Can I collect data using Open Data Kit?

Yes. Rhiza Insight can accept data collected using Open Data Kit. This video explains a bit about how it works:

Getting started with ODK Collect and Rhiza Insight is easy. No coding or knowledge of XML is required!

First, you'll need our customized version of ODK Collect. It simply adds login code to authenticate to Rhiza Insight. (All modifications we make to ODK Collect are submitted back to the project for integration into the public source code, but sometimes that integration takes time, so we maintain a custom build. Our modifications are consistent with the current authentication roadmap for ODK development.) Download it and install it on your Android device. ODK Collect works on almost all Android devices. Contact us if you need rugged devices for data collection in difficult field conditions.

Here is the version of ODK Collect you'll need:

MainMenuActivity.apk

To install it from the web, make sure you've configured your Android device to allow applications from unknown sources. From your phone's application drawer, choose Settings, then Applications. Make sure Unknown sources is checked. Then, simply use the browser to download and install the app from this page.

The first time you set up ODK Collect to talk to your Rhiza Insight instance, just open the "Server Preferences" menu in ODK Collect. Enter http://YOUR_INSTANCE_URL/cbi/datasets into the Server field. (If you are trying out Rhiza Insight using our public demo site, use http://insight.rhizalabs.com/cbi/datasets as the Server.) Enter a valid username and password for your instance into the Username and Password fields. Once you've got this configured, you don't need to change it unless you want to use another user account or a different Rhiza Insight instance.

Now, in ODK Collect, click "Manage Files" and then click on the "Remote" tab. ODK Collect will automatically connect to your Rhiza Insight instance and allow you to download a form for each editable dataset in your system. To find out more about creating editable datasets, see the Knowledge Base article How do I edit or add to an existing dataset. Only point-based datasets will be shown; datasets with more complex geometries aren't usable with ODK Collect.

Once your device is provisioned with the forms you want, you can go into the field and collect data. This works even if you need to be offline for extended periods of time --- ODK Collect will store your completed forms locally. Once you are back on the network, select "Send Completed Data" in ODK Collect, and choose the completed forms you wish to upload. These will automatically be added to their respective datasets as new records, just as if you had created them using the editable dataset feature in Rhiza Insight.

For more information about using ODK Collect, see the instructional videos and FAQs provided by the Open Data Kit project. Other than the initial server preferences set up, everything works identically.

Finally, the owner of the editable datasets that have been modified can review the uploaded data and choose to publish a dataset revision. Again, for more details, see How do I edit or add to an existing dataset.