Designing Poles in Katapult Pro With A High-End GPS

As contracts require higher and higher levels of accuracy, sub-meter (or even decimeter) GPS readings become a crucial piece of aerial OSP data collection. For most of our workflows, our team designs using aerial imagery from Google Maps; for nearly every pole, some combination of aerial imagery and streetview is sufficient to place poles with sub-meter accuracy. However, in areas where aerial photography is outdated or has significant foliage obscuring poles, you may want to use an external GPS with Katapult Pro, which can be a great alternative to triangulating the pole’s location from the field. You simply walk to the pole you want to place, and press a button on your device.

*While you're designing your job, you may want to add an attribute to poles that need verification to visually distinguish them from others. We use an attribute called "verify_location_in_field" which styles the poles as a red-bulls eye. You can also leave a note that reminds your fielders that they will need to re-position the poles with a GPS. (When the poles have been located correctly, they can check the "Verify Location In Field" checkbox to return the pole to its usual styles.)

Before you begin making it all work, you'll need an Android device with an application that reads GPS data installed and a GPS unit. We use EOS Arrow Lite or EOS Arrow Gold along with the EOS Tools Pro (free from the Google Play Store). The key features you'll need with you GPS are Bluetooth connectivity (to connect to the app) and high levels of accuracy.

How to make it all work in 2 steps:

1. First, you have to enable developer options on your Android device.

Find the Settings app and click on it to open it.

Scroll down until you find the "System" settings and open them.

Click on "About phone."

Scroll to the bottom where it says, "Build number," and press it 6 times.

You'll see a countdown saying "You are now # steps away from being a developer." Keep pressing that # of times so that you'll turn on developer options on your Android device.

Once you've clicked six times, you'll see a little message that says, "You are now a developer!"

2. Next, you'll choose an application that reads GPS data as your mock location.

Go back into the System settings and click "Advanced."

Under the advanced settings, you'll now see an option called "Developer options."

Under "Developer options," under the "Debugging" section, choose "Select mock location app."

Here you can choose an application that reads GPS data, like EOS Tools Pro. This allows us to substitute GPS data from your device for the hardwired AGPS that comes with your phone.

All that's left to do is connect your GPS unit to the application that reads GPS data!

Katapult Pro can take full advantage of GPS to help your pole designs be more accurate than ever, and better fit your workflow.

Thanks for reading! Have more questions? Reach out to us at 717.430.0910 or support@katapultengineering.com. How can we improve our documentation? Please leave a comment below!