Lonnie Sears cannot predict the future. However, some in the construction surveying and mapping industry might dispute that.
After all, his company’s string of technological firsts in Georgia and the southeastern U.S. demonstrates a remarkable prescience. Consider: Georgia’s first real-time network for GPS, his early embrace of robotics, and most recently, his aggressive push into drone-powered photogrammetry and LiDAR systems. Maybe Sears can see over the horizon.
Like any industry pioneer, the company he founded and leads, eGPS Solutions of Norcross, Ga., has faced its share of skeptics.
“Back in 2004, my partner and I started the state’s first real-time network. It took us six months to sign-up our first subscriber. Then they jumped on board like gangbusters,” Sears says.
“Robotics started the same way. It has only been in the last four to five years that robotic total stations were adopted. Now it’s drone systems. At first, I had a lot of lookers, but no takers. Now surveying firms realize there’s nothing like a drone system for land development siting and topographic mapping.
Power of Change
“With a drone system, two people can do a 100-acre topographic survey with one-foot contours in about two days at about $150-200 per acre. Compare that to a traditional survey crew at $500 to $1,000 per acre, depending on the track,” he says.
Sears knows the bugaboo that often holds the industry back: resistance to change, especially technological change.
Today we smile at examples of misguided resistance to technology. Remember Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer’s 2007 prediction? “There’s no chance the iPhone will gain any significant market share,” he declared.
Innovation ROI
There may be many reasons why some construction surveyors are slow to change. Early adopters, of course, understand the enormous competitive advantage they command. Call it the ROI of innovation.
Sears sees growing parallels with another rapidly evolving technology: Field software for high-end topographic tasks such as measure, stake-out, cadastral, BIM check and control, roading, mapping, bathymetry, and GIS.
Revolutionary Software
New, next-generation applications like GeoMax’s X-PAD Ultimate field software have caught Sears’ eye for the immense computing capability they offer users in remote locations.
The CAD-in-the-field functionality inside X-PAD Ultimate helps users visualize in 2D or 3D on any Android smartphone or tablet. “Did I miss anything? Now you know right away. There are no frustrating lags and delays,” Sears says. Users can also tap augmented reality, BIM support, voice commands, and many other productivity improvements.
Two Steps Ahead
Like GPS and other great leaps in technology, new software means change. However, Sears is confident the surveying industry will respond. “My son-in-law showed me the software he uses on a huge high-rise project. Then I showed him X-PAD Ultimate. He was blown away. He couldn’t believe the ease of 3D manipulation,” Sears says.
Back in the day, a new technology meant you rushed out and bought a copy of GPS for Dummies. Companies like GeoMax, part of the Hexagon Group, make it easy to leapfrog your peers with on-demand video tutorials. “The software quickly becomes intuitive,” Sears says. “You figure things out for yourself.”
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