Q. Why is there misalignment of roads and imagery in Mapping?
A. Geospatial accuracy needs can vary greatly within an agricultural retail operation. For example, directing a truck to a field for routine crop scouting requires less precision than spreading a field using auto steer and/or variable rate technology.
In Agvance Mapping, roads data, satellite imagery, and other spatial data may appear misaligned. This happens as data is layered or when boundary data that is collected externally is imported and displayed in Agvance. This situation is a common occurrence in Geographic Information Systems, which often combine data from multiple sources. Each data source is collected with different equipment, collection techniques and processing. The accuracy of specific locations in individual datasets can be off by as much as 175 feet or more depending on the source. NAIP imagery, for instance, can be misaligned by as much as 6 meters (20 feet) according to the USDA.
The misalignment that is displayed/exposed in Agvance is outside of SSI’s control. Therefore, SSI recommends using high-accuracy GPS units in the field to collect field boundaries (and other critical spatial data) when precise accuracy is required. While it is possible in Agvance Mapping to draw spatial features like field boundaries using aerial imagery, the geospatial accuracy noted above must be considered in relation to the end use of that data.
