ROVER GPS: SUPERCHARGE YOUR EQUIPMENT WITH PRECISION DATA

A rover is a small, portable GPS receiver and survey tool that collects and transmits data quickly and inexpensively. Rovers have many different uses in the construction industry and elsewhere because they're small, can be attached to almost anything, and provide very accurate information about your project. Depending on which device you're connecting your rover to, the level of accuracy will vary. A rover's position data accuracy is significantly improved when using a base station versus a network for your corrections. Civil construction projects like road/highway surfacing require a very high level of precision.

Evolution of Networks

It used to be that surveyors would have to set up local base stations for every stockpile and flood elevation calculation. This process was very time-consuming, costly, and cumbersome. Having to carry around GPS receivers, a tripod, poles, radios, cables, etc., was not enjoyable or efficient. Today, most surveyors rely on GNSS networks, allowing users to carry a rover with a modem or with a cell phone to get accurate positioning and generate RTK (real-time kinetic) positioning. RTK is a satellite navigation technique used to enhance the precision of position data from systems like GPS. This technique provides correction data, and state plane coordinates immediately. The degree of accuracy improves drastically when the rover is paired with a total station.

Rovers & Grading

Rovers improve grading accuracy

Measuring the grade is one of the most extensive uses for rovers in our industry. When it comes to grading, the more precise your data is, the better; so connecting your rover to a base station is your best bet. Base stations receive signals from GPS satellites and create a correction factor. This correction is sent to the rover, which calculates the grade. When a rover is running autonomously, the range of accuracy produced is usually between three to thirty meters without a correction source. Comparatively, when the rover is leveraging a base station's GPS (or other satellite constellations like GNSS) signals, the latitude, longitude, and elevation data correctness factor get down to about the size of a golf ball and is easily displayed on the screen. Positioning data is strengthened by the more satellites the rover can see. There's no doubt that rovers increase the speed of productivity when it comes to projects that involve grading.

Rovers' Other Uses

Rovers provide more value than just grading. They can be a project manager or supervisor's best friend. On a typical project, the rover's handheld should contain a digital version of the planset's linework, allowing you to find exact locations and elevations for all sorts of site features. One example would be to find the extents of the riprap areas on a spillway so you don't waste rock. A rover can also measure stockpiles and topsoil piles so that you can verify quantities. You can also use a rover to measure, original ground, saw cut, and surface tie-in points to help build a better surface model. A rover can also measure as-built points as you go. Additionally, all the data collected by the rover can be sent directly to the office using cloud-based software, enabling project managers to communicate in real-time with others involved but not on-site.

Rovers, Rovers Everywhere

Rovers collect and transmit data quickly

We've seen rovers mounted in many different places throughout the years such as on poles, ATVs, and pickups. Have you heard of the "poor man's machine control system"? That's when the receiver is mounted to a piece of equipment in an unconventional way. This could be as simple as mounted to the bucket of a loader or skid loader to aid in grading. Another novel adaptation is to mount the receiver to the box of a scraper or a box-scraper. All you need to make it work is to figure out the vertical offset from the cutting edge to the bottom of the receiver. As a word of caution, you will need to mount the receiver in a way that will protect it from damage and shock. They can be placed pretty much anywhere, which makes them a great tool to work with. Not only do they result in bidding jobs more precisely, but the work will be done more efficiently too. 

Having useful data at the operator's fingertips becomes a huge advantage to getting the digging or grading done while also managing the site. ECI's team of civil engineers have the knowledge and experience to help you pair your earthwork project with data and technology. Reach out and speak with us about how your company can better utilize technology to gain efficiencies and save money.