Lab 8: Navigation with GPS, Map & Compass

Introduction:
The purpose of this lab was to have students navigate a study area using two different methods.  This included a Bad Elf GPS device with coordinates and also a UTM map and compass.  Utilizing these two different methods provided students with multiple skills in navigating through challenging environments.  The area being traversed was the Children's Nature Academy in the UWEC priory.  It is a wooded area found on the Southwest side of Eau Claire, WI.  Figure 1 below displays an aerial map of the study area.

Figure 1: Site Map of UWEC Priory& Children's Academy

Methods:

There were two different methods performed for navigation during this exercise.  The first one involved using a Bad Elf GPS unit to find specified latitude/longitude coordinates.  Below are the following coordinates provided for one of the groups.  

Group Three:

1)      617708.815999999640000, 4958257.839600000500000

2)      617930.692499999890000, 4957946.946799999100000

3)      617619.799700000320000, 4958049.249099999700000

4)      617852.304999999700000, 4958136.936799999300000

5)      617695.530000000260000, 4958123.650800000900000
Each group tracked their path to the given coordinates using a Bad Elf GPS unit, which gathered the path students walked in pursuit of each point.  At the given locations, trees were marked, displayed in figure 2 below.  

Figure 2

Aiding the students during their tracking was the Bad Elf iOS app.  The GPS device was linked to an iPhone via Bluetooth and live coordinate updates were accessible on an iPhone displayed on figure 3 below.   

Figure 3: Coordinate point displayed on Bad Elf iOS app

Once all 5 points were recorded, students moved on to the next sequence of the exercise, which involved navigating to 3 points only using a navigation map and compass to guide them.  A GPS was only used to track the location in order to see how close they were to the actual coordinate point.  Each group had a pace counter, an azimuth control and a leap frogger.  The pace counter's job was to stay in a straight line while keeping count of his/her pace in order to measure distance.  The azimuth control was there to guide and ensure that the pace counter was in a straight line.  The leap frogger simply stood at landmarks that were passed in order to enable the azimuth control to navigate straight shot to another land mark.  

Results: 

Figure 4 below displays group three's path in pursuit of each coordinate point.  The squiggly lines show the slight struggle in both navigating the terrain and finding the direct path to the coordinate points.  Despite the slight difficulty this particular group had, they were still able to come within 15 meters of each location point.  The blue trail represents navigation with aid of the Bad Elf GPS, and the orange represents navigation with use of just a navigation map and compass. 

Figure 4

Figure 5 represents all the groups' collective routes during this field outing.  Notice that each group had success in navigating to their given coordinate points.  The paths that are more "off beat" typically were the ones that used the GPS and not the compass.  Utilizing the compass provided groups with a more straight path, especially with the aid of a leap frogger and azimuth control. 

Figure 5

Conclusion:
The Bad Elf GPS is obviously much more precise than a conventional map and compass for location accuracy.  Knowing how to use a compass is still important as a backup when technology fails.  The above maps show that each navigation technique was quite successful overall.  The most challenging part of this exercise seemed to be navigating through the terrain, as you can tell group 3 took strange paths to get to various coordinate points as they struggled through the thick brush.  One thing that helped them determine their path as the continued on was the use of the contour lines on the UTM maps they had provided.  It enabled them to see where there would be areas of steep terrain that could be avoided. 

Sources:

 https://nhtramper.wordpress.com/2013/03/31/wilderness-compass-navigation-primer/

https://education.usgs.gov/lessons/compass.html