Feedback on the New Datums Trimble Graham Briggs

Feedback on the New Datums Trimble Graham Briggs 2017 Geospatial Summit April 24 to 25, 2017

Preparation Our major products/services which will be affected by the new datums: • The Trimble Geodetic Library, which is used by Trimble’s: field, office, and cloud-based positioning solutions Our preparations to date include: • • Released time-dependent transformation handling in some core products Preparing to update the fixed-epoch transformation parameters Working on the inclusion of time meta-data with position information Investigating the implementation of local models (US HTDP, NZ grid deformation, . . . ) • Active participation at related: conventions, seminars, … • Educating our users and exposing them, through our beta programs, to time dependent transformations

Advantages / Challenges We are excited because. . . • More accurate measurements, with their predicted errors (confidence level) • Better tools, including web interfaces and APIs, allowing our users to obtain consistent results, through direct use of the NGS algorithms in Trimble solutions We are concerned because. . . • Our customers believe that it is important for the CORS and RTN to continue to work with a fixed-epoch. This seems still to be in question. • Customers will need easy to use tools to transform datums, if they change in the middle of their projects, or if they need to work with old data sets. • Most customers don’t understand this complex problem. We need to provide simple workflows for them to follow in our products. • We need to upgrade our libraries and software applications quickly any time there is a change.

Transition Tools / Outreach Needs The tools, products, or services we need most (from NGS or others) are: • • A global standard for representing and working with deformation models A common lexicon, to be shared by: NGS, solution providers, universities, agencies, and others Guidelines and documented tools to work with data sets that have been collected across multiple datum epochs Well documented “best practices”, to guide our users in re-processing their observations in the current epoch, to bring their control "up-to-date" The outreach we need most (from NGS or others): • • • Prescribed methods for working with the NSRS in commercially available software packages Tools and algorithms written in C/C++, for cross platform portability, rather than in Fortran Expanded use of data files, rather than software libraries, to facilitate the updating of our solutions with fewer code changes NGS/Industry collaboration to bring this solution to our shared constituents and customers Greater focus on GIS and other professionals with more limited geodetic knowledge who work with geospatial data