One-Touch Survey Data Sharing! LRTK Cloud Best Practices for Land and House Surveyors

In the work of land and house surveyors, precise management and sharing of survey data are key. However, traditional methods often led to survey data becoming scattered across multiple office PCs, USB drives, and paper drawings, making it hard to know which file was the latest. In the worst cases, there was a risk of losing valuable data altogether. It is not uncommon for data to be lost due to USB drive failure or misplacement, forcing costly re-surveys. Other common issues included recording coordinates by hand at the site and later introducing errors when transferring them into drawings at the office, or spending time sending data to team members or contractors via email attachments or USB handoffs. These situations not only reduce efficiency in boundary checks and drawing creation but also increase the risk of errors and related disputes.

Recently, the wave of digital transformation (DX) has reached surveying, and there is growing demand to share on-site survey data in real time via the cloud. One solution gaining attention is the LRTK Cloud. With LRTK Cloud, survey data collected on site can be uploaded to the cloud with a single touch, allowing immediate sharing with remote offices and collaborators. This article introduces LRTK Cloud usage tips for land and house surveyors, explaining benefits and specific ways to use it—from cloud management of survey point data and real-time sharing to integration with drawings and forms, and automatic recording of work history to secure evidence.

Centralized management and sharing of survey point data with LRTK Cloud

LRTK Cloud is a cloud service that supports high-precision RTK surveying. It serves as a platform to store and share survey point data collected by the small RTK-GNSS receiver that attaches to a smartphone, the “LRTK Phone,” and the dedicated app. Latitude, longitude, and height values that can be captured by simply pressing a positioning button on site, as well as point names, timestamps, notes, location-tagged photos, and even point cloud data obtained with a smartphone LiDAR, can all be centrally managed in the cloud.

Once data is uploaded to the cloud, the latest information collected on site can be shared instantly—before returning to the office. Because the site and the office can access the same data, confusion over “which file is the latest?” disappears. Data in the cloud is organized by project and can be accessed anytime from anywhere with an internet connection. Information on survey point coordinates and control points that used to be kept in notebooks or spreadsheets can be stored in LRTK Cloud for quick search and viewing when needed. Additionally, storing data in the cloud automatically ensures backups, so even if a tablet or PC fails or is lost, the data remains safe.

The main features of LRTK Cloud are summarized as follows:

• Cloud consolidation of survey data: High-precision positioning data (coordinate values) collected on site, as well as location-tagged photos and point clouds, are uploaded to the cloud for unified management. Survey points are plotted on a map in the cloud, making it easy to intuitively understand each point’s coordinates, elevation, and notes.

• Real-time sharing and collaboration: Uploaded data can be viewed immediately by the entire team. Because it can be accessed from a browser without specialized software, office staff can check positioning results in real time even when away from the site.

• Easy external sharing: When providing data to contractors or clients, LRTK Cloud allows you to issue a sharing link with a single click. You can set a password and expiration date when issuing the link, and recipients can access and download the data on the web without logging in.

• Integration with drawings and CAD software: Survey data in the cloud can be exported in formats such as CSV and SIMA, making it easy to import into CAD and GIS software. Conversion to a planar rectangular coordinate system and geoid correction for heights are automatically calculated, simplifying the incorporation of survey results into drawings and design plans.

• Security and backup: As a cloud service handling construction and survey data, security is a priority. Communications are encrypted, and cloud servers are operated in reliable data centers with robust backup systems. In the event of device loss or disaster, data remains on the cloud for quick recovery. Relying on a professionally secured cloud environment offers both safety and stable operation compared to hosting an on-premises server.

Instant sharing of positioning data—smooth collaboration inside and outside the company

One of the greatest benefits enabled by LRTK Cloud is instant sharing of positioning data. After finishing a survey on site, simply upload the collected data to the cloud. For example, if a land and house surveyor uploads boundary point measurements immediately after taking them, a colleague in the office can view the results in a browser right away. This allows the office to check for omissions or measurement errors before the team returns from the site and instruct additional measurements if necessary. Traditionally, results could not be shared until the field surveyor returned to the office, and discovering mistakes often meant a redundant trip to the site. Real-time sharing helps prevent such rework and improves operational efficiency. Moreover, in large projects where multiple survey teams work concurrently, each team can instantly share their results to the cloud from the field. Teams can work while monitoring each other’s progress in real time, preventing redundant measurements and time lost waiting for updates, thus smoothing overall project coordination.

Data linkage with external parties is also significantly simplified. With LRTK Cloud, you can select specific survey data and issue a share link to send to contractors or clients. Recipients simply open the URL in an email and can view the survey point information and photos on the cloud without logging in. When collaborating with another surveying office or outsourcing part of the work to an assistant surveyor, there is no need to hand over USB drives or worry about file format compatibility. For interactions with government agencies, sharing via the cloud speeds up the review process. Using password-protected, limited sharing links ensures security when sending data externally.

As a specific use case, imagine a land and house surveyor receives a request for a site survey and performs the on-site measurements using LRTK. The measured boundary point coordinates and photos are shared to the cloud immediately. Office staff on standby can review the data and begin preparing survey drawings, and if needed, the surveyor can show the client the cloud-based map to report, “We measured at this point.” When all stakeholders share the same up-to-date information in real time, communication losses are reduced and the whole project moves faster.

Streamlining drawing integration (CAD compatibility) and report output

Another advantage of managing survey data in the cloud is seamless integration with drawing creation and report output. Survey point coordinate data stored in LRTK Cloud can be downloaded as CSV or the Geospatial Information Authority of Japan’s standard SIMA format. These formats are readable by many surveying CAD and GIS programs, allowing exported coordinate lists to be plotted directly in CAD to create survey drawings. This not only eliminates manual entry of coordinate values but also helps prevent transcription errors. For critical tasks such as creating land area survey maps and boundary determination diagrams—core duties of land and house surveyors—accurately placing measured points on drawings is essential, and cloud-based data integration enables quick, high-accuracy drawing creation.

Integration between LRTK Cloud and CAD also streamlines report output of survey results. Since coordinate values and calculated distances and areas are stored as digital data in the cloud, they can be used to rapidly generate various reports and application documents. For example, a coordinate list required for survey result books or boundary confirmation documents can be automatically populated by importing CSV data from the cloud, eliminating manual calculations and copy-pasting. Photo data are also stored with location tags in the cloud, so when creating a photo log later, there’s no need to search for which photo corresponds to which point.

Additionally, because survey data can be visualized on a map within LRTK Cloud, the office can understand field conditions while preparing drawings and reports. For example, you can download sequential track data from multiple consecutive measurements and import it into CAD for use as a base for longitudinal or plan views. Smooth integration between the cloud and various tools simplifies the workflow from post-survey data processing to deliverable creation, contributing to overall time savings. With most work completed in the cloud, reliance on paper drawings and notes is reduced, supporting paperless information management.

Automatic recording of work history and use as evidence

Using LRTK Cloud also provides the added value of automatic recording of work history. Each survey point’s data automatically stores information such as acquisition time, positioning mode used, and the recorder, and these are managed chronologically. Being able to see at a glance which points were measured and when greatly reduces the need to keep separate handwritten field logs. At the end of a day’s surveying, the cloud contains a complete history of that day’s measured points, which helps when creating daily reports or reviewing progress later.

These automatically recorded data are powerful when responding to disputes or submitting evidence. In land and house surveying, boundary disputes or inquiries about survey results can arise after the fact. In such cases, referring to the survey history stored in LRTK Cloud allows you to promptly present firm evidence such as, “On [date], boundary marker A was surveyed and its coordinates were recorded accurately.” Because photos taken during surveying are linked to survey point data in the cloud, it is also easy to present “photographic evidence showing the boundary marker was checked on site.” Where paper records or verbal explanations may lack persuasiveness, objective digital data increase trust. Presenting data during on-site boundary meetings makes it easier for neighboring parties to understand and helps facilitate agreement.

Furthermore, with work histories shared in the cloud, handovers between staff are smoother. If another surveyor takes over the same site later, checking past survey point information and photos in the cloud makes it easy to understand what was measured on site. This increases the reproducibility of work and prevents re-surveys or inconsistencies when personnel change.

Improved transparency, reproducibility, and speed through cloud integration

Cloud integration with LRTK brings dramatic improvements in three areas for land and house surveyor workflows: transparency, reproducibility, and speed.

• Transparency: Sharing data on the cloud ensures all project stakeholders can access the same information at all times. Visualizing survey progress and results strengthens trust with clients and other technicians, preventing ambiguity about what surveys were conducted. Data tampering or omissions become less likely, increasing the transparency of work processes.

• Reproducibility: Detailed storage of survey point data and work logs enables the same survey results to be reproduced even after time has passed. If another surveyor needs to verify the same point later, they can use the cloud’s coordinate values to re-measure accurately on site or compare against past data. This allows objective, evidence-based reproduction when explaining “why this location was determined.”

• Speed: Real-time sharing and data integration accelerate the flow from surveying to drawing creation and deliverable production. Work can proceed without waiting for field staff to return to the office, reducing rework and shortening overall lead times. Less time spent on tedious data organization lets land and house surveyors devote more time to professional decision-making and fieldwork. Efficiency gains also reduce overtime and ease staff burden. As a result, high-quality services can be delivered in shorter timeframes, improving the office’s competitiveness.

Because of these benefits, sites that have adopted LRTK Cloud report significant reductions in work time and fewer errors.

Conclusion: Achieve workflow efficiency with simple surveying using LRTK and cloud integration

As described above, combining simple surveys with LRTK and cloud integration can greatly streamline the surveying work of land and house surveyors. Offices that have implemented LRTK Cloud report reduced effort in data sharing and faster operations. By combining pocket-sized high-precision surveying devices with cloud-based data management, a new workflow is realized that seamlessly connects the field, the office, and external stakeholders.

Whereas in the past surveying, drawing creation, and reporting required substantial time and effort, LRTK Cloud enables immediate data sharing on site and rapid drawing and document creation. This kind of workflow—sharing data instantly from the field—may soon become the new norm for land and house surveying.

To demonstrate expertise and improve efficiency as a land and house surveyor, adopting the latest technology is indispensable. Consider incorporating the ease of surveying with LRTK and the power of cloud services into your daily work.