In this exercise we were given the task of deploying the geodatabase that we created in exercise 5. This was intended to be a test run of our databases so that we knew what to expect in the next exercise when we collect more data as part of a larger project.
The exercise we are working on is a micro-climate survey of the University of Wisconsin - Eau Claire Campus. The plan is for student to go out in team and collect data points and enter the weather conditions at the data points. We will then combine all the data from all the groups and perform some mapping and analysis.
Before all this can be done, it is helpful to know as much as you can about the data that is being collected. In this instance we are collecting weather information from around campus. We determined that the data we needed to collect would include: wind speed, wind direction, humidity, dew point, wind chill, temperature at ground, and temperature at 2 meters. We also wanted to keep collect information on the present ground cover and used the following to make coded domains as seen in exercise 5:grass, snow, concrete, blacktop, open water, gravel, sand, and other. We also wanted to created a notes field to keep track of any information that is not covered in above. This should be a preliminary step before any data collection is done in the field; know what you are collecting and why.
Methods
Picking up where exercise 5 left off, we used the geodatabase with all the domains that were created for the micro-climate survey and deployed it to ArcPad. It is helpful to use a background raster image of the study area, in this case I used an older orthographic image that we had on hand. Since this is something that will be used on ArcPad, it is ok if it is lower resolution.
Once you have your background image centered to the desired extent, and your feature class with all the domains assigned ready; you should be able to deploy to deploy. You could also have a variety of other feature classes, such as a boundary file or paths to follow, but I don't have anything besides my feature class and background image.
To deploy the data, you must have the ArcPad data manager extension turned on. Then you click the icon for "get data for ArcPad", which brings up the "select data" window. This window shows everything that is currently in your .mxd that is in front of you. Check out the data by clicking the action menu and selecting "check out all database layers". You can also control the editability of each layer from the screen. You should also choose to export your background image here, in this case I used a .tiff, since it would not work with the other options.
The next screen offers the option of taking pictures and associating them with a particular feature class. This is not something I needed for this project so I went to the next page.
The next screen allows you to export your current extent, which is nice in that it saves you from using more memory and processing power on a raster that you will not use much of. You also select the location that the data is saved. Make sure this is the same as the folder your geodatabase is stored in.
The next screen is the "select deployment" screen where I selected the "create the ArcPad data on this computer now" option and clicked finish.
Once the deployment was complete I opened windows explorer and made a copy of the where it was deployed as a backup in case anything happened and I needed to redo something. Then I simply copy-pasted the folder into the storage card on the GPS unit we were given to use, a Trimble Juno.
Once in the field, you collect your data as required. In this case we walked around the campus mall and collected a few test points. Once this was complete we returned to the lab to check the data back in.
When I returned to the lab all I had to do was copy the folder from the Juno unit back into the same folder that I used before. Then I tried using the ArcPad extension to check in the data, but after several tries I ended up with an error. After several more tries I succeeded in checking the data back in. I ended up trying to add the feature class back in to the .mxd and that seemed to solve what ever error there was.
Discussion
Image 1 shows the results of the test run. I collected four data points for the test. You can also see the fields for each point include: wind speed, wind direction, humidity, dew point, temperature at ground, temperature at 2 meters, wind chill, ground cover, and notes.
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| Image 1. This has the table of data that I collected open, as well as the points mapped out. The background image is the same ortho raster that was mention earlier that was exported to ArcPad. |
Image 2 shows the location of point 4. Point 4 was collected from inside Phillips hall, in the windowed hallway above the courtyard entrance. I was rather surprised that there was enough of a signal to get a placement, but there was. That also explains the anomalous temperature reading. While the hall was not actually 52 degrees, that was all that the weather unit had warmed up since I came inside. When I was collecting each point, I tried to hold the unit exposed for about 30 secs, perhaps longer would be better if there is a noticeable variation in a particular place. More time would allow the unit to become accustomed to that spot.
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| Image 2. Shows point 4 that was collected from inside the hallway of the Phillips building. There are several windows that allowed enough of a signal to get a fix from several satellites and give me a point. This is also why there is no wind, and the temperature is above freezing. |
Conclusion
This run through showed me several areas that I could improve upon before full deployment. One mistake I made was not setting the dew point range correctly. You will notice the data table in image 1 shows a zero reading for all the points in the dew point field. This is because I set the range to between 0 and 0, which I did not notice until I got into the field.
You will also know that the wind direction field is left empty, this is because we had no compass to give a more accurate measurement.
In the future I would also change all the fields to not allow null values. This would force the user to make an entry into each field, including notes; which would result in more notes being taken.
The project was, overall, a success in that I had a mostly successful test run of my geodatabase. I learned what things I would want to do different, and what things to remember for next time.
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