Field Data Collection using Mobile Devices
Accessing your ArcGIS Online account in your device
On your iPad, open the Collector for ArcGIS application and log in to ArcGIS Online, click Continue.
Sign in with the username and password that was provided to you at the beginning of this session.
Go to the Play Store and search for collector for arcgis. Download the application to your Android device.
Android Devices:
App Requirements - Free trial or organizational account of ArcGIS Online
- Free download from App store (iOS) or Play Store (Androids): Collector for ArcGIS.
How to Install app
iOS Devices:
Go to the App Store and search for collector for arcgis. Download the application to your iphone or iOS tablet.
- Records editors and timestamps
- User roles: update only, create, delete, and sync.
- Geospatial design: domains, types, and subtypes
- Participatory mapping with just a browser.
- Collection of points, lines, and polygons. Tracking mode.
Collector is a free app that allows you to collect or update your geospatial data with any iOS or Android device directly into your ArcGIS Online account. It allows you to log your current location, and put the data you capture to work so you can make more informed and timely decisions. It allows you to use maps anywhere to ground-truth your data, make observations, and respond to events. It makes collecting data with a group of people very easy.
Advantages
- Option for offline data collection
- Multiple editors
Selecting your Grid on the app
The Grid feature layer has been published in ArcGIS Online as a service that can only has its feature attributes updated.
You will update it by selecting 1 cell that you will be solely responsible for data collection during this exercise.
Click on any cell of your choice and you will see a similar screen to the graphic on your right. The square selected will have a cyan frame around it and a window on the bottom part of the screen with the words This grid is available. This is the current attribute associated to that square.
Click where it says This grid is available. A new window appears in your device with the details for that cell.
Click on the edit button on the upper right corner.
Press the Edit button if necessary. Under Taken_by, tap the arrow on the right and type your first and last name. This way the grid will be registered under your name. Click Done when you finish entering your name.
Under Status, tap the arrow on the right and select The grid is taken.
Press Update. This will reserve this square for your data collection.
Go back to the map and take a look at the square you just updated. It should have turned red and if you click on the details box at the bottom of your screen, the new window should display your full name as recorded information.
It may happen than some squares may be edited at the same time and only the last edit will remain. Do not worry if this happens with your square. The idea is that you get to practice conditions similar to a real-wold scenario. Try again a different square and make sure to click update to send your edits to the cloud.
Collecting data offline
If you are in an area where you don't have service or a wireless Internet connection, you can download your map to your iPad and collect data. Once you have selected the grids you will be working on today, download the map on your device to get better resolution and service.
To do download map using Collector follow the following instructions and make sure you have network connection:
1. Go to your map (Invasive Species Survey ) and click the Cloud button to download the map.
2. It will ask you to select your work area and map detail.
- For Work area: Make sure you can see all the grids you selected for that day,.
- For Map Detail: Zoom in to the extent where you can see the scale near to 1:3000
Complete the following steps to enter survey data to the Collector app:You will see a map that has been shared with you. Tap on the Invasive Species Survey
to open it. Do not click Download. This web map contains a dataset named Invasive Species Survey-Phase1, Parcels_Grids, DorchesterCounty_Parcels and Parcels_Labels.
Once you have the location and survey completed, click Submit in the upper right corner to send your updates to the collective map.
Updates can take a little bit of time to post, depending on your wireless connection. Make sure your edits are saved after each data point collected. To ensure that your latest update gets posted, close Collector and open it again. Navigate to your map and look for your edit.
Once you have set up your work area and map detail. Click on the Download button on the right hand corner of the window.
The map will start downloading to your cellphone locally. Once you have the map downloaded in your phone, you will see that you are only able to see the Dorchestor County area and not the whole basemap on your iPad and that's because when you download a map on your phone it downloads it as an image.
Recording survey data on your collector app
Invasive Species Survey
The Invasive Species Survey - Phase1 dataset has been designed in a way that all collaborators can create, update, and delete new features.
You should see a small blue circle on the map at your approximate location. You should also see a dialog called Collect a new feature, and above that is a + sign. To add a data point, click the + sign and then click on Invasive Species Survey - Phase1 in the list.
You should now see the survey questions. Enter answers for all the questions, either typing in the answers or using the dropdown menus.
- Once you have answers from the questions, you need to add the point to the map. You will see your approximate location, as a blue circle. Tap on the map and you add a smaller, light blue circle to the map, which is the location of the data point you are creating. Tap on the map in the exact location you are standing.
