ESRI is currently going through an open beta of “Collector High Accuracy” with support for the R1 and R2 GNSS Receiver.

What is Esri’s Collector App?

Collector for ArcGIS is a data collection app for iOS and Android devices that integrates seamlessly with your ArcGIS Online account to collect and update data hosted in the cloud or on your server. Collector is becoming more and more popular as a solution for the BYOD users. The recent addition of support for related tables make it an ideal solution for asset inspection and maintenance.

Why use the Trimble R1?

One of the most common concerns when using a phone or tablet for data collection is accuracy. In February 2015, Trimble released the R1 GNSS receiver, a small, rugged receiver that works with iOS, Android or Windows Mobile handhelds. This receiver achieves professional-grade accuracy and allows users to transform their consumer devices into higher accuracy data collection systems.

What level of accuracy can I expect when pairing the R1 with Collector?

As you will see in the video below, Collector will not display an estimated accuracy of less than 5 meters. Esri has indicated that better support for high accuracy receivers in Collector is coming, but for now, it will never display better than 5 meters. This does not mean that you cannot achieve accuracy around 1 meter with the R1, only that the display will never show better than 5 meters. The tests below show the difference between using an iPhone’s internal GPS vs. using a phone or tablet connected to an R1. In the map below, the iOS-only data is shown in red. The iOS connected to an R1 receiver with SBAS connection is shown in green. The control monument for point testing is shown in blue.