How to Map a Point with the Skadi Smart Handle™: Using the Extensible Virtual Range Pole™ Mode and ArcGIS® Field Maps

This video guides you through the setup and workflow for collecting a point using the Extensible Virtual Range Pole^™, a mode of the Skadi Smart Handle^™, with ArcGIS^® Field Maps.

Please note that the Skadi Smart Handle is an optional upgrade from the Skadi Standard Handle^™ and must be added on with your Skadi Series^™ receiver purchase. The smart handle may be used with a  Skadi 200^™, Skadi 300^™, or Skadi Gold^™ GNSS receiver from Eos Positioning Systems^®.

Watch the video to get started or follow along with the transcript below!

Video

Transcript

In this video, I’m going to show you how to use the Skadi Smart Handle in Extensible Virtual Range Pole mode. I’m going to show you every step, from Bluetooth^® pairing your Skadi receiver through capturing a point in ArcGIS Field Maps. If you’re already familiar with some of these steps, you can use the chapter labels, which are displayed on the video or in the YouTube description, to skip ahead.

How to Bluetooth^® Pair Your Skadi GNSS Receiver

The first thing I’m going to do is Bluetooth pair my Skadi GNSS receiver to my smartphone. Today, I’m using iOS^®.

I’m going to launch my phone settings and navigate to the Bluetooth settings, making sure that my Bluetooth settings are toggled on.

I’m going to look for my Skadi GNSS receiver. I see it under other devices, so I’m going to select it.

Now, we’re connected. The next thing I’m going to do is launch Eos Tools Pro and configure a couple of key settings here.

How to Set Up Orthometric Height in Eos Tools Pro

The first one is that I want to be using orthometric height instead of ellipsoidal height.

So, I’m going to click my Eos Tools Pro settings icon in the top right corner.

Altitude Reference Settings

And I’m going to scroll down until I see Altitude Reference.

I’m going to select that setting.

And you see how it’s automatically toggled to Ellipsoidal height? I’m going to select Orthometric height.

Select Your GEOID Model

And it’s going to ask me to select my country and my GEOID model. I’m in the U.S. It seems to already remember that.

So, I’m going to select the GEOID12B model. If you’re not sure which model to select, contact your GIS administrator.

If your country isn’t shown or your GEOID model isn’t shown, contact Eos technical support and we can get that added for you.

How to Set Your RTK Connection in Eos Tools Pro

The next thing I’m going to set in Eos Tools Pro is my RTK connection. To do this, I’m going to navigate using the bottom navigation menu.

Right now, I’m in Status and I’m going to tap Differential. In Differential is where I would add my RTK credentials.

They’re already in here; I’ve got my connection info, my protocol, my IP address, the port, my login credentials, and then the mountpoint that I’ve selected in that RTK network. These were provided to me by my RTK network provider. If you’re unsure of what to enter in here, contact your RTK network provider.

If you don’t yet have an RTK network provider, reach out to your Eos representative or our technical support team, and we can help you find the best local RTK network for your field work.

I’m going to click Start Streaming. Now, currently it’s connecting to my RTK network and it’s going to go from Float to Fixed.

We’re going to proceed only once we’ve got a Fixed status, which we do.

How to Enable and Initialize Your Skadi Smart Handle

So, the next thing I’m going to set in Eos Tools Pro, is that I’m going to go back to the Position page of Eos Tools Pro, and I want to enable and initialize my smart handle.

To do this, I’m going to tap the smart handle icon in the top right corner of the position tab.

You’ll see that it’s currently grayed out. This means it’s not enabled, and it’s not initialized.

Enable Your Smart Handle

When I tap that icon, I launch the Skadi Smart Handle settings.

To enable the Skadi Smart Handle, I’m simply going to toggle on that smart handle button. I’m enabled now.

Initialize Your Smart Handle

To initialize the Skadi Smart Handle, I’m simply going to perform the initialization movement. What this is, is a level back-and-forth motion with the Skadi Smart Handle.

Simply make an initialization movement. It should quickly initialize.

Now that I’m initialized, I’m going to choose my mode and go to ArcGIS Field Maps.

How to Set Your Location Provider in ArcGIS Field Maps

In ArcGIS Field Maps, I want to set a couple of key settings.

To do this, I’m going to select my profile icon in the top left corner.

The first setting I want to set is Location Provider. So underneath the Location fields, you’re going to see Provider as Integrated. Tap that.

This is telling ArcGIS Field Maps to read GPS coordinates from the receiver that’s integrated into my smartphone. I don’t want that. I want it to be reading the GNSS coordinates from my Skadi receiver.

So, I’m going to add my Skadi receiver as a location provider option.

To do this I’ll tap Add in the top right corner, and it can see my GNSS receiver.

So, I’m just going to confirm that I want to add that.

For Antenna Height we’re going to leave this at 0. Always leave this at 0 in Field Maps.

I’m going to select Done. And now, I can select my Eos Positioning Systems receiver as a location provider.

In my case, I’m getting a pop-up notification that my location profile might be incompatible with the GNSS receiver that I’ve selected. That’s no problem, because location profile is actually the next setting that we’re going to configure.

So, I’m going to select Ok and go back to my Field Maps settings.

How to Set Your Location Profile in ArcGIS Field Maps

The next setting I want to configure is my Location Profile. What I want to do in the location profile is essentially tell ArcGIS Field Maps how to read the coordinates coming in from my Skadi GNSS receiver.

So, I’m going to select Add to add a location profile. It’s asking me for my GNSS coordinate system. This is the coordinate system that my RTK network is using.

The GNSS coordinate system that my RTK network is using is NAD 1983 2011. So, I’m going to type that in.

And I want the first one that comes up. So, I’m going to select that.

Now that I’ve selected my GNSS coordinate system, it’s asking me what my map coordinate system is. This is the coordinate system that my ArcGIS Field Maps map is using. So, for me, this is WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere.

And I’m going to select WGS 1984 Web Mercator Auxiliary Sphere. The next thing I’m being asked to select is my map extent. This is basically asking me where I am doing my field work today or in this map.

So, I’m going to select the Chicago area as my map extent and tap Next in the top right corner. The last thing that Field Maps is asking me to confirm is my datum transformation that I want to be using.

Now, I want to be using the first one in this list here. So, I’m going to select that.

If you’re unsure about any of these settings, contact your GIS administrator, and they can help you identify the correct coordinate systems and datum transformation. Now, you’ll notice that ArcGIS Field Maps is asking me to give this location profile a name.

This is really helpful, because I can give it a name and save the profile so that any time I’m using this RTK network in this area, I can easily and quickly select the same datum transformation. I’m going to call this “Field Demo.”

And select Save. Now, from my list of available location profiles I can select “Field Demo” and go back.

How to Set Collection Settings in ArcGIS Field Maps

The third setting that you want to set in ArcGIS Field Maps — only when you’re using Extensible Virtual Range Pole mode — is in the Collection Settings.

So, I’m going to tap Collection Settings to open up that group.

And the one that I want to focus on is GPS Averaging. You’ll notice that it defaults to be set to Off. I’m going to tap into that setting.

I’m going to toggle on GPS Averaging. And I want exactly two points to average.

So, it does default to 2. I’m going to leave it at that, and I’m going to back out of this setting.

Those are all of the settings in ArcGIS Field Maps that we need to set to be able to proceed with capturing a point using the extensible mode.

How to Collect a Point in ArcGIS Field Maps with the Extensible Virtual Range Pole

Now that all of our settings are configured in both apps, we’re ready to do our field work. Today, we’re going to be working with a pipe and a trench. Now I don’t have a pipe in a trench, so we’re going to imagine one …

… here.

Because we’re using the Skadi Smart Handle in extensible mode, I’m going to be able to map this asset without having to go into the trench myself. This is great, because I don’t need to spend time going into the trench, I don’t need to risk my safety by going into the trench, and I don’t need to be certified to go into the trench. So, this is phenomenal for efficiency and safety.

Understanding GNSS vs. Compensated Coordinate Value in Eos Tools Pro

Now I’m back in Eos Tools Pro in the Position page. And I want to point out once again those coordinates.

In that first column, remember that the GNSS coordinates represent the X, Y, and Z at my receiver’s antenna.

Whereas the Compensated coordinates are going to represent wherever this green laser is pointing when I’m pressing and holding the trigger.

Right now, my Compensated coordinates are red because I’m not pressing and holding the trigger. I’m going to be sending location data to Field Maps only when the trigger is pressed and held.

So, to demonstrate this really quickly, I’m just going to show you that, when I press and hold the trigger, the Compensated coordinate values are going to turn black …

… and I’m now calculating the position of that green laser pointer.

When I release the trigger, like now, those compensated coordinates turn back to red.

So, let’s go into Field Maps and see what this actually looks like when I’m collecting data.

Data Collection Workflow in ArcGIS Field Maps with the Extensible Virtual Range Pole

So, I’m going to launch ArcGIS Field Maps. And I’m going to go through the workflow of collecting a point in extensible mode.

The first thing I want to point out is that at the very top of the map, you’re going to see either GPS Location Not Available or Device Not Connected. This is perfectly normal, and it’s what we expect to see.

The first thing I’m going to do is wake up ArcGIS Field Maps, and this tells Field Maps it’s going to be receiving location data from the receiver.

To do this, I’m going to just press and hold the trigger and tap that grayed out arrow in the top right of the screen.

As soon as that arrow in the top right of the map turns from gray to blue, we’ve woken up ArcGIS Field Maps; in other words, we have alerted it that a receiver is connected.

I can see that my GPS accuracy is sub-inch. It’s exactly what we want to see.

Now the next step is, I’m just going to, without regard for where I’m aiming at this point, tap the blue plus button in the bottom corner.

And I’m going to select the type of feature I want to capture. Today, we’ve got a pipe fitting. So, I’m going to select the Pipe Fitting feature.

Now, I’m ready to aim at my pipe fitting. And I’m going to press and hold the trigger for our two seconds that we’re GPS averaging.

After two seconds, it has captured that point.

Now I’m going to submit it to ArcGIS Field Maps. So I tap the Submit button, and we’re good to go. Let’s take one more point.

So, now we’re ready to capture our second point in Field Maps.

To do this, remember we’re going to tap that blue plus button in the bottom right corner and select the type of feature we want to capture.

I’m going to go with another pipe fitting. Now we’re ready to aim at our asset and press and hold the trigger.

So, I’m pressing and holding for our two seconds of GPS averaging and getting that haptic feedback with the vibrations.

And our point? We’ve already got it in Field Maps. So, I’m going to go ahead and Submit that point.

And now we’ve got our two points that we’ve captured in Field Maps without having to get into this trench.

This is how you capture data using the Skadi Smart Handle in Extensible Virtual Range Pole mode with ArcGIS Field Maps.

Learn more about the Skadi Smart Handle by launching the full Skadi Smart Handle playlist on YouTube!

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