“We are giving our Arrow GNSS customers a solution today that allows them to combine both locator data and high-accuracy locations in web maps,” Eos CTO Jean-Yves Lauture said. “This greatly simplifies their workflow by allowing one person to do underground locates and GIS mapping simultaneously.”
With Eos Locate™ for Collector, one field worker can collect both GNSS locations and locator data (e.g., depth below cover) for any buried asset including water, sewer, electric, cable, gas, fiber infrastructure and more. They can do so quickly, accurately and without the need for any additional field or office support.
“This is a big step forward for utility organizations who need to gain better visibility of their infrastructure,” said Doug Morgenthaler, Esri program manager. “With today’s technology, utilities can already see where new assets are being put in the ground. The challenge historically has been figuring out where existing assets are.”
Eos Locate™ for Collector not only streamlines underground-asset mapping, but also improves office production times. It eliminates the need to manually combine datasets from the locator and GPS devices within ArcGIS.
“Seeing all that information from utility locators and GPS receivers packaged directly into a GIS application is exceptional,” Vivax-Metrotech Eastern Regional Sales Manager Kelvin Cherrington said. “This solution will help utilities create maps of their underground assets with a much more modern and efficient methodology.”
Indiana American Water Early Adoption
Earlier this year, Indiana American Water approached Eos to seek a solution that consolidated their utility-locate workflow with their Arrow and Collector field work.
“We had the manpower to put paint down,” said Todd Chapman, Indiana American Water Senior GIS Analyst. “But we would need to hire another person to map the locations with our Arrow Gold GNSS receivers.”
Chapman estimates Eos Locate™ for Collector will cut their field time in half as well as enable the creation of extremely accurate buried-infrastructure maps in ArcGIS.
“Previously, we were seeing that our old water mains could be off by up to 20 feet,” Chapman said. “With the new Eos Locate™ for Collector, we’re seeing that it’s accurate to under an inch.”
Looking ahead
The initial release of Eos Locate™ for Collector runs on Apple’s iOS iPhones and iPads and supports the vLoc Series from Vivax Metrotech. Future releases of Eos Locate™ for Collector will support additional locator models including the vScan series.
With accurate digital twins of their buried infrastructure, utilities across sectors can expect improvements to safety, damage prevention, field efficiency and regulatory compliance.
“Not only does this mean quicker responses to 811 tickets and fewer liabilities during field digs,” Lauture said. “But it also constitutes a major step forward toward the highly efficient future of 3D asset management and viable augmented-reality workflows.”
Learn more about the Eos Locate™ for Collector for ArcGIS here.
About Esri
Esri, the global market leader in geographic information system (GIS) software, location intelligence, and mapping, offers the most powerful geospatial cloud available, to help customers unlock the full potential of data to improve operational and business results. Founded in 1969, Esri software is deployed in more than 350,000 organizations including 90 of the Fortune 100 companies, all 50 state governments, more than half of all counties (large and small), and 87 of the Forbes Top 100 colleges in the US, as well as all 15 executive departments of the US government and dozens of independent agencies. With its pioneering commitment to geospatial information technology, Esri engineers the most advanced solutions for digital transformation, the Internet of Things (IoT), and advanced analytics. Visit us at esri.com.
About Eos Positioning Systems, Inc. (Eos)
Eos Positioning Systems®, Inc., (Eos) designs and manufactures the world’s premier, high-accuracy GPS / GNSS receivers for the Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) market. The submeter and centimeter Arrow GNSS receivers support survey-grade location on any iOS, Android, and Windows devices. Free Eos software utilities, such as Eos Tools Pro, are designed to provide users with a smooth GNSS experience in the field by providing them with valuable GNSS monitoring tools and advanced solutions for GIS mapping. Eos is an Esri Silver Partner and 2019 EPC Award Winner, whose Arrow Series™ GNSS receivers offer full compatibility with any iOS, Android, and Windows device to provide submeter or centimeter location data to Esri mobile apps. Learn more about Eos here.
About Vivax Metrotech
Vivax-Metrotech develops and manufactures products for buried utility locating, fiber-optic cable locating, ferrous metal detection, coating analysis and performing ACVG surveys on cathodic protected pipes, finding sheath to ground faults on cables, inspecting the interior of pipes and ducts, and mapping of buried utilities. Vivax-Metrotech products are backed up by their worldwide network of trained distributors and service centers bringing the customer local sales, training, and service centers. Learn more at https://www.vivax-metrotech.com/.