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How do I track or draw a polygon or a line to map it?
How do I track or draw a polygon or a line to map it?

Tracking and mapping polygons and lines using the GPS or your finger on the NRDS Aina Mobile app

Sam avatar
Written by Sam
Updated over 8 months ago

Watch this short video to see polygon and line tracking in action.
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Polygon and Line Tracking in Action

  1. Once you have logged into your NRDS account, make sure you have fetched your data.

  2. Check to make sure your location settings are turned to "always" (if they are on another setting and the app goes to sleep, your track will stop.)

  3. Go offline if you are tracking somewhere with no service (You can track online, offline, or in airplane mode easily! Just know if you lose service while "online", the app will automatically go offline and you will have to wait to push features to the web app until you have returned to service.)

  4. SELECT the current location button in the top left corner to make sure you are tracking in the location you want to be.

  5. Click the directional arrow and the map will orient to your direction and stay with you as you move

  6. CLICK the PLUS button on the bottom right of your screen and select track.

  7. You will get a notification asking if you would like to start a track and after selecting START, your app will automatically start tracking. It may take a few seconds if you have just taken your phone out of your pocket.

  8. From here you can walk or drive around your area (be careful of overlapping corners) and the app will follow your location using GPS.

  9. Once you are tracking you have a couple of options:

    1. Stop/Save - End your current track and choose to save as a line/feature.

    2. Pause - Pause your current track and resume later. When you resume your track from a new point, you can either

      1. create a "gap" in your track

      2. continue on connecting from your last point

    3. Cancel - Stop or cancel your track without saving

Tracking Settings

There can be multiple reasons you want to adjust your track settings. You can access the settings by selecting the stack button on the top left of your NRDS app and selecting settings.

If you feel like your track is not fine enough or too fine, or if you are moving quickly (i.e. driving) and you only want the app to collect data every so often, you can adjust this.

  • Geolocation

    • Elasticity Interval - automatic distance and time (best guess based on the speed you are going using the accelerometer in your device!)

    • Distance Interval - this determines how often your app will collect a point (in meters). If you are going very far distances, you would want this too be larger so you aren't collecting unnecessarily large amounts of data. This will override the update interval when set.

    • Time Interval - updates based on time (in seconds)

    • Accuracy - updates based on your GPS accuracy (in meters). Too low of an accuracy will not record points.

    • Stop Timeout - stops after a certain amount of time has passed without tracking (in minutes)

    • Speed Jump Filter - Here you can set the speed (in miles per hour) where points are not recorded of the speed spikes to the specified amount.

  • Save Track Data - collects all of the metadata. Essentially for every single dot you collect on the map, it will collect the latitude, longitude, timestamp, accuracy, etc... If you need this information, make sure this option is switched to Yes!

How to add buffers and speed range limits to tracks

If you are doing spray or survey work or other work that involve maintaining a consistent speed and viewing your coverage area you can set the speed range and visual buffer area.

In settings there is now a speed and buffer setting

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