A MOBILE OFFICE FOR SURVEYORS. 
Martin J. Nix, M. Surv. 
Marketing Manager 
Geodesy Business Unit 
Leica AG, Heerbrugg 
ISPRS Commission II System for Data Processing, Analysis Presentation 
KEY WORDS 
Acquisition 
Automation 
Surveying 
On-Line 
Economy 
Penpad 
ABSTRACT 
Various land professionals are now contributing to the build up of land and geographic information system 
databases. A variety of technologies are available to facilitate the collection and processing of measured data 
and associated information (or attribute data) into these databases. Like all land professionals, surveyors too, 
are aware that improved productivity can be assisted by investing in products that provide more information, 
faster. GPS is a relatively new tool for acquiring survey related data. Although it offers significant 
productivity improvements for many survey applications, there are some limitations to the technology 
(especially in city, urban and forested areas). This means that total stations continue to be a standard tool for 
surveyors. Both Total Station technology and GPS technology will coexist and, as a result, a relatively new 
concept, which pursues standardization both amongst various surveyors' instruments (total stations and GPS) 
and in the data flow through to GIS systems are being implemented. The data standardization concept 
combines a range of GPS systems, total stations and application software designed around a common data 
carrier. A standard interchange format provides a uniform link to the immense variety of software used for 
surveying computations, CAD, GIS and LIS. 
Part of the new concept allows for a new range of field surveying instruments to collect data on-line with an 
in-field software solution that provides information in a form suitable for GIS systems. The penpad or laptop 
software solution allows data to be visualized in the field which minimizes errors and speeds the flow of data 
to a GIS. The mobile survey office concept guarantees that surveyors can meet the demands of the GIS 
industry now and in the future as well as maintain compatibility with existing methods, existing instruments 
and data types. Practical examples that demonstrate productivity gains are given in the paper. 
INTRODUCTION For example: desktop software has sped up many 
The Mobile Office concept overturns the notion that survey calculation tasks. Other improvements are 
offices must be a fixed place of work in favor of more fundamental. Flows of work are radically 
locating the work process at the most efficient redesigned, eliminating entire steps and offering 
location. leaps in productivity. For example: the fax machine 
not only replaced telex machines, they radically 
All organizations want to improve their work reduced turnaround time — on business 
efficiency. Some improvements are incremental. correspondence by substituting normal post for day 
They speed up an existing process or introduce to day correspondence. In both cases, technology 
additional quality procedures to prevent rework. improvements have contributed to work flow 
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International Archives of Photogrammetry and Remote Sensing. Vol. XXXI, Part B2. Vienna 1996 
  
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