Delaware County Taps Xplore Technologies for GIS

12 September 2007, 12:53pm

12 September 2007 - Xplore Technologies, a company who manufacture rugged laptops, released a case study in August about how their computers have helped the county government of Delaware County, Indiana, use their GIS system.

As the Geographic Information Systems Coordinator for Delaware County, Indiana, Kyle Johnson’s days are filled with finding and delivering geographic data to the citizens of Delaware County. Such data is critical if the recipients are to make informed and accurate decisions.

“Our ultimate goal is to make county GIS information accessible from anywhere to anyone who needs it,” Johnson said.

In addition to maintaining geographic datasets, the Geographic Information Systems department provides geographic information support to government agencies, public citizens as well as community organizations.

The GIS department focuses on map creation, geographic analysis, address geo-coding, land analysis, hazard analysis, field data collection, environmental analysis, and inventory management in addition to a number of other things.

Before the implementation of mobile computers, Delaware County GIS relied on information gathered in the field based on printed maps and remotely gathered data from aerial photography. The data was then entered manually back in the office. Eventually initial laptops and handheld GPS were purchased.

“We had laptops, but they were not rugged enough for daily field use,” Johnson said.”
Since his position is based on ever-changing technology, Johnson knew it was time for an upgrade, prompting him to research alternative technologies.

“In selecting a solution to match our needs, we knew we needed a rugged, reliable, powerful mobile computer packaged with ArcGIS software.

“The decision to purchase Xplore tablets was simple. No one else provides as high quality of a product as Xplore.”

In the summer of 2005, Delaware County deployed Xplore tablets, completely replacing handheld GPS units for field data collection.

Johnson credits ease of use, portability and seamless integration with GIS software as benefits of the Xplore tablets.

Currently, the Delaware County’s Xplore tablets run ESRI ArcPad 7, ArcGIS, ArcInfo 9.2 and Microsoft Office.

“We use the ArcGIS software to collect field data,” Johnson said. “The data is first checked out of our master ArcSDE/SQL database and then it is checked back in after data collection is completed.”

Examples of data collected with the tablet include address points for 911-Dispatch mapping system, fire hydrants, recreational trail asset survey, and the Muncie Urban Forestry Program Tree Inventory pilot project.

Helping to quickly and easily collect field GIS data and incorporate it back into their master databases, Johnson said Delaware County employees have nothing but good things to say about the tablet PC.

“I would tell another agency looking to deploy a mobile solution that if they can afford a hand held GPS mapping solution they should seriously consider Xplore tablets. Not only is the product durable and reliable, I have also had a great experience with their customer service.”

For further information, contact Phil Collins, at pcollins@janispr.com

www.xploretech.com

Geo: International