Easy as X, Y, Z........

19 July 2007, 3:24pm

Sefton schools get to grips with GPS for Mapping

If any evidence is required that Trimble mapping GPS technology is increasingly easy to use, then a group of seven schools in Merseyside’s Sefton area is happy to provide it!

Under a scheme run by North Sefton City Learning Centre, an organisation funded through the ‘Excellence in Cities’ programme, the seven schools have had access to three Trimble Recon GPS XC models with ESRI ArcPad GIS data capture software on-board. The three units were purchased to enable the students to take part in a project to assess the affects of salinity on vegetation along the Sefton coastline by mapping the vegetation.
Favoured by Utility companies and Local Authorities for their rugged, dependable performance and value for money, the Recon XCs were the perfect choice for the Centre’s Manager, David Bill.

“We looked at many cost-effective GPS options before finding the Recons, but they all fell down on one criteria or another. Either they were not waterproof, battery life was insufficienct or they just weren’t user friendly. The Trimble Recon XC was recommended to us by Sefton Council. Following a demonstration from Trimble’s UK distributor KOREC based nearby, it became obvious that this was the perfect platform for our ESRI ArcPad data capture software. Rugged and reliable, the units came with an integrated CompactFlash GPS for a totally cable-free solution and could provide us with 2-5m accuracy post processed. We briefed each school on how to use the units before going into the field and the data collection on the day couldn’t have gone more smoothly. Students found the systems intuitive and easy to use and being able to display the data on our ArcGIS was brilliant. We even had some primary school users who had no trouble using the system.”

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