Mobile Computing: Technical Support and Training

The Natural Resource Conservation Service has tremendous potential for mobile computing applications.  Much of the Service Center work as well as other agency business is performed outside of the office and the application of mobile computing devices will enable the NRCS employee to accomplish the work in the office or in the field.  In fulfillment of its mission the National Cartography and Geospatial Center (NCGC) has provided technical support and training in the implementation and evaluation of Mobile Computers for NRCS.

What is it all about?

Mobile computing is all about enhancing the service the Natural Resource Conservation Service (NRCS) provides to our cooperators. To assist in this effort, the National Cartography and Geospatial Center (NCGC) is committed to providing NRCS personnel with technical support and training in the use of mobile computing equipment for testing, evaluation, and in applying the new technologies. This on-going effort at NCGC coincides with the Global Positioning System (GPS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology implemented over the last several years.

Want to learn more…

• Mobile Devices
• GPS-GIS Integration
• NRCS Mobile Business Solutions and Geospatial Data Warehouse Summit

The types of mobile computing equipment discussed here are hand-held computers, also known as Personal Data Assistants (PDA), and tablet computers. Hand-held computers are usually less than 8 inches by 6 inches in size and can be easily held in one hand. These devices have a Windows CE operating system, and in addition to typical PDA functions such as viewing e-mail, contacts, and calendar, they can also use software packages such as ArcPad (ESRI field data collection software), Windows CE versions of Word and Excel, reader programs for documents, and voice recording.

Tablet computers are mobile alternatives to the desktop and laptop platforms. The phenomenal increase in computer processing and data storage over the past few years has reduced the perceived limitations of choosing the tablet solution. With the exception of Internet and network connectivity (in some locations, network connectivity is possible), all the applications and tasks that can be performed on the desktop or laptop computer can also be performed on the tablet computer.

There is tremendous potential for mobile computing applications at NRCS. Much of the Service Center work including onsite planning with the cooperator and collecting information for conservation program implementations, as well as other agency business, is performed outside of the office.

These are just a few examples of how mobile computing technology is being applied at NRCS:

• Data collection for WRP easement monitoring using hand-held computers in Missouri
• Soil Survey mapping and data collection using mobile computers
• Soil conservation planning in Texas using tablet computers
• Cultural Resource data collection in New England using hand-held computers