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In recent years, there has been a significant shift in the development of a Geographic Information System (GIS) from desktop applications to mobile field applications. By integrating the precision location data collection capability of Global Positioning System (GPS) and the spatial processing power of GIS, mobile GIS provides an ideal basis of building systems for field workers to collect data with increased efficiency and ease. This paper presents the design and implementation of a pavement distress data collection and management system for efficient airport pavement condition inspection with the aid of mobile GIS. The system seeks to streamline the field data collection process by offering a customized user interface for distress data entry, transformation, retrieval, and real-time transmission through wireless handheld devices. An R*-tree algorithm has been explored to index the distress data and speed up the retrieval of distress information when performing spatial and attribute searches. A least squares adjustment algorithm is also introduced in an effort to improve the precision of GPS data. Furthermore, a wireless communication algorithm has been developed to enable the transmission of distress data from the mobile client in the field to the in-house GIS server. On the side of hardware, Pocket PC has been chosen as the platform for deploying all field operations. Three peripheral devices, namely the GPS receiver, digital camera and wireless card, are attached to the Pocket PC for capturing distress location, digital photos and support wireless communication, respectively. The effectiveness and efficiency of the system have been tested and verified by various field trials in Singapore Changi International Airport. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]