Garry MacPhail, Geospatial Executive Manager for Aptella, reflects on technology evolution in the last two decades and its effect on the survey profession today and beyond.<\/p>\n
Having begun his career as a qualified engineering surveyor in the 1980s, Garry went on to start his own business selling and supporting survey equipment in Perth. His company Stadia Instruments \u2013 co-founded with business partner B![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.positionpartners.co.nz\/uploaded\/Garry_MacPhail_-_board.jpg\")
ernard Cecchele \u2013 merged with four other state-based companies to form Aptella in 2008. In his tenure in the industry, Garry has witnessed significant shifts in surveying practice, amplified by the quantum leap in computing speed and processing power.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the early 2000s, GPS was becoming increasingly mainstream as part of a surveyor\u2019s toolkit,\u201d he said. \u201cIn 2004, Topcon released the first Bluetooth GPS unit, the HiPer Lite, which made the technology significantly more productive and less cumbersome as it eliminated back packs, long cables and external antennas. It was also the first true base and rover kit as we know them today, with two identical units.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBluetooth was a real game-changer because it made the system much more versatile and user friendly,\u201d he added. \u201cFor example, if you were under a tree canopy you could raise it up on a four-metre pole and get a fix without needing a six-metre cable.\u201d<\/p>\n
Garry explains that the late \u201890s and early 2000s also saw a dramatic change from point-based surveying to string and line surveying, with a design laid out on a data collector.<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore this change, every point was measured out on a separate map and numbered, so you constantly had to correlate what was on the map with what was on the field controller,\u201d he said. \u201cThe ability to do line work on the data collector was a big efficiency leap, particularly for marking road centrelines or kerbs.\u201d<\/p>\n
Carlson led the way with this innovation through its SurvCE software, which worked on the Windows CE platform and enabled surveyors to import DXF files onto small PDA devices such as the Compaq handheld data collectors. \u201cThey weren\u2019t the most rugged systems, but they were reasonably inexpensive and the workflow benefits were significant,\u201d Garry said.<\/p>\n
The early 2000s also saw the emergence of \u2018one-man surveying\u2019 with the refinement of robotic total stations. \u201cBy 2005, the standard toolkit we know today of a robotic, GPS base and rover and data collector was established in the market,\u201d Garry said.<\/p>\n
From 2005 onwards, we have seen the constant refinement and evolution of these systems to be faster, lighter and more robust. \u201cAfter a period of rapid innovation, we typically see a period where it is refined and then evolves incrementally to something that is better and more efficient, but essentially relies on the same core technology,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
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By 2010, 3D laser scanning was available, but it was highly specialised and very expensive. 3D mobile mapping, used to capture \u2018street view\u2019 imagery first in the United States and then globally, began in the mid-2000s and enabled large-scale data capture at speed. In Australia, it was used to map affected infrastructure after the devastating Queensland floods in 2011.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2010 Aptella signed a distribution agreement for a fixed-wing Remotely Piloted Aircraft System (RPAS), which was the first of its kind to be introduced as a survey tool in Australia,\u201d Garry said. \u201cSince then, the technology has evolved to include fixed-wing, rotary and vertical take off models and it is slowly becoming a standard tool or service offered by the surveying profession. With the introduction of LiDAR it will take it into another level of accuracy and versatility.\u201d<\/p>\n
The dramatic uplift we\u2019ve experienced in computer speeds and processing power has enabled point cloud technology to evolve as quickly as it has, Garry explains. \u201cTechnology doesn\u2019t necessarily mean a surveyor\u2019s work is done faster, it just means that the quality and amount of data at his or her fingertips has increased,\u201d he said. Surveyors can now work with accurate 3D models rather than 2D plans, giving a complete picture of a job site and the ability to offer greater output and deliverables to clients.<\/p>\n
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Alongside technology evolution, the role of the surveyor has also shifted. \u201cOn a road project, the surveyor has become the data manager across the site,\u201d Garry explained. \u201c20 years ago when we first controlled a grader with a total station, the \u2018pegless jobsite\u2019 was defined as a new goal. Now we can see that goal become reality, with surveyors managing a design across machinery and survey rovers centrally \u2013 and often remotely \u2013 via telematics tools such as Tokara Link by Aptella.\u201d<\/p>\n
As technology refines and becomes more user friendly, accessible and cost effective, adoption rates across multiple sectors increases. \u201cIt\u2019s no secret that in Australia and around the world, we are experiencing a shortage of surveyors,\u201d Garry said. \u201cWith the advent of simple tools like the Topcon LN-100 layout system, building contractors can do the set out themselves. Of course the legal liability and control remains with the survey profession, but these systems help eliminate the stop-start of waiting for a surveyor to set out a few points.\u201d<\/p>\n
The surveying profession has evolved into the geospatial market, with a wider range of associated professionals using technology to capture data and implement design. \u201cAptella has also aligned the company around our core markets of geospatial, construction and mining, with geospatial reaching across all sectors as the technology is used for an ever-increasing number of applications,\u201d Garry said.<\/p>\n
GNSS infrastructure is another key to wider dissemination of accurate positioning technology. \u201cOur AllDayRTK CORS network began in the mid-2000s and now covers vast areas of the country to enable high accuracy positioning,\u201d he said. \u201cIts usage is becoming increasingly widespread from farming, to transport and logistics, automated cars, Internet of Things and even the smartphones we all carry,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
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Reflecting on the changes and advances to surveying and technology, Garry said the role of a high-quality industry magazine has held its ground. \u201cOur business has had a long-standing partnership with\u00a0Position\u00a0magazine since its inception and kudos to the publishers for keeping it relevant and engaging when so many print media publications have closed their doors in recent years,\u201d Garry said.<\/p>\n
\u201cEveryone is overloaded with digital communication these days and trying to keep on top of our inboxes, so I feel there is a strong place for a printed magazine that you can sit down and read,\u201d he added. \u201cOther industries have a fragmented trade press, but\u00a0Position\u00a0magazine has managed to cut-through within our profession to be the industry standard nationally.\u201d<\/p>\n
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Garry MacPhail, Geospatial Executive Manager for Aptella, reflects on technology evolution in the last two decades and its effect on the survey profession today and beyond. Having begun his career as a qualified engineering surveyor in the 1980s, Garry went on to start his own business selling and supporting survey equipment in Perth. His company […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[710],"tags":[934],"class_list":["post-15629","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-position-partners-nz","tag-nz"],"acf":[],"youtube_video":null,"yoast_head":"\n