consist of two data tables. The culvert inventory table will contain site data such as location, dimensions, construction, etc. The culvert inspection will contain information on the condition of the culvert and an overall rating. This information will be replaced with subsequent future inspections.

The inspection consists of nine parameters that will be rated in the field; the condition of each parameter is defined by a scale ranging from 1 to 5 where"1" is excellent, "3" minor damage, and "5" is imminent failure. The results of these ratings will be then used to develop an overall culvert rating score. The relative importance between the parameters was defined by assigning

factors in the rating equation. The highest priority will be given to parameters reflecting the culvert stability, which in turn directly relates to its fiction and potential failure. The rating scores will be used to identi~ the appropriate response by the county to maintain the culverts which can range from hi-annual inspections, maintenance to continue culvert performance, repairs to restore culvert performance, replacements to avoid failure, and emergency responses to protect the public. The goal of the rating scores is to provide the County with a predictive tool to forecast the type and extent of responses required maintaining their culvert inventory.

Building / Construction Management - County Aviation Department
The current trend in airport real property management is to make airport concourses shopping, eating and recreational experiences. This trend has forced airport managers to find more efficient ways to perform functions such as space management, plan review, and construction management. Many airport engineering departments are becoming large users of CADD technology to manage their construction document process.

In order to leverage available technology and a rich CADD dataset, it was decided to implement technology that utilized pen based computer technology and mobile CADD tools. The pen computers were Fujitsu 1200 pen tablets running the Windows NT operating system. The application was AutoDesk's View product. The View product is geared as a redlining tool for Autodesk's AutoCAD CADD product, but it also capable of handling such things as scanned in floor plans or architectural details. Airport personnel are able to bring CADD files from inhouse staff or architectural and space planning consultants right to the field and use the pen interface to "redline" the files. This "redline" information is similar to someone taking a set of paper plans to the field and writing notes or changes on the plans in marker or ink. The "redline" information can be brought into the AutoCAD office environment as a separate layer and CADD operators can update the base files and make any necessary changes. This process doesn't require the field personnel to be CADD literate.

Airport personnel also had the need to provide some construction site documentation and decided to utilize digital cameras to quickly document conditions and then archive them to a file. The View product also has the ability to bring in image files and annotate them, which leveraged the use of the pen computer systems.

Summary
The use of mobile computing technology in the implementation of infrastructure and asset management systems can lead to significant gains in productivity. The largest gains realized, however, could easily be related to increases in quality of data and job satisfaction. The ability of field personnel to bring enterprise data to the field, review and update information and bring it back to maintain the corporate database brings field people into the process of improving the quality of information. Across the board, the implementation of these types of technology brings to the table tremendous opportunities for improving the product of our daily work.