Customer Stories

TRANSFORMING THE WAY THE WORLD WORKS overview Carrying equipment is part of a field tech's job. But with the introduction of software-defined GNSS receivers, that job may have gotten easier. Crews can now navigate woodland areas and rocky terrain carrying little more than a smartphone. Canadian GIS specialists tested this new technology while bushwhacking their way through a jungle-like site to chart a trail for a cancer fundraiser. It was a project with many roadblocks but they met the challenges in record time. Location Ontario, CANADA CHALLENGE Dillon Consulting is a professional consulting organization in Ontario, Canada. In addition to its work commitments, the company co-sponsors a ladies-only "mud run" for the Canadian Cancer Society called the "Halton Mudmoiselle." When the charity organizers chose a new location in 2017 for the event, Dillon saw it as an opportunity to help the organizers while also trying the latest Esri ® technology. "With a mud run, we wanted it muddy," said Sarah Galloway, a GIS specialist with Dillon. What they got was dense undergrowth, thick brush and a lack of cell coverage that could potentially turn an easy mapping project into a logistical nightmare. Dillon turned to GIS tools such as mobile data collection and mapping to lay out the trails. The venue was a maple farm thick with trees, Galloway said. She and a group from Dillon and the Cancer Society visited the site four months before the race to see what they could do with the space. " It was the first time a run had been held at the farm and we were bushwhackers. There was very dense growth so we couldn't get far in. We also needed to cut through lots of tree cover." On top of that, the maple farm was notorious for weak cellular signals. "We thought this would be a great test for Trimble ® Catalyst ™ and Esri ® Collector for ArcGIS ® (EAP version)," said Galloway, who had been reading about Catalyst, a software-defined GNSS receiver that works with Android ™ - powered devices.

• Cover