Collector: Anyone else find moving the map to add features awkward?

[EthanDuke]

With every GIS app that I've used to add features (points or polygons), you click on the map location where you'd like to add a point or start drawing. With the new version of Collector, one must move the map to crosshairs. Does anyone else find this awkward?

There is a rather cumbersome workaround that allows you to first drop a pin and then select "Collect Here." At that point, your screen space is taken up by other location information before navigating to add data. This is particularly frustrating when you are collecting hundreds of features in a day.

Thankfully, the Collector Classic is still a useable option, albeit with the sacrifice of labeling.

[MKF62]

All of our fieldworkers are just using their fingers on mobile phones (iphone and android) since all they do is drop points.

[SD_CSU]

The method of moving the map and tapping Add Vertex to add features is also very cumbersome for mapping vegetation polygons. On a previous project I very successfully mapped several miles of riparian vegetation with Collector Classic, drawing all polygons quickly in the field. On my current vegetation mapping project, we are using Field Maps on an iPad and decided that drawing polygons in the field would take too much time because of this cumbersome method for digitizing in Field Maps, and instead are trying to digitize all our polygons from imagery in the office via ArcGIS Online. It probably is not as accurate, but at least it is faster. Unfortunately this also means that sometimes we have to modify polygon boundaries in the field, which is also done by moving the map and tapping the button, and also very cumbersome and time-consuming, and the Apple Pencil does not speed it up much. For vegetation mapping, I am rarely standing exactly on a point that I wish to digitize.

Regarding vertex accuracy, most of us who need accurately placed vertices use some sort of fine-point stylus (like an Apple Pencil). This eliminates the concern about a finger blocking the screen.

I can understand if one was collecting just single points and always standing exactly on the location to be collected, the new digitizing method would work well. Also, I like the snapping option in Field Maps, it makes modifying a polygon boundary by moving the map slightly more feasible. For the rest of us, the tap-to-digitize method of Collector Classic would be very preferable.

Hoping to hear that this feature will be added soon.

[JeremyVore]

Hello,

I am a GIS manager for a mining company and we wanted to use collector for geologic mapping but after seeing how polygons are put in that will not be an option. The original collector was not great with having to tap the screen for every vertex but at least you could put the point where you wanted. Ideally, we would like to be able to draw the lines and polygons with a stylus freehand like you can in many tablet apps. I almost feel this was designed only for point collection in mind and polygon mapping and line mapping was an afterthought. Geologic mapping uses more than just points. I agree with Zach it would be nice to be able to toggle between digitizing methods. 

Currently,  with our current workflow, we use ArcMap to map in the field using a field tablet. We have enterprise databases that are versioned. Our geologist run a check out database procedure, go out and map, and when they come back in from the field they clean up their mapping using topology. They run a script to apply z values then check the data back into the versioned SDE. This workflow is clunky and inefficient. My coworker and I are trying to migrate to a more app-driven mapping workflow with Portal but if Collector is going to make polygons and lines difficult to collect then we will have to look for an alternative. We were planning on deploying Ipad Pro tablets with the stylus. 

If Collector is going to be more than just a point collector then the polygon and line input has to be multifunctional with options for freehand digitizing and point by point digitizing. At this point, we can not use the current collector. If collector classic is going to be supported for a few years we could get by using that. I look forward to any feedback and information on future updates. 

Cheers, 

[EtienneLaliberté]

I totally agree - please consider adding freehand and autocomplete freehand polygons to Collector. Our workflow needs it. And we also digitise polygons without necessarily standing next to the point.

[MichaelDavis3]

When you need to support a very specific field data collection workflow, or if you are finding that the out-of-the-box ESRI tools aren't quite meeting your needs you might consider a custom data collection app using the Runtime SDK.  

We've created several apps for situations where Collector just wasn't quite right, including when field crews needed to draw freehand polygons.  It's a bit more effort to get things up and running, but depending on the need the time saved might be more than worth it.

Collector is trying to meet the needs of the widest range of people, there will always be outlier workflows or edge cases where it just isn't the right fit.

[NickBlack]

Hi Etienne,

Thanks for your feedback. Please can you provide more details about your workflow, and the use case for freehand?

Regards,

Nick

[EtienneLaliberté]

Hi Nick,

Thanks. We take UAV high-res RGB imagery of vegetation. Then, we load the orthomosaic as a basemap in an ArcGIS online map. This map is shared with field users, who are field biologists.

Field biologists then go in the field to specific areas (say, 10 x 10 m areas) and draw polygons around all individual plants/patches from the basemap, and identify to each species each plant/patch. The entire area needs to be fully covered.

These polygons, annotated to plant species, are then used as training data for deep learning algorithms (semantic segmentation). The goal is to generate plant species map for the entire UAV orthomosaic, using those regions fully annotated as training data.

Currently the only possible way we have found to do this is to use ArcMap on tablets, using a stylus. To make this operational, we need to draw with a stylus the contours of each plant. Drawing individual vertices is not good enough. It takes too long to use the current polygon drawing tool in Collector. Ideally we'd want to use the Apple Pencil on iPads on Collector, but that's not possible.

Also, we're not necessarily standing at the vertex of the polygon we want to draw. In fact, we're generally not standing directly where we want to draw it.

In ArcMap the freehand polygon tool is very useful, as well as the autocomplete freehand, because we need to completely cover small areas (say, 10 x 10 m areas on the ground) with polygons representing all of the different classes.

We don't want overlap between polygons, or no empty space in between, hence the need for the autocomplete option.

In ArcMap we create feature classes for every plant species / class to use. The only annoying thing with the autocomplete freehand is you can't use autocomplete freehand for different feature classes, even if these features are stored in the same shapefile. We can use the Trace tool to make sure polygons in a different feature class share exact boundaries with polygons from another feature class, but it's not as fast and a bit clumsy. We'd like the option to use autocomplete polygon (freehand or not) on polygons from different feature classes.

If we could all do that in Collector, it would be the perfect tool. With deep learning methods on the rise, and the need for such training data for semantic segmentation algorithms (e.g. convolutional neural networks), I can see how many plant ecologists / field biologists will be looking for tools to do exactly that. Collector is well-positioned to fill that niche, if it could only upgrade its polygon drawing capability.

Cheers,

Etienne

Le 23 janv. 2020 à 12:31, Nick Black <geonet@esri.com<mailto:geonet@esri.com>> a écrit :

GeoNet, The Esri Community | GIS and Geospatial Professional Community<https://community.esri.com/?et=watches.email.thread>

Re: Collector: Anyone else find moving the map to add features awkward?

reply from Nick Black<https://community.esri.com/people/NBlack-esristaff?et=watches.email.thread> in Collector for ArcGIS - View the full discussion<https://community.esri.com/message/903886-re-collector-anyone-else-find-moving-the-map-to-add-features-awkward?commentID=903886&et=watches.email.thread#comment-903886>

[EtienneLaliberté]

To add to this:

Other companies are currently trying to fill that exact niche, for example Labelbox:

https://labelbox.com/docs/tools/tiled-imagery

Their image segmentation drawing tools are excellent

https://labelbox.com/product/image-segmentation

It's different than Collector in that it creates raster masks directly, but the drawing is much better from the user's perspective.

But they're not there yet. First, you can't use it offline. Tablets are not supported (though it works). Not really meant for field use (i.e. no GPS etc). Also, zoom level is limited to 22, which is not enough. Also a problem I think on Collector (?), but not ArcMap where you can zoom as much as you want.

With better polygon drawing tools (or why not, even raster masks like Labelbox!), Collector would be the best tool for this kind of image segmentation / annotation work where annotation must happen in the field.

Le 23 janv. 2020 à 14:31, Etienne Laliberté <etienne.laliberte@umontreal.ca<mailto:etienne.laliberte@umontreal.ca>> a écrit :

Hi Nick,

Thanks. We take UAV high-res RGB imagery of vegetation. Then, we load the orthomosaic as a basemap in an ArcGIS online map. This map is shared with field users, who are field biologists.

Field biologists then go in the field to specific areas (say, 10 x 10 m areas) and draw polygons around all individual plants/patches from the basemap, and identify to each species each plant/patch. The entire area needs to be fully covered.

These polygons, annotated to plant species, are then used as training data for deep learning algorithms (semantic segmentation). The goal is to generate plant species map for the entire UAV orthomosaic, using those regions fully annotated as training data.

Currently the only possible way we have found to do this is to use ArcMap on tablets, using a stylus. To make this operational, we need to draw with a stylus the contours of each plant. Drawing individual vertices is not good enough. It takes too long to use the current polygon drawing tool in Collector. Ideally we'd want to use the Apple Pencil on iPads on Collector, but that's not possible.

Also, we're not necessarily standing at the vertex of the polygon we want to draw. In fact, we're generally not standing directly where we want to draw it.

In ArcMap the freehand polygon tool is very useful, as well as the autocomplete freehand, because we need to completely cover small areas (say, 10 x 10 m areas on the ground) with polygons representing all of the different classes.

We don't want overlap between polygons, or no empty space in between, hence the need for the autocomplete option.

In ArcMap we create feature classes for every plant species / class to use. The only annoying thing with the autocomplete freehand is you can't use autocomplete freehand for different feature classes, even if these features are stored in the same shapefile. We can use the Trace tool to make sure polygons in a different feature class share exact boundaries with polygons from another feature class, but it's not as fast and a bit clumsy. We'd like the option to use autocomplete polygon (freehand or not) on polygons from different feature classes.

If we could all do that in Collector, it would be the perfect tool. With deep learning methods on the rise, and the need for such training data for semantic segmentation algorithms (e.g. convolutional neural networks), I can see how many plant ecologists / field biologists will be looking for tools to do exactly that. Collector is well-positioned to fill that niche, if it could only upgrade its polygon drawing capability.

Cheers,

Etienne

Le 23 janv. 2020 à 12:31, Nick Black <geonet@esri.com<mailto:geonet@esri.com>> a écrit :

GeoNet, The Esri Community | GIS and Geospatial Professional Community<https://community.esri.com/?et=watches.email.thread>

Re: Collector: Anyone else find moving the map to add features awkward?

reply from Nick Black<https://community.esri.com/people/NBlack-esristaff?et=watches.email.thread> in Collector for ArcGIS - View the full discussion<https://community.esri.com/message/903886-re-collector-anyone-else-find-moving-the-map-to-add-features-awkward?commentID=903886&et=watches.email.thread#comment-903886>

[NickBlack]

Hi Jeremy,

Apologies for the late response and thanks for the feedback. We are doing some more design thinking here.Just to clarify - are you deploying the iPad Pro devices with the apple pencil?

Regards,

Nick

[kmsmikrud]

Hi Nick Black,

I wanted to add in that our organization would very much like the ability to add in offset lines and polygons from the receiver's location. The current workflow for the the line vertex starting at the current location and then having to move is way to cumbersome. We are trying to use the new Collector for aerial surveys where time is of the essence. We haven't used the old Collector but knowing the functionality is in the old version and not the new is discouraging. I also see that Survey123 has the geotrace option for sketching lines but don't like the idea of needing to switch apps just to draw a freehand line? So yes please do include freehand sketch tools that allow easier data collection of offset lines and polygons.

Why do you ask about the apple pencil? Is this needed for sketching? 

Thanks,
Kathy