Measuring house connections via smartphone and GNSS

Hexagon expects the integration of the NAVA app to boost innovation among its customers in the infra-structure sector. “The NAVA app ideally supplements our broad HxGN NetWorks product portfolio for utilities, and communications during the process of documenting and measuring house connections,” says Maximilian Weber, Senior Vice President, EMEA, Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial divi-sion. In particular, network operators and the contracted civil engineering companies are using it to digi-tise the process around the house connection documentation and the measurement. “The home connec-tion is a benchmark of digitalisation for network operators,” adds Stefanie Mollemeier, Managing Direc-tor of Mettenmeier GmbH, “and the Hexagon customers will be delighted with this smartphone app.” Even multi-section house connections can be documented in one process, including line display. The app uses the latest technologies such as augmented reality, 3D, image documentation and automation. At the same time, the NAVA app opens the way towards a “glass pavement”. Due to the simplicity and func-tional maturity of NAVA across iOS and Android platforms, every field crew member can record the exact positions of underground installations directly after the pipe has been laid, take photos and close the trench again promptly. This avoids a backlog of orders or an inaccurate measurement of the existing installations only after the trenches have been backfilled. Another advantage of the solution is the GIS interface already implemented by Hexagon: directly after the house connection has been measured with the smartphone, the digital sketch including all order-related data and components is sent directly and seamlessly via the cloud to the NAVA Manager and from there to the geospatial network information system. For users of Hexagon’s portfolio HxGN NetWorks, this results in a noticeably shortened process chain with a simultaneous reduction in the error rate in the house connection documentation. Missing or illegible measurement data and the resulting queries are now a thing of the past.

While NAVA with its photogrammetric approach already delivers measurement results in compliance with German industry standards and works even in GPS shadows, Mettenmeier has now expanded the solution with the mobile GNSS antenna Leica Zeno FLX100 from Hexagon. This enriches the measure-ment with absolute coordinates. To do this, the smartphone is coupled to the receiver via a universal handheld cradle and the free Leica Zeno Connect utility is installed on the smartphone. NAVA thus achie-ves horizontal accuracies of less than two centimetres via the multi-frequency reception and the correc-tion signal used. In addition, the augmented reality of the NAVA app enables an intuitive check of the position quality directly on site. The advantage of the absolute GNSS coordinates is that measurements can now also take place in poor visibility or in larger geospatial dimensions, for example in track sur-veying, cable and pipeline routes or very long house connection lines.

After NAVA was presented for the first time at the user conference of Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial Division in October 2022 in Berlin, the two companies are already planning to present the integrated solution in a joint webinar.

About Hexagon

Hexagon is a global leader in digital reality solutions, combining sensor, software and autonomous tech-nologies. We are putting data to work to boost efficiency, productivity, quality and safety across indust-rial, manufacturing, infrastructure, public sector and mobility applications. Our technologies are shaping production and people-related ecosystems to become increasingly connected and autonomous – ensu-ring a scalable, sustainable future.

Hexagon’s Safety, Infrastructure & Geospatial division improves the resilience and sustainability of the world’s critical services and infrastructure. Our solutions turn complex data about people, places and assets into meaningful information and capabilities for better, faster decision-making in public safety, utilities, defense, transportation and government.

Hexagon (Nasdaq Stockholm: HEXA B) has approximately 23,000 employees in 50 countries and net sales of approximately 4.3bn EUR. Learn more at hexagon.com and follow us @HexagonAB.

About Mettenmeier

Mettenmeier is a software company headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, and currently employs ap-proximately 200 skilled professionals. As a provider of IT solutions and consulting services, Mettenmeier is one of the top addresses in the energy and water industry. The focus is on the areas of GIS and network data, asset and work management as well as the design and support of service processes. Learn more at www.mettenmeier.de

GE and Mettenmeier agree on new cooperation for measuring house connections

GE Digital, manufacturer of the successful Smallworld GIS and Mettenmeier, provider of solutions for the energy and water industry, have agreed on a new partnership. After the innovative augmented reality app NAVA for the measurement of house connections has already found its way into the service portfolios of various GIS providers in Germany in the past, the two companies have now reached an agreement to also offer the solution worldwide via the sales channels of the industry leader with immediate effect.

As a result, NAVA will be included on GE Digital’s official price list, allowing all GE Digital partners internationally to offer the app to their customers. Part of this agreement is also the NAVA interface to GE Smallworld GIS. This ensures digital data processing in real time. In concrete terms, this means that just a few seconds after the house connection has been measured using a smartphone, the digital sketch, including all order-related data and components, is transferred directly and digitally to the GIS without any media discontinuity. In this way, GE Digital relies on the latest technologies, such as augmented reality, 3D, image documentation, automation, digitization, and at the same time opens the way towards the “glass sidewalk”. In this respect, NAVA proves to be an excellent and consistent portfolio addition for the management of a hitherto manual house connection process including an interface to the “Smallworld NRM” specialist shells used in Germany, but also to other comparable data models. After NAVA has already been successfully presented at the GE conference in Paris, the first joint appearance will now follow at the Intergeo trade fair.

Due to its functional maturity via iOS and Android platforms and the GIS connection, NAVA gives the measurement of house connections a significant boost: Intuitive, digital throughout and without any media breaks. The data is recorded using augmented reality via smartphone with compliant precision in accordance with recognized industry standards, enabling any installer to measure the house connection directly after the pipe or cable has been laid, take photos, and close the trench again promptly. This is a great advantage for the homeowner and the network operator because the measurement is already available in full digital form and ensures fast and correct documentation in the GIS. Another plus point of the solution: The app allows the documentation of multi-section house connections including line display in one process. This results in a noticeably shortened process chain while simultaneously reducing the error rate in the context of missing or illegible measurement data and the resulting queries.

As a GE Digital partner, Mettenmeier GmbH has been developing applications for Smallworld GIS for over 30 years. As a member of German industry associations VDE/FNN, DVGW, DWA, and the Smallworld User Group, the software company focuses on the exchange of experience with users and recognized experts.

About GE Digital

GE Digital is a leading industrial software company and is the manufacturer of Smallworld technology. GE Digital’s goal is to use software to simplify, better manage, analyze and optimize their business processes. The energy division of GE Digital provides solutions for renewable energy, power, utilities, and energy financial services worldwide. Together with its customers, GE Digital supplies one-third of the world’s electricity and is focused on the path to reliable, affordable, and sustainable energy.

About Mettenmeier

Mettenmeier is a software company headquartered in Paderborn, Germany, and currently employs approximately 200 skilled professionals. As a provider of IT solutions and consulting services, Mettenmeier is one of the top addresses in the energy and water industry. The focus is on the areas of GIS and network data, asset and work management as well as the design and support of service processes. www.mettenmeier.de