Spatial Data Research is a GIS mapping, software and consulting company specializing in integrating GPS with our mapping and GIS applications. Since incorporating in 1993, SDR has provided E9-1-1 mapping, addressing and communications services, along with custom software development and GIS consulting, to nearly 100 counties, municipalities and private sector clients.
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Edge Matching Project


New Mexico/Texas PSAP Boundary Edge Matching Project

The need to compile and maintain regionalized GIS layers for multi-agency use becomes more critical as the E9-1-1 industry moves to Next Generation 9-1-1.  NG9-1-1 is based on IP networks delivering communication from text messages to video to traditional 9-1-1 calls to Public Safety Answering Points across the country.  Key to determining call and message routing are GIS boundaries defining PSAPs, Emergency Service Zones and Communities.  As 9-1-1 calls will be routed spatially in NG9-1-1 environments, accurate PSAP boundaries in GIS format are required for accurate call routing.  The State of Texas approached the State of New Mexico in 2009 to enter a joint project to resolve PSAP boundaries at the state line which extends from the Oklahoma Panhandle to the El Paso area.  SDR, as the State of New Mexico’s E9-1-1 GIS Consultant, is working with more than 25 PSAPs and the two states to adjust New Mexico’s GIS PSAP boundaries as a critical first step to implementing geospatial call routing in New Mexico and Texas. 

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GIS Enhancement to Improve "Reverse911"


Escambia County, AL GIS Enhancement to Improve "Reverse911"

Escambia County is located just north of the Pensacola, Florida metro area. This rural but populous Alabama County has a home-grown GIS and addressing system and previous to this project was using ArcView 3.2 to maintain its data. A move by the county to purchase an emergency notification system required an extensive scrub of addressing and telephone databases and revealed some weaknesses in the GIS and the need for mapped address points to add geospatial depth to “Reverse 9-1-1” emergency notification system.  SDR worked with Escambia County on a project to GPS the locations of every addressed structure in the county and synchronize E9-1-1 and GIS databases to enhance dispatch call mapping and improve the effectiveness of Reverse 9-1-1.  The project paved the way for Next Generation 9-1-1 Ready GIS data for Escambia County and integrated MSAG data directly into the GIS. (click image to see larger map)

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Multi-Agency Readdressing Project


Larimer County Multi-Agency Readdressing Project
SDR worked SDR was chosen by Larimer County, Colorado, home to Ft. Collins and Rocky Mountain National Park, to implement a multi-year comprehensive readdressing project so that all rural addressing follows the adopted County Addressing Ordinance.  The project involved not only GIS enhancement, GPS field data location and readdressing, but also involved building standard operating procedures and establishing processes with local and regional post offices, all county agencies using the addressing, the 9-1-1 database provider and private and public utilities.  Each rural address in this county of nearly 300,000 residents was examined and verified in this project.  The impact to citizens having to change addresses was weighed against the benefits of a logical, county-wide addressing system and dozens of town meetings and Q&A meetings were organized and held by SDR and SDR’s professional public relations consultant to educate the public and respond to their concerns.  The project covered five well-planned stages spanning over six years. (click image to see larger map) click for larger image

E9-1-1 Pilot Project


To'hajiilee Chapter/Navajo Nation/E9-1-1 Pilot Project
SDR worked with the To’hajiilee Chapter of the Navajo Nation, Bernalillo County, NM and the New Mexico E9-1-1 Program to complete this first of its kind Rural Addressing/E9-1-1 Project on the Navajo Nation.  The To’hajiilee Chapter is located primarily in Bernalillo County, about an hour west of Albuquerque, and is not contiguous with the rest of the Navajo Nation.  The project consisted of ground-up GIS, rural addressing assignment, in-field address notification and data collection and 9-1-1 database creation, all in an effort to improve E9-1-1 service for chapter members.  This successful pilot project served as a proving ground for unique project methodologies crafted for future E9-1-1 work with New Mexico’s more than 50 Navajo Nation chapters.  As of 2009, members of the To’hajiilee Chapter enjoy fully enhanced landline and wireless 9-1-1 services and benefit from permanent physical addressing as well. (click image to see larger map) click for larger image

Rural Addressing Project


Dent County, Missouri
Residents in the Missouri County of Dent, just southeast of Rolla on the I-44 Corridor, have not yet passed a sales tax or landline telephone surcharge to fund Enhanced 9-1-1 in the county.  Thus, rural residents did not have physical addresses, as most rural addressing projects go hand in hand with E9-1-1 projects.  However, Dent County’s Commissioners recognized the ever-increasing need for addressing.  Residents unable to provide physical addresses had difficulty getting driver’s licenses, cable TV service, package delivery services and even gun permits.  In a proactive move, the County’s Commissioners decided to fund a Rural Addressing/GIS project from the general fund and contracted with SDR for the project.  More than 5,000 rural residents were addressed in the county and the local post offices participated fully in the project, most welcoming the new addresses for mail delivery so they could benefit from the USPS’ automated sorting services.  The County also cleaned up and expanded its road numbering system during the project and sponsored the creation of a historic sites GIS layer to contain historic cemeteries and Dent County’s portion of the Trial of Tears.  In another unique and proactive move, the County employed the University Extension Service to maintain GIS and addressing for the county’s rural residents.  The Extension Service uses SDR’s AddressIt software along with real-time GPS in its GIS/Addressing maintenance activities. (click image to see larger map) click for larger image

Readdressing and GIS Services


City of Van Alstyne, Texas

Van Alstyne, Texas is located 30 miles north of Dallas.  The city is experiencing rapid growth but has limited staffing.  The city was historically addressed over the years using four different addressing schemes which made it very difficult for Emergency Providers to locate an address during an emergency.  Before readdressing, it was not uncommon to find four address ranges with odd and even numbers on both sides of the street.  The City Council recognized the liability of inconsistent addressing and contracted with SDR to provide comprehensive, logical addressing and to build and improve key GIS layers including boundaries, address points, driveways, road centerlines and fire hydrants.  SDR retained as many of the old addresses as possible, built a new address city block style scheme, completed the project in six months and is now maintaining the addressing and GIS data until Van Alstyne has the resources to hire a GIS position within the City.  The Police, Fire and City Hall Departments can now view their City GIS layers with aerial photos utilizing SDR’s Go2It software.  Van Alstyne, Texas is the first small City in Grayson , Texas to prepare their City for the GIS demands of Next Generation 911. (click image to see larger map)

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Mapping, Addressing, and GIS for E-911

Lincoln County, MissouriLincoln County, Missouri
SDR
completed the original mapping and addressing in 1996, using differential GPS in the field and MicroStation as the mapping platform. The County successfully maintained the system for five years using GPS to map new roads and homes and SDR's custom software to automate digital mapping and addressing. In 2001, with newer and better GIS and GPS tools available, SDR helped Lincoln County migrate their data into ArcView. Today, Lincoln County uses SDR's ASIA addressing and Tao GPS interface software with real time GPS to update its 9-1-1 GPS in one integrated field process. Lincoln County also uses Go2It. SDR's map location software, interfaced to the existing 9-1-1 and CAD software for immediate call mapping. SDR has completed full-service E9-1-1 projects like Lincoln County's in more than 50 U.S. counties.
Programming for Utilities and Facilities Management

Garland Power and Light
For Garland Power and Light (GPL), an electric utility company east of Dallas, SDR developed custom GIS/GPS software used to inventory and inspect their transmission and distribution network. The software runs on Psion handheld computers. After each inspection, the results are uploaded in the office to a PC database for analysis, planning and maintenance work scheduling.
Global Mapping Solutions
To map the utilities in a region larger than the State of South Carolina, SDR developed custom GIS/GPS software for the Navajo Tribal Utilities Association (NTUA). The Navaho are mapping all of their utility infrastructure, including electric, gas, and water. As GIS data is collected, another software module by SDR can be used to prepare engineering plans, generate materials lists, and estimate job costs.

Custom GPS/Data Collection Software

Bi-State Development Agency
Bi-State Development Agency operates St. Louis' network of light rail and bus transportation. As the agency began a program to update its system, SDR was contracted to build an application to collect and categorize the agency's bus stops. Bi-State employees used Trimble GPS units to capture the position of each of its 18,000 bus stops. The GPS was linked to SDR's MapObjects-based Visual Basic custom data collection interface. The bus station location shape files produced were linked with an Access database. The final data was then brought into ARC/Info for further modeling.


Digital Mapping and GIS for 911

Johnson County, Illinois
Johnson County, in southeastern Illinois, was addressed by a local vendor in the mid '90s. A detailed database was constructed, though it had no georeferencing, and no digital mapping was done. The county was able to maintain the addressing for a number of years using a DMI to calculate distances between a known address and a new one. Inspired in part by pending wireless legislation calling for wireless call mapping, Johnson County ETSB (Emergency Telephone System Board), hired SDR in 1999 to develop true GIS. SDR mapped all roads, addresses, driveways, hydrants, tower and bridge locations with real-time differential GPS superimposed on digital ortho imagery. SDR also provided custom software development to interface SDR's PSAP mapping system, Go2It, to a third-party 9-1-1 system (Emergitech) and produced full-color mapbooks for all emergency responders

Software Solutions for Planning and Appraisal

Both government agencies and the private sector are involved in appraisal mapping. As with other GIS venues, appraisal mapping relies on linking precise geographical data with descriptive information.

Mobile Video Services, Inc.
SDR also works with the nation's largest video appraisal company, Mobile Video. With imaging applications built by SDR, Mobile Video easily binds a variety of GIS data with their real-time property imaging system. This system is linked automatically via GPS to appraisal parcel codes superimposed on orthophotography. As each parcel is photographed, the digital video frame is stamped with the 9-1-1 address of the property and is automatically hot linked to the GIS.

 

911/GIS/Communications Consulting


ESRI/Central County Emergency Dispatch
In 2001 and 2002, SDR participated in a GIS feasibility study with ESRI for Central County Emergency Dispatch, a dispatch center in St. Louis County serving nine area fire departments in three counties. Serving as the E9-1-1 consultant, SDR helped CCED understand the mapping, GIS and spatial data needs of emergency services, and most importantly, the limitations of "over the counter" road centerline and other GIS data for the 911 user.


Custom GPS/Data Collection Software

City of Tucumcari GASB Project
GIS/GPS
technologies are perfectly suited for asset inventories. SDR built Infra-Track as a response to the GASB (General Accounting Standards Board) Statement 34 issued in 1999 which calls for an inventory and financial assessment of public works and infrastructure, such as roads, culverts, signs and more. Infra-Track allows the municipality to collect, store and manage GIS data directly from the field using a hand-held or pen tablet PC and GPS receiver. GPS positioning is tranparently integrated with the GIS data, and SDR has also linked digital imaging to the inventory process, so digital stills or videos of sign, bridge and pavement conditions can be linked to specific map coordinates.





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