Surveying

Surveying is the art and science of accurately determining the position of points and the distances between them. These points are usually, but not exclusively, associated with positions on the surface of the Earth, and are often used to establish land boundaries for ownership or governmental purposes.

Modern surveying

Modern surveying utilizes an instrument called a total station, a small telescope equipped with an electronic distance-measuring device (EDMD) and set up on a tripod, although the modern use of satellite positioning systems, such as a Global Positioning System (GPS), is also well established, with the robotic total station becoming widely used. Though GPS systems have increased the speed of surveying, they are still only accurate to about 20 mm. It is because of this that EDMDs have not been completely phased out. Robotics allows surveyors to gather precise measurements without extra workers to look through and turn the telescope or record data.

Related Topics:
Total station - Tripod - Satellite positioning system - Global Positioning System

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