West Wilson Utility District Turns to GEO Jobe for UAV Data Capture & Orthophoto Updates
GEO Jobe, a leading GIS software and solution provider offering UAV mapping services, has been integrating UAV / UAS data capture into a number of projects enabling quick turn-around and cost savings for clients. What this means is that in addition to being experts in the ArcGIS / ArcGIS Online space we can offer our clients custom application development services, GIS analysis, expertise in ArcGIS Online, Enterprise, and Server (as well as our GEOPowered Cloud solution), and a host of GIS services and solutions. This also includes high resolution, 3D data capture and aerial mapping of project areas and facilities using UAVs. Recently, we completed a UAV data capture & ortho update project for the WWUD.
Wilson county, like much of Middle Tennessee centered around Nashville, has seen considerable growth over the past several years. Within this growing area is the West Wilson Utility District (WWUD) providing water for over 20,000 residents and businesses in Mt Juliet Tennessee and portions of Wilson County. New residential and commercial developments are under construction, expanding or nearing completion throughout the WWUD service area. WWUD is fortunate to have a mature GIS department, while they are also active members in the Wilson County Enterprise GIS hosted on the GEO JobeGEO-Powered cloud (http://www.geo-
The Challenge – The Wilson County Enterprise GIS, like many local and/or regional GIS departments, uses traditional orthophotographic base layers for a number of uses. The orthos are typically re-flown every several years, typically with a 3-5yr re-visit cycle and update. One time ortho update projects like this are typical for similar GIS departments across the country. While very useful for data extraction for all sorts of GIS layers and features, the ortho photos can quickly become out of date. Planners comment that once the planimetrics have been captured from the most recent orthos, their value as anything more than a reference tool diminishes quickly in areas of high growth.
The Solution – Bobby Sullins, Project Manager for WWUD contacted GEO Jobe about getting more recent orthophotos in high growth areas. Unlike the traditional one-time ortho project approach, GEO Jobe UAV services provides a “program” for orthophoto updates. The drone based program GEO Jobe uses is designed for small areas of change. This keeps the county GIS current without having to fly and capture county-wide orthos every time a new developments come online. Additionally, the UAV ortho update program allows GEO Jobe to provide on demand updates. Using high resolution cameras and flying at lower altitudes, orthos of unparalleled quality are created.
Wilson County is now in the fortunate situation where instead of the Orthophotos being the most out of date GIS layer, their Orthos are leading the change detection and data capture processes. The program is far less expensive than a traditional ortho project. When a traditional ortho project is used, much of the area covered hasn’t changed since the last flight and photos. Wilson County is paying for Ortho Updates only for the areas that have changed and need updating. When Wilson wants another area flown for updates, GEO Jobe can fly and deliver the final data and products with a quick turn-around, often in less than one week! Traditional Ortho projects can take from 3 to 9 months for processing and delivery, meaning that most recent Orthos from the “current” traditional project can be out of date as soon as they are delivered!
More details about the project can be found at: http://www.geo-
WWUD website: http://westwilsonutility.com/
For more information about GEO Jobe’s UAV and aerial mapping services, including sample projects and images see www.geo-jobe.com/
