My thoughts only--based entirely upon my hunch....
Trimble and Leica will make HUGE steps forward with survey equipment. The Trimble VX is on sale for $44k or less. Trimble bought Faro to figure out how to incorporate micro sized scanners into total stations. Leica is promising a game changer at Hexagon. This means one thing--affordable total stations that have robotics and scanning and probably onboard GPS.
Leica now owns Microsurvey, which, in my opinion, is the best and most understated data collection software with the most potential. Leica will try to run over Carlson, and use their newest technology to do it. Leica is open source to Carlson et al only because it is profitable for them at the moment. The minute it isn't, they will lock third party out. It is not a matter of simple generosity.
Leica will make the first big jump, and Trimble won't be far behind.
We will soon have the ultimate push-btton total station that does scanning, topo, gps, robotics, gis, etc. all in one. And a barrage of unlicensed people will get them and start land surveying under the guise of doing GIS work. GIS national societies will continue to work hard to promote this while our lethargic NSPS will do little as GIS encroaches into PS. Tragic for that to happen, obviously because people who do not understand boundary surveying will mess up the boundaries. It is the epitome of complaints I have continuously seen on this board about surveyors complaining about engineers not understanding surveying--times 100.
Things are changing. I hope the public in each state is kept informed about the importance of land surveyors.
I recently had a conversation with Microsurvey support regarding a data from a Fieldgenius/Leica combo being converted to Starnet. The Microsurvey people expressed that they could not the covariance data from the Lieca unit (while thay can get it from Topcon units). They were getting no cooperation from Lieca to fix the problem.
While their is some relationship between Leica and Microsurvey at this time there is little or no cooperation. Go figure.
> While their is some relationship between Leica and Microsurvey at this time there is little or no cooperation. Go figure.
Yeah, I wouldn't put any money on Leica software making any great leap forward anytime soon. Having the ability to collect gigabytes of information, but without the software to generate useful products from it doesn't sound like a game changer.
My guess is that they don't put any R&D time and money into survey software because of the low ROI. Their 3D data manipulation software (cyclone and cloudworx) is up there with the best in the market and is being constantly improved and updated.
James,
You are probably right. However, if I was running a company and various factions would not communicate and assist either their heads would fall or mine would.
That market is 99% other than Surveyors.
Every Sheriff, PD, State Police, FD, even the Coroner has one.
They give them a day or so of training, push this push that and they are off and running.
Registration? Don't worry about it, just do cloud-to-cloud. 5' residuals? Who cares, it looks pretty. Just have your uniformed officer with the shiny badge present it and no problem.
Not that I'm cynical or anything.
I have seen IBM, Leica, Topcon, and other big guys all make mistakes.
They have manufactured some excellent products.
We are using high tech equipment to produce the same old product faster.
We don't even have agreement on using a real direction for north not to mention georeferencing surveys.
If land surveyors don't get with the 21st century soon all the fancy technology on earth won't save the profession.
Pretty much the truth right there! I might add all the while putting out large sums of cash for that ability and then charging fewer hours because it didn't take very long. Well OK, that might be a bit over the top, but not far from it from what I see some days.
SHG
> We are using high tech equipment to produce the same old product faster.
>
> We don't even have agreement on using a real direction for north not to mention georeferencing surveys.
>
> If land surveyors don't get with the 21st century soon all the fancy technology on earth won't save the profession.
Aren't you chomping at the bit to use the new total scanner/station to mark lines through timber? I can't believe that surveyors used to use compasses to do that when a scanner would give essentially exact results once a surveyor had figured out where the line actually ran and where the scans had been made and for only about $50,000 more.
I totally agree. Where would we be without them. Whole thrust of the thread I intended to was to say that, and also that they are getting so good that button pushers can establish a lot (and mess up a lot).