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Quick Start Guide

Technical Overview

Project History

QUICK START GUIDE FOR PC-Pilot

All of SnowPilot’s data fields use the newly adopted “Snow, Weather, and Avalanches: Observational Guidelines for Avalanche Programs in the United States”.  Also known as SWAG, you can read or purchase this book at http://www.avalanche.org/~research/guidelines/.

1. Click on the shortcut PC-Pilot.jar to open the desktop version of SnowPilot.
2. Click on the <Select> button on the upper left side of the window and click on <Add User>. 
3. You will be prompted to enter a username (3 characters minimum), email address, etc.  You MUST enter all fields in order to upload your data to the web.  This way every pit has a name, email and phone number associated with it. 
1. Click the <Professional> box if you dig snowpits on the job (ski patrol, forecaster, guide, etc.)
1. If you checked the <Professional> box, enter where you work.
2. In <Select> click <Save User>.
2. You can have multiple users for SnowPilot.
4. You will be taken to the Preferences page.  You will now choose how you want your pits and data to be entered and displayed.
5. Familiarize yourself with the choices under <Select>.
1. <Add User>: lets you add other users to the program.
2. <Edit User>: allows you to change any of the fields for a user.
3. <Preferences>: will allow you to change the preferences of the person highlighted in the first box. 
4. <Locations>: Brings up another window from where you can add a location that you go to frequently.  This way you can pull it up on the Locations tab in the Main Menu and not have to enter everything again.  This is handy for study plots or frequent snow pit sites.
5. <Edit Pits> and <Edit Occurrences>: Lets you edit an existing entry. 
6. <Add Pit> and <Add Occurrence> are the same as the buttons on the bottom of the Main Menu window.  This is the starting point for creating snow profiles and reporting occurrences.
7. <Send Data>: Click on this to upload all your Pits and Occurrences to the Web Client (online database).  This puts your information into the database and allows others to look at your pit.  You need to be connected to the Internet for this to work.
8. <Web Client>: If you are online, this will show you ALL the pits and Occurrences that have been recently added to the database. 
9. NEW! <Search for Pits>: This allows you to search the entire database of pits.
6. Click on <Add Pit>.
1. NEW! Make a TEST pit.  Click on the <Test/practice Pit?> pit box. 
2. Your State/Prov will populate from your preferences, but you can change it here.
3. The time/date is from your current time, but can be manually changed by clicking on the button. 
4. Aspect refers to TRUE North and should be entered as a number.
5. Always enter angle as a whole number. 
6. Lat and Long must be entered in decimal format, not minutes/seconds.
7. NEW! For <Notes>, you can enter as much as you like.  After 2 lines another window will appear with your notes. 
7. Click on <Pit> in the upper left corner.  This will give us options for other screens to enter data. 
8. Click on <Pit Graph> to view the pit and get an idea of the layout. 
1. Click on <Pit> in the upper left corner.  From here you have options to:
1. <Print Pit> which sends it to your printer.  Landscape view works best. 
2. NEW! If you have a separate window of <Notes>, these will print automatically too.
3. <Save Pit Image> will allow you to save this Pit as a JPEG anywhere on your computer.
4. <Save Pit as Text File> lets you save all your data in a raw format. 
9. Click on the <x> on the upper right hand of the window to close it and return to the Add/Edit Pit window.
10. Click on <Layers> in <Pit>
1. Fill in the depth of the layer boundaries.
2. On <Select Grain Type>, pick your crystal type.  Close the window by clicking the <x>.
3. After adding the layer info, click on <Add this layer> at the bottom of the page or from the dropdown menu at the top of the screen.
4. For Comments, keep them to a few words since space is limited to only 15 characters.
5. NEW! For research we are interested in knowing what the weakest or most problematic layer in the pit is.  Check the box if you know which layer this is.  And if you can identify which interface is the most problematic, check this box too.
6. If you want to edit an existing layer, you can easily do so by bringing it up in the Current Layers drop down.  Clicking on it will repopulate the layer info into the Edit Layer page.  Edit what you need and then <save>. 
11. Click on the <x> to close the window and return to Add/Edit Pit.
12. Click on <Temp> on the drop down menu.  Add data, then hit <Add Point> when you’re done.  From the drop down menu you can also <Delete Points>.
13. Click on <Test>.  Select your test from the drop down menu and it will load the Scores.  This uses the test scores as outlined in SWAG.
1. For Comments, keep them to a few words since space is limited to only 15 characters.
2. If you have an identical test/score/depth, you can bring up the previous test in the dropdown menu and hit the button <same result> at the bottom of the screen. A x2 is put in front of the test on the pit graph.
3. NEW! If you are not familiar with the Extended Column Test (ECT) you can read up on it here: http://www.fsavalanche.org/NAC/techPages/articles/07_TAR_ECT_Update_Simenhois.pdf
4. NEW! If you are not familiar with Rutschblock Release Types you can check out page 41 of SWAG.
14. Click on <x> to exit and return to the Add/Edit Pit window.
15. Click on <Pit Graph> in the menu to see your pit. 
16. If you like it you can save it or print it.  Once you close it, you can reopen the pit from the SnowPilot Main Menu under Pits and chose <Edit Pits> to correct or add anything to your pit.  You can also <delete pits> from this page.
17. <Add Occurrence> will take you to a detailed form outlining the data to collect when you investigate an avalanche.  If you click on <Crown Obs> on the drop down menu you can associate a pit with the occurrence.  All fields in the Occurrence Form follow the new SWAG.
18. From the SnowPilot Main Menu window click on <Select>.  From here you can <Send data> or go to <Web Client> if you are online. 
1. <Send Data> uploads all your data to the Web Client database.  All pits in the window get uploaded. 
2. A pop-up window will appear reading “Sending data-please wait”.  This will be followed shortly by a new window saying “Data Sent”.  Click OK and you’re ready to see your pits in the database.
3. Clicking on <Web Client> brings up a window with the Master Database List.  Your pit will be in here.
19. Using <Web Client>:
1. Double clicking on any pit will bring up the pit graph or occurrence data.  You can print or save it, but not edit it.
2. To make searching easier you can double click on a specific mountain range or state and see all the pits entered for that area.

20) HOT TIP! Once your pits are either in the database or saved elsewhere, we recommend <Deleting> them in order to make managing your pits in SnowPilot easier.

The PC-Pilot.jar is the desktop version of SnowPilot that is on your handheld.  I recommend that you first get familiar with it on your desktop since the screen size is so much bigger than a PDA!

1. The first time you use the PDA, click on the <SnowPilot> icon.  You will be prompted to enter a username, email address, etc.  You MUST enter all fields in order to upload your data to the web.  This way every pit has a name, email and phone number associated with it.   If you entered this information on PC-Pilot, you need to enter it again on your PDA.
1. Tap the bottom or top of the screen to move up or down on the page.
2. Tapping the very top of the page will give you the drop down menus.
1. Click the <Professional> box if you dig snowpits on the job (ski patrol, forecaster, guide, etc.)
2. If you checked the <Professional> box, enter where you work.
3. If you want to your pits available for viewing from the database leave this checked. 
4. Click <save>.
3. Each PDA can have multiple users.
2. You will be taken to the Preferences page.  You will now choose how you want your pits and data to be entered and displayed. 
3. From the SnowPilot - Main Menu, tap the top of the screen to familiarize yourself with the drop down menus.
1. You can pre-set Locations that to make data entry in the field quicker.  This is handy if you dig many pits in the same spot.
4. Click on <Add Pit>.
1. Make a TEST pit.  Click on the <Test/practice Pit?> pit box. 
2. Your State/Prov will populate from your preferences, but you can change it here.
3. The time/date is from your PDA and can be manually changed by clicking on the button. 
4. Aspect refers to TRUE North and should be entered as a number.
5. Always enter angle as a whole number. 
6. Lat and Long must be entered in decimal format, not minutes/seconds.
7. You will be able to Edit all info on your Desktop after you HotSynch it (headers, layers, tests, etc).
5. Click on <Layer>
1. On the <Add Layer> drop down menu, <back> will always save AND bring you to the previous page.  <save>, keeps you on the same page, but saves the data.
2. On <Select Grain Type>, pick your crystal type. 
3. After adding the layer info, click on <Add this layer> at the bottom of the page or from the dropdown menu at the top of the screen.
4. The PDA will “beep” and a small box will inform you your layer was added.
5. For Comments, keep them to a few words since space is limited to only 15 characters.
6. If you want to edit an existing layer, you can easily do so by bringing it up in the Current Layers drop down.  Clicking on it will repopulate the layer info into the Edit Layer page.  Edit what you need and click <back>.
6. Clicking on <back> from the Add Layer, Test or Temp pages will always take you to the Edit Pit page
7. Click on <Temp> on the drop down menu.  Add data, then hit <Add Point> when you’re done.  From the drop down menu you can also <Delete Points>.
8. Click on <Test>.  Select your test from the drop down menu and it will load the Scores.  This uses the test scores as outlined in SWAG.
1. For Comments, keep them to a few words since space is limited to only 15 characters.
2. When you’re done, click on <back>.  This will take you to the Edit Pit page.
3. If you have an identical test/score/depth, you can bring up the previous test in the dropdown menu and hit the button <same result> at the bottom of the screen. A x2 is put in front of the test on the pit graph.
9. From the Edit Pit page, click on <Pit Graph> to see a simple graph of your pit.  Only hardness’s and some tests are displayed.  If you have multiple stability tests not all of them will be displayed because of space limitations, but they will be on your computer.
10. From the SnowPilot-Main Menu on your PDAyou can always chose <Edit Pits> to correct or add anything to your pit.  You can also <delete pits> from this page.
11.  <Add Occurrence> will take you to a detailed form outlining the data to collect when you investigate an avalanche. This is broken into 2 parts.  If you click on <Crown Obs> on the drop down menu you can associate a pit with the occurrence.  All fields in the Occurrence Form follow the new SWAG.

HOTSYNCHING AND USING THE DESKTOP APPLICATION

1. This is the cool part.  HotSynch your PDA.  This will bring all your data over to your computer where it can be viewed and edited from the PC-Pilot.jar shortcut. 
2. Once your snowpits are synched over to the computer, ALL further edits should be done on the computer instead of the PDA.  Edits done on your PDA after the HotSynch will not come over. 

BEAMING PITS

1. Both PDAs, the sending and the receiving unit, should be on the Edit Pits page.
2. The receiving unit should click <Receive Pit> on the drop down menu.  A pop up box will confirm this.
3. The sending unit should choose the pit to beam in the <Select Observation> box.
4. The sending unit should then click <Beam Pit> in the drop down menu.  The pit will be beamed to the other PDA.

TIPS FOR FIELD USE

1. Use a hand warmer packet to keep the screen warm.  Rubber band it to the screen on the approach and it will reward you with full clarity.
2. You can enter data through a Ziploc if you are in a wet climate. 
3. Record your <Locations> ahead of time.
4. Practice using your PDA.  Get fast using “Graffiti”. 
5. The newer your PDA, the faster it’s going to work.  If you have an older OS 4.1, an upgrade to OS 5.1 or higher will make your data entry go much faster.

IMPORTANT STUFF TO REMEMBER

1. Practice making a few test pits before you head out into the field.  It’ll save you frustration and time. 
2. After uploading your data, Delete Pits from your PDA and PC-Pilot.  It keeps everything cleaner and easier to use.
3. Upload your data to the web often. 
4. Go skiing.

Technical Overview

General:
Snow Pilot is a distributed application for the collection, storage and analysis of snow science data for avalanche forecast and research. Snow Pilot allows for the collection of snow science data in the field in a very efficient and user friendly manner on both PDA's and PC's. Data collected on PDA's may be synched with a users PC where it can be further reviewed and edited. The data collected can be sent via the internet to a centralized database. All data collected into the central database can be easily accessed via a web interface. An advanced search engine with graphic interface for the SnowPilot database is also available to designated researchers.

Components:
The Snow Pilot application consist of three major components. The first component is the PDA application which is used to collect and store data in the field. Once the data is collected on the PDA application the data may be uploaded to the desktop application which is used to store, view and edit the data. Optionally all data collected by an individual user can be sent to the SnowPilot central database and web application where it can be shared with other users, or leveraged for snow science research.

PDA Application - The PDA application allows for the collection and storage of snow science data in the field. Data on both snow pits and avalanche occurrences may be collected and stored. The data is collected by using custom forms displayed by the application, the data collection process has been carefully designed by both the development and snow science team to be efficient, user friendly, and intuitive. Drop down list are used extensively to provide for more efficient and robust data entry, and form level validation of data is also used throughout. Support is provided for both metric and imperial units, unit preferences can be customized for each user. Viewing of snow pit graphs is also supported. Snow science data can be stored by the PDA application until it is uploaded to the PC-Pilot desktop application, where it may be edited and optionally sent to the central SnowPilot database.

Desktop Application - The PC-Pilot desktop application is a Java application which mirrors the PDA application. The PC-Pilot application may either be used standalone or with the SnowPilot PDA application. The data from the PDA application is automatically synched to the PC-Pilot application, where it can be edited and reviewed. The PC-Pilot application allows the user to store data, print and save pit graphs, and to save data elements in delimited format for import into spreadsheets and other applications. The PC-Pilot application also allows the user to send their data to the SnowPilot central database as well as to view the data other users have sent to the central database.

Web Application - The Snow Pilot web application allows for the storage, access, viewing and searching of all data collected from the central database via the internet. The server side web application component is a J2EE application which communicates with an SQL database. The server side component receives data from the desktop application and parses and stores the data in a central database. Once the data is stored, the snow pit and avalanche occurrence data can be accessed via the web client on the PC-Pilot application or via the Java applet on the SnowPilot website. Currently the web application server is deployed using the Apache Web server, the Tomcat application server, and MySQL database. The current version is deployed on a Mac G4 running OS X. I currently am hosting this application from my office in Bishop, CA.

Development Team:
The technical team for the Snow Pilot project consist of myself, Mark Kahrl I have been able to bring many years of scientific and business software development experience to this project. For the Snow Pilot project I have worked very closely with the avalanche scientist from the Gallatin Avalanche Center. We have spent many days and hours developing the project requirements and perfecting the data collection process. I believe that this very close integration of the users of the software with the development team to develop requirements has resulted in an exceptionally useful application. Being the technical team for the project has kept me very busy, and has been very rewarding. In addition to working with users to develop requirements, I've also designed, coded, debugged, and tested all of the software components for the project. Also I do all of the web server, application server, database and network administration, configuration and scripting for the SnowPilot project. In addition to being a software developer I am an avid backcountry skier, and I realize how critical this project is to the safety of outdoor enthusiast such as myself.

Acknowledgements:
My thanks to the Gallatin Avalanche Center and the Friends of the Gallatin Avalanche Center for supporting this project.

History of the Palm Pilot Project:

by Doug Chabot,
director, Gallatin National Forest Avalanche Center

The idea of using Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) to collect snowpit data isn’t new. Ever since they arrived on the scene a few years ago people started to envision using them as tools in the field, which has been done successfully in other branches of science. However, the main stumbling block to creating a program for avalanche professionals was always money. We knew the brainpower existed to write the software, but it was cost prohibitive. This all changed in October 2002 when Conrad Anker, working with our Friends of the Avalanche Center, secured a grant from the Omega Foundation to hire a programmer to write snowpit data collection software. In addition to this grant, the Friends also received a donation of 175 PDAs from Handspring that we handed out to avalanche centers, researchers and other snow professionals. Best of all, the program will be free.

Let’s face it, standing in a snowpit and writing in your notebook, especially in adverse weather conditions, is slow, tedious, and cold! Further, once the data have been scribbled into a pit book and possibly rewritten a second time back at the office, there’s no simple way to share this difficult-to-collect information with other avalanche centers, researchers or with the public. In addition, any scientific analysis of these data is difficult or impossible.

Snow Pilot will provide an easy, fast, and standardized way to collect snowpit data, and have the additional advantage of providing researchers with a way to seamlessly share this information. It will bring the recording of field observations, snowpits and stability tests into the digital age, where instead of islands of disparate paper records, there would be a vast uniform database for all to share.

This robust scientific data collection system will allow avalanche forecasters and snow scientists to utilize a PDA to easily record snowpit information. Drop down menus and “point and click” entries will allow for rapid data collection and field validation. Once in the office, the data will be seamlessly synched to the user’s PC where information will be compiled into a snowpit profile. These profiles can also be posted on websites to provide the public with additional snowpack information. While this application is a new and innovative way to collect data, the real beauty of the program is that all the information will be sent off to a centralized database. Once in the database, these records will be instantly available to researchers and forecasters via the Internet.

I have high hopes for this project. I’m tired of rifling through my pit books, hand-scribing data for different research projects. And I certainly won’t miss redrawing my snowpits once I get back to the office. The program will also allow you to set preferences for different users. Do you like zero at the top of your pit rather than at the bottom? Do you use Fahrenheit instead of Celsius; measure in inches instead of centimeters? No problem, it can accommodate you.

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