MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill) has found a way to understand the facilities on their base in a fraction of the time, and for significant cost savings, using a highly accurate robotics technology. 

When faced with the prospect of a large facilities maintenance contract, MacDill made it a priority to conduct an assessment of relevant buildings on base.  Any related in-building data they had was in the form of outdated, unsubstantiated floor plans without the attribution necessary to make an informed business decision about the multi-year contract. 

Toward this effort, Penobscot Bay Media (PenBay) has successfully completed a facilities mapping project for MacDill, using the company's unique approach to collecting functional in-building information.  In early 2009, MacDill awarded PenBay a contract to collect in-building data for over 100 high traffic facilities on base with the goal of efficiently gathering a comprehensive understanding of each building's space and floor materials. 

To support MacDill in understanding critical in-building data, PenBay's innovative robotic platform captured data for 1.7 million square feet of pertinent facilities data at a rate of five (5) times faster than traditional collection methods.  Using a combination of geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial robotics, PenBay's Holistic Site Survey was delivered to MacDill in the form of high-resolution maps that define interior space down to millimeter accuracy, revealing detail within the space.  Other pertinent information includes video, still images, multiple views and environmental readings of interior space.  The result is a high quality map ready to integrate into a GIS.

"At MacDill we were able to see many benefits to the facilities mapping project with PenBay.  The speed and accuracy with which they collected the data was impressive.  It captured the facilities data we needed in record time, saving us valuable resources.  The minimal disruption to our work areas was a key benefit as well.  With this kind of information, we feel confident about making our decision for the large facilities maintenance contract and future facilities management decisions for MacDill." - Kevin Kish, MacDill AFB GeoBase Program Manager