Patent ID: 7987212

Claim:
A method of providing consistent data across a plurality of survey devices that are used to survey a geographic area in order to obtain data that may be used to map the geographic area, the method comprising: managing, with a computer system, a database for storing surveying data obtained from the plurality of survey devices when conducting a surveying project where a geographic area is surveyed and for executing a surveying office application that allows a user of the computer system to map a location associated with the surveying project; storing, in the database, a dataset about a the surveying project; managing, with the computer system, a first set of one or more device files stored on a first survey device and a second set of one or more device files stored on a second survey device, wherein the first set and the second set each comprise reference points that correspond to locations to be mapped by the surveying project; comparing a first subset of data in the dataset with the a second subset of data in the first set of one or more device files and a third subset of data in the second set of one or more device files, wherein the first subset of data in the dataset includes reference points identified by a first label, wherein the second subset of data includes reference points identified by a second label, and wherein the third subset of data includes reference points identified by a third label; determining, based on a comparison of the reference points in first subset of data, the second subset of data, and the third subset of data, and a comparison of the first label, the second label and the third label that an inconsistency exists between one or more of the labels and the reference points in the subsets of data; identifying a proper subset of data among the subsets of data; and updating one or more of the subsets of data to resolve the inconsistency such that each of labels and the subsets of data are consistent.