Lightweight Rugged RTK Tablet from DT Research for Military and Forensic Mapping

What the rugged tablet market has been waiting for: scientific-grade accurate measurements on a tablet for those engaged in non-land surveying work. These rugged tablets can deliver centimeter-level measurement accuracy faster and easier than using conventional land surveying equipment and at a fraction of the cost – which, in turn, improves safety for first responders during collision reconstruction, natural disasters and crime scenes, according toKevin Tsai, senior product engineer for DT Research. The combination of accurate measurement, small size, and ability to complete other functions on the same device makes these tablets extremely flexible and efficient.

DT Research, designer and manufacturer of purpose-built computing solutions for vertical markets, announced the DT372AP-TR Rugged RTK Tablet, a lightweight military-grade tablet that is purpose-built with Real Time Kinematic (RTK) used to enhance the precision of position data derived from satellite-based positioning systems, according to company materials. This tablet enables 3D Point Cloud creation with centimeter-level accuracy – that meets the high standards required for scientific-grade evidence in court.

As a military grade tablet, the DT372AP-TR RTK tablet has an IP65 rating, and is lightweight – offering the versatility to be used in the field, office and vehicles. A dual frequency GNSS module is built into the tablet, which uses real-time reference points within 1 – 2-centimeter accuracy to position 3D point clouds created from aerial photogrammetry, using GPS, GLONASS and GALILEO satellites. Users can measure with the RTK GNSS positioning directly using an external antenna for better survey grade precision.

Kevin Tsai talked with GISCafe Voice about the new RTK tablet and its impressive features.

What types of professionals would be most inclined to want this type of rugged tablet?

• DT372AP and DT370CR rugged tablets have been precision designed to serve the needs of a myriad of users across an organization. DT Research tapped into decades of experience within construction, field services, government, healthcare, hospitality, logistics, manufacturing, military, transportation and warehousing to design a sleek, military-grade tablet with a 7-inch sunlight-readable display that is high performance, yet energy-efficient and includes robust information capture and wireless communications for seamless indoor-outdoor workflow.

Professionals from across multiple disciplines could use the tablets including:

• Military and Law enforcement
• Professional Surveyor
• Construction Professionals
• Engineers
• Government (Federal and State)
• Healthcare professionals
• Forensic Scientists
• Manufacturing/Logistics
• Field services
• Transportation

Would they be sold to entire fleets?

• These can be sold to fleets, project teams, and entire departments. What has happened also is one department gets these tablets, and another department sees the results and requests them.

What are the qualities that people would want for forensic mapping?

• These new tablets enable something previously not possible: scientific-grade accurate measurements for those engaged in non-land surveying work. These rugged tablets can deliver centimeter-level measurement accuracy faster and easier than using conventional land surveying equipment and at a fraction of the cost – which, in turn, improves safety for first responders during collision reconstruction, natural disasters and crime scenes. The combination of accurate measurement, small size, and ability to complete other functions on the same device makes these tablets extremely flexible and efficient.
• The centimeter level measurement accuracies of forensic mapping with rugged tablets are possible through GNSS with RTK functionality which includes multiple constellations – GPS (USA), GLONASS (Russian) and Beidou (China). These technologies are useful for either primary mapping or ground control when deploying drones.

Would this also be useful for locations without internet access?

• Yes, these tablets can be used off-line, and data sent once they have access to Wi-Fi or 4G.

What are the differences between the Forensic Mapping tablet and the military grade 4G tablets? 

• The design of the military grade tablets is focused on the required certifications (HERO, high-altitude, EMI, security), higher performance with larger memory and faster CPU, and specific things like CAC card reader for access control, and to some degree the larger screen size. The DT301T-TR combines both the military certification requirement and the forensic mapping accuracy into one tablet, but if the certifications and larger screen are not required, the best choice would be the DT372AP-TR.

Why would a customer buy one product over the other?

• Certification and security requirements, and the CAC card reader is required for military.

Are the features you list a part of both products mentioned?

• Overall the features are very similar, the difference with the DT372AP (versus the DT370CR) is the higher performance, longer life battery, faster SSD (upgrade options up to 1TB), and of course the TR version has the RTK feature.

More information about the DT372AP-TR RTK tablet:

The DT372AP-TR RTK tablet is compatible with existing survey and GIS software for mapping applications and brings together the advanced workflow for data capture, accurate positioning, and data transmitting.

The DT372AP-TR RTK Tablet has been purpose-built for precision mapping in a variety of environments and includes the following features and capabilities:

• Dual Frequency GNSS Module– GNSS L1 & L2 RTK that receives GPS, GLONAS,  GALILEO, BEIDOU and QZSS signals up to 372 channels
• High Performance CPU and Windows OS –Intel® Pentium processor with Microsoft Windows® 10 IoT Enterprise with 8 GB of RAM.
• Brilliant Sunlight-readable Display– A 7 inch LED-backlight, high-brightness (800 nits) sunlight-readable screen with capacitive touch and 1280 x 800 resolution.
• Superior Wireless Connectivity – Long Range Class 1 Bluetooth option powers connectivity up to 1,000 feet
• Mobile Broadband option –For ideal field connectivity, there is an option for 4G mobile broadband for LTE, HESPA+, GMS/GPRS/EDGE, EV-DO, Rev A and 1xRTT
• Military Standards – For use in harsh environments, the tablet is fully ruggedized to meet the highest durability standards with an IP65 rating, MIL-STD-810G for vibration and shock resistance and MIL-STD-461F for EMI and EMC tolerance.
• High Capacity Hot-Swappable Battery Pack– Delivers 60 or 90 watts for up to 15 hours of continuous mobile communications.
• Camera option – The optional back camera offers 5 megapixels, CMOS sensor, and auto focus to capture project progress or record crash and crime scene details.
• Accessories – The DT372AP-TR Rugged RTK Tablet is complemented by a variety of accessories, including: external antennas, pole mount cradles, battery charging kits, and digital pens.

Availability
The DT372AP-TR RTK Tablet is available in October from DT Research’s authorized resellers and partners.

Tags: data, Infrastructure, intelligence, location, mapping, maps, mobile, remote sensing

Categories: analytics, cloud, data, field GIS, flight paths, GIS, government, handhelds, lidar, mapping, photogrammetry, satellite imagery, sensors, subsurface utilities, survey, UAS, UAV, UAVs, utilities

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