GPS Software

[David Richardson]

Ok GPS'ers

Here is my problem.
I have been tasked to set up a 3 person mobile team to minitor radiation
levels along the coast. Each team member has the following equipment:
Laptop computer with XP Pro
Two way radio. (The computer is connected to the radio so that they can send
their results to a central location in real time.)
The GPS unit is undecided
and a radiation meter

What each team member needs to do is input the radiation level into the
system, along with GPS co-ordinates and time then upload all that
information to a central control unit.

Can any one suggest a method that will be able to do this

David

[TrailRider]

Thinking out loud....

I would click waypoints and then NAME them whatever the radiation level
is... or bury the rad level inside the waypoint as a comment.

Or, XP-Pro has a decent version of Excel Spreadsheet.... just enter
the results in there.

Or, using the first idea re: waypoints... save the waypoints off and
read them in to an Excell file (may have to convert them first... not
problem... there are several shareware programs) as ASCII delimited
data.

Just send the Excel files to your central control.

TeGeoxas

[René]

Post by David Richardson
What each team member needs to do is input the radiation level into the
system, along with GPS co-ordinates and time then upload all that
information to a central control unit.
Can any one suggest a method that will be able to do this

_A_ method would be reading the GPS coordinates of the screen, and
entering them into a spreadsheet or database. Then send the data to the
central server via GPRS (basically a protocol for sending data via
cellphones).

If the GPS receiver and the rad meter are connected to the laptop, either
per USB or Bluetooth, then reading the coordinates and the rad level and
entering them both into a database could be done with a primitive little
script or small program. Entering a new set of data could be activated by
pushing a button, arrriving at a certain position or timed.

The question is, how slick do you want it and what's the budget.

[David Richardson]

Rne,
Basically it has to work like this ..

Assume you are totally stupid.. and you are doing the monitoring. What I
need is something that means you dont have to think about what you are
doing, the more the process is totallt automated the better.

I dont think the budget will be a problem I this is being done for the Navy
and WA Police Dept's

Post by René

Post by David Richardson
What each team member needs to do is input the radiation level into the
system, along with GPS co-ordinates and time then upload all that
information to a central control unit.
Can any one suggest a method that will be able to do this

_A_ method would be reading the GPS coordinates of the screen, and
entering them into a spreadsheet or database. Then send the data to the
central server via GPRS (basically a protocol for sending data via
cellphones).
If the GPS receiver and the rad meter are connected to the laptop, either
per USB or Bluetooth, then reading the coordinates and the rad level and
entering them both into a database could be done with a primitive little
script or small program. Entering a new set of data could be activated by
pushing a button, arrriving at a certain position or timed.
The question is, how slick do you want it and what's the budget.

[Mark Hewitt]

Post by David Richardson
Rne,
Basically it has to work like this ..
Assume you are totally stupid.. and you are doing the monitoring. What I
need is something that means you dont have to think about what you are
doing, the more the process is totallt automated the better.
I dont think the budget will be a problem I this is being done for the
Navy and WA Police Dept's

Get something like memory map and a USB GPS unit connected to the laptop.
Using that you will have an OS map of the area which will have your current
location plotted on screen. You then add a 'mark' or a text label which
contains the radiaton level. When you are done you can save the overlay to a
file and send it to your control centre.

[Pieter Litchfield]

There are mapping programs that can record a position and an input. For
example, if the radiation meter put out a steady stream of readings and the
GPS put out current positions via NMEA (I think all current ones do) to the
PC, then the software could get a position and a radiation reading evey X
seconds and record them to disk. Some software may have an extra field for
a depthfinder reading, for example, so that you can records depth at each
sampled postion. At the end of the day (week, month) the resulting file of
position data could be uploaded. Note that these are no exact fixed
position samples but rather samples in an area over time.

While I haven't used it for this purpose, I believe that OziExplorer can
accept input from a depth finder and can create a depth chart based on
position data from a GPS and depth data transmitted by a depth finder. I
anm not sure what the format is for the depth data input stream, but it the
data stream from the monitor was the same, it could be easily done. Note
that this would result in readings at positions X meters or X seconds apart,
not fixed positions.

Another possibility would be to station a counter at each location with a
clock controled "brain" that would wake up and take a reading every X hours.
Each could be visited and the data retrieved and sent. This would result in
data points from a fixed position a fixed time interval apart.

Another way to repeat readings at several specific locations day-after-day
at one specific time, is to navigate to exact co-ordinates (using the GPS)
and take a single reading to transmit. This is a quite different task than
that outlined above. Since this might be limted to a few observations per
day, it might be better to list each postion on, for example, a spreadsheet
and hand enter a reading for each position as that position is visited as
suggested below.

Post by David Richardson
Rne,
Basically it has to work like this ..
Assume you are totally stupid.. and you are doing the monitoring. What I
need is something that means you dont have to think about what you are
doing, the more the process is totallt automated the better.
I dont think the budget will be a problem I this is being done for the
Navy and WA Police Dept's

Post by René

Post by David Richardson
What each team member needs to do is input the radiation level into the
system, along with GPS co-ordinates and time then upload all that
information to a central control unit.
Can any one suggest a method that will be able to do this

_A_ method would be reading the GPS coordinates of the screen, and
entering them into a spreadsheet or database. Then send the data to the
central server via GPRS (basically a protocol for sending data via
cellphones).
If the GPS receiver and the rad meter are connected to the laptop, either
per USB or Bluetooth, then reading the coordinates and the rad level and
entering them both into a database could be done with a primitive little
script or small program. Entering a new set of data could be activated by
pushing a button, arrriving at a certain position or timed.
The question is, how slick do you want it and what's the budget.

[René]

Post by Pieter Litchfield
Another possibility would be to station a counter at each location with
a clock controled "brain" that would wake up and take a reading every X
hours.

So just about any government worker would do :)

[Angus]

It is fairly easy to have a program written to do what you want.
You don't need a GPS program or mapping.
I do this type of programming for Pocket PCs and rail inspection. The
location is picked up with a Bluetooth GPS. The user just has to click on
one button. If there is a good GPS signal the Northing and Easting for each
inspection are inserted into a database along with any other info the user
enters.

Post by David Richardson
Rne,
Basically it has to work like this ..
Assume you are totally stupid.. and you are doing the monitoring. What I
need is something that means you dont have to think about what you are
doing, the more the process is totallt automated the better.
I dont think the budget will be a problem I this is being done for the
Navy and WA Police Dept's

Post by René

Post by David Richardson
What each team member needs to do is input the radiation level into the
system, along with GPS co-ordinates and time then upload all that
information to a central control unit.
Can any one suggest a method that will be able to do this

_A_ method would be reading the GPS coordinates of the screen, and
entering them into a spreadsheet or database. Then send the data to the
central server via GPRS (basically a protocol for sending data via
cellphones).
If the GPS receiver and the rad meter are connected to the laptop, either
per USB or Bluetooth, then reading the coordinates and the rad level and
entering them both into a database could be done with a primitive little
script or small program. Entering a new set of data could be activated by
pushing a button, arrriving at a certain position or timed.
The question is, how slick do you want it and what's the budget.

[René]

Post by Angus
It is fairly easy to have a program written to do what you want.
I do this type of programming for Pocket PCs and rail inspection.

There ya go, you just might have landed yourself your first Navy contract
:)

[Z Zag]

Post by David Richardson
Basically it has to work like this ..
Assume you are totally stupid.. and you are doing the monitoring. What I
need is something that means you dont have to think about what you are
doing, the more the process is totallt automated the better.
I dont think the budget will be a problem I this is being done for the
Navy and WA Police Dept's

Well surveying method involves the use of engineering technicians.
Discounting the need for capable personnel is not something to brag about.
Of course a technician could be anyone capable of high school math or
science and seriously focused on the task...

Also, personnel in engineering companies do use collections of tools and
processes rather than a master program...although the CAD systems attempt to
be a single comprehensive solution.

Uploading the data in real time is also odd. Surveyors use data collectors
and upload at the end of the day. However, there was a GPS system used at
the WTC site that may have uploaded in real time because they were using
their site map as the map was being made...but a system like that would not
be connected to a laptop because the user is walking around the site. In
other words the system would simply be a combination of cell phone and
GPS...

Well, you have your equipment and you have your personnel and you just want
to minimize personnel tasks. To do that requires the developer to be working
with the equipment...

However another idea is to go to a commercial supplier (like Trimble) and
see what they offer...

[AINut]

Oh, and you might look into the "wearable computers" so that all the
reader has to do is travel to the locations and push go, without having
to haul around a big laptop and etc.

Post by Z Zag

Post by David Richardson
Basically it has to work like this ..
Assume you are totally stupid.. and you are doing the monitoring. What I
need is something that means you dont have to think about what you are
doing, the more the process is totallt automated the better.
I dont think the budget will be a problem I this is being done for the
Navy and WA Police Dept's

Well surveying method involves the use of engineering technicians.
Discounting the need for capable personnel is not something to brag about.
Of course a technician could be anyone capable of high school math or
science and seriously focused on the task...
Also, personnel in engineering companies do use collections of tools and
processes rather than a master program...although the CAD systems attempt to
be a single comprehensive solution.
Uploading the data in real time is also odd. Surveyors use data collectors
and upload at the end of the day. However, there was a GPS system used at
the WTC site that may have uploaded in real time because they were using
their site map as the map was being made...but a system like that would not
be connected to a laptop because the user is walking around the site. In
other words the system would simply be a combination of cell phone and
GPS...
Well, you have your equipment and you have your personnel and you just want
to minimize personnel tasks. To do that requires the developer to be working
with the equipment...
However another idea is to go to a commercial supplier (like Trimble) and
see what they offer...

[AINut]

David,
I knew a David Richardson from a former life when I was in RadCon/HP as
a tech. Email me privately if you're around 50 8-). ***@hiwaay.net

If you're trying to put together a system that even sailors or
contractors can use, I offer these ideas:

0. you'll need some software to collect the data automatically and store
it in a file and/or trigger the radio to send it to the server at
specified intervals or continuously. That part is fairly trivial. If
the reports to the server are continuous, the server will need some
software that will throw away the unnecessary data points. You don't
say what interval you need.

1. bluetooth is a bit expensive but you should be able to find a GPS
that can use it. Alternatively, simply connect the gps to the laptop
via serial, USB, or some combination. This will give you your location
and time tags.

2. find a meter (microR? milliseiverts?) that can communicate to the
laptop. This could be difficult. Your environmental surveys need
traceability and relatively good accuracy. Finding that instrument that
also has comms capability might prove difficult.

3. a pretty good gps unit for this purpose is the Magellan Meridian
Gold, with PC data cable option. You'll need WAAS capability and will
have to teach the meter reader how to verify he has WAAS lock before he
can start logging readings. That part is less than $300. Get
rechargeable nimh AA batteris 8-).

If the process can't be fully automated, the meter reader will have to
input stuff by hand. If all else fails, he can leave the laptop at the
office and simply radio in his gps and meter readings.

Hope this helps.

Post by David Richardson
Rne,
Basically it has to work like this ..
Assume you are totally stupid.. and you are doing the monitoring. What I
need is something that means you dont have to think about what you are
doing, the more the process is totallt automated the better.
I dont think the budget will be a problem I this is being done for the Navy
and WA Police Dept's

Post by René

Post by David Richardson
What each team member needs to do is input the radiation level into the
system, along with GPS co-ordinates and time then upload all that
information to a central control unit.
Can any one suggest a method that will be able to do this

_A_ method would be reading the GPS coordinates of the screen, and
entering them into a spreadsheet or database. Then send the data to the
central server via GPRS (basically a protocol for sending data via
cellphones).
If the GPS receiver and the rad meter are connected to the laptop, either
per USB or Bluetooth, then reading the coordinates and the rad level and
entering them both into a database could be done with a primitive little
script or small program. Entering a new set of data could be activated by
pushing a button, arrriving at a certain position or timed.
The question is, how slick do you want it and what's the budget.

[Hugh Scott]

Post by David Richardson
Ok GPS'ers
Here is my problem.
I have been tasked to set up a 3 person mobile team to minitor radiation
Laptop computer with XP Pro
Two way radio. (The computer is connected to the radio so that they can send
their results to a central location in real time.)
The GPS unit is undecided
and a radiation meter
What each team member needs to do is input the radiation level into the
system, along with GPS co-ordinates and time then upload all that
information to a central control unit.
Can any one suggest a method that will be able to do this
David

You need a simple application that with a keystroke on the laptop, a
reading is taken with the radiation detection device, a coordinate fix
is obtained from the GPS and the information is recorded for
transmission. This is not too difficult to do. I've done this for when
I worked for DOE and other US organizations.

[Limestone-Cowboy]

Post by David Richardson
Ok GPS'ers
Here is my problem.
I have been tasked to set up a 3 person mobile team to minitor radiation
Laptop computer with XP Pro
Two way radio. (The computer is connected to the radio so that they can send
their results to a central location in real time.)
The GPS unit is undecided
and a radiation meter
What each team member needs to do is input the radiation level into the
system, along with GPS co-ordinates and time then upload all that
information to a central control unit.
Can any one suggest a method that will be able to do this
David

Check out http://www.ags.org.uk/agsm/Intro.cfm