Integrated Pocket PC, GPS and Laser Range Finder

freitasm writes "Geekzone is reporting on Ike, made by Surveylab. Ike is a handheld data capture device that integrates GPS, an electronic compass, a laser distance meter, an inclinometer, a digital camera, and a Pocket PC 2003 handheld in a single unit, ideal for GIS and other surveys."

I like it...

[59Bassman]

I'm not sure what I'd do with it personally, but the concept is cool.

I can see this being used by lots of folks probably not in the original target market: professional hunting guides. All in one unit rangefinder/gps/camera? Make it durable and I bet the hunting crowd would be all over them.

Been waiting my whole life!

[smokin_juan]

... for something like this with a cell phone. this is close but the wait continues.

Could be useful to golfers

[The I Shing]

I've been asked by golfers if there's a device that will let them measure the exact distance to the pin (or at least the green).

I've always been at a loss to tell them what they could use, at least when it came to handheld optical devices.

Too much real-world value

[RobertB-DC]

I'm afraid this gadget has too much real-world application to be of interest to the geek crowd.

We just bought a few acres of land, and this device would have been the ideal tool for the surveyor. It's clear from the discrepancies between the survey drawing and the aerial views [dfwmaps.com] that the surveyor made his measurements, wrote them down, then made his drawing from his notes. The numbers are right, but the outlines of the buildings aren't quite where they should be.

This device, plus a windoze PC with appropriate software, will let the surveyor simply walk to the survey points, point & shoot, hotsync, and print. It's just what the surveyor needs to do his/her job.

So it's obviously too useful to be a geek toy.

wardriving...

[garcia]

This is especially useful for wardriving and warflying...

See here [agentgreen.org].

I never found my PocketPC all that great for usage w/the GPS (I am using PocketPC 2002 though). I have constant stability issues and in the extreme temps we experience here (it got down to -22 without windchill in January) the PocketPCs just don't hold up well enough.

Sounds like a plowshare.

[Ungrounded Lightning]

This sounds like a civilian version of the GPS/lidar/etc/binoculars recently used by the military for spotting targets for artillery and other attack missions.

Look at the target, center the crosshairs, read the *target's* GPS co-ordinates (or dump them into the battle net).

Re:Could be useful to golfers

[bugnuts]

There are several devices for this, from the $20 monocular to a $300 laser rangefinder.

The $20 version simply has markings, similar to a rifle scope, where the user simply matches the height of the pin to the markings and reads the result. The farther away, the smaller the pin.

A $20 version that uses no batteries is often far better suited for most golfers, imho. The only time it's not as useful is when the pin is missing or non-standard size.

Archaeology

[ParticleGirl]

It's the perfect tool for an archaeologist. We need compasses, GPS, inclinometers, digital cameras-- but I probably couldn't use it under the canopy of a jungle, and since the battery is only good for 8 hours and rechargable in a car-- and I wouldn't see a car nor a generator for a couple of months-- it remains, sadly, impractical. I guess I just have to tote around the 6 separate, heavier instruments and the supply of batteries. If this had smarter batteries, I would be ecstatic right now. I'm sure that archaeologists who work closer to civilization (and therefore care less whether they're carting 1 instrument or 6) are probably pretty psyched, though!

war-walking

[goalive]

This sounds like the ideal device for handheld wardriving or 'war-walking'. With some open source software from handhelds.org [handhelds.org] for the PocketPC, thanks to Jim Gettys and his team, the Kismet wireless and a host of open source tools, you've got the basics. The integrated GPS and the laser distance meter then give you almost everything you'd need to start finding wireless networks, map then, and publish the results on the Internet. Wait! See someone suspicious coming towards you? Just put the device into your pocket and walk away, or enjoy the sight of birds on the rooftops or the shape of the fluffy clouds.

Aside from the included hardware, just add a WiFI card with the Prism II chipset and the homemade antenna of your choice, and you're off to the races. This is the first all-in-one handheld wardriving unit I've heard of.

Perfect for Geocaching!

[Coaster-Sj]

If they could bring the price down these would be perfect for Geocaching [geocaching.com]! I'm drooling at the thought. It would be easy to write some software to allow you to upload a GPX file and then have the unit load all the waypoints and be able to display the cache info. Anyone want to donate $12000 for me to test it?

Re:GPS not accurate enough

[TigerNut]

Carrier-phase differential GPS and a low-multipath environment will get you centimeter-level accuracy. WAAS and SA being turned off help speed up the acquisition process but that's about all; the fundamental resolution achievable by GPS receivers (when used to measure carrier phase) is limited by the clock accuracy (satellite and receiver) and close-in multipath.
For more information on GPS technology check out GPS equipment manufacturer FAQs [novatel.com]