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REPORTER 39

The Magazine of Leica Geosystems

MADE TO MEASURE
Customer satisfaction resulting
from successful partnership
Do you start at the back
when reading publications?
Readership surveys show
that this way of getting a
quick overall impression is
widespread. It is not limited
to those of our customers
in areas deeply rooted in
Islamic culture. If, by taking
this course, you already
have a fair idea of what is
in this issue of the Reporter,
then you will have grasped
the breadth and importance
of the "partnership"
concept for Leica Geo-
systems. Depending on
P U B L I S H I N G D ATA
Published by
Leica Geosystems AG, CH-9435 Heerbrugg
President & CEO: Hans Hess
Editorial Office
Leica Geosystems AG, CH-9435 Heerbrugg
Peter Bumbacher, VP Strategic Marketing
Fax: +41 71 727 46 89
Internet:
Peter.Bumbacher@email.leica.com
Editors
Peter Bumbacher, Waltraud Strobl,
Fritz Staudacher
Layout and Production
Niklaus Frei
Translation
Dogrel AG, St. Margrethen
Publication details
Reporter is published in English, French,
German, Spanish and Japanese three
times a year.
Reprints and translations, including
excerpts, are subject fo the Editor’s prior
permission in writing.
Reporter is printed on chlorine-free paper
made by environmentally compatible
processes.
© Leica Geosystems AG, Heerbrugg,
July 1998, Printed in Switzerland
Editorial deadline for next issue
August 28, 1998
2
circumstances, such a
partnership can be
all-embracing. Or it may
just involve supplying a
small survey instrument.
In either event, customer
satisfaction remains the
focus of attention for Leica
Geosystems.
This issue includes a project
which started about five
years ago in America and
Europe and belongs to the
first type of Leica partner-
ship. Strenuous efforts have
provided Colombia with a
completely new foundation
for the development of its
infrastructure, property
boundaries and resources.
In this developing Latin
American country, which
encompasses both primeval
forests in the Amazon basin
and high-altitude karst
landscapes in the
Cordilleras, a digital map
and database have been
created. Among the tools
used were modern GPS,
surveying, photogrammetry
and land information
systems from Leica. Now,
with support from
international organizations
and with the expertise of
both its own and internatio-
nal experts, the Colombian
National Geographic
Institute (IGAC) in Bogota is
creating a firm foundation
for the way into the next
millennium. Leica and its
partner companies have
supplied compatible equip-
ment covering all of the
requirements in terms of
instrumentation and
software. We have also
undertaken the training of
Colombian specialists,
produced the agreed end
product, and established
local service teams.
Researchers from Swiss
universities have provided
the project managers with
specific technical support.
"Without national and
international contacts, no
country can cope with such
I n t h
challenges" was the opinion
expressed by one of the
specialists involved.
Also included in this Reporter
are various examples of
quite a different kind of
typical Leica partnership.
For example, the young geo-
physics student taking his
doctorate who, by creatively
applying non-contact Leica
surveying technology,
developed a new type of
georadar system for peering
Cover picture and page 12:
just below the surface of the
Making the underground visible
ground. Or the co-operation
with RSTC ECOMIR in
compiling a modern
property and environmental
register. Or the flatness
measurements performed by
a machine-tool manufacturer
whose precision work was
made easier, cheaper and
better by using a small
"intelligent" box from Leica;
the Nivel 20 and the
software supplied with it.
These and other examples
show that for Leica a
partnership is not governed
by the size of the order, but
by the benefits which our
products bring for the
customer, and by the Page 7:
customer satisfaction which More energy thanks to DISTO
our services accomplish.
This way, commercial
success comes auto-
matically, both for our
customers and for Leica.
Hans Hess
President & CEO
Leica Geosystems
Page 8:
Automated control for moving a
bridge
i s i s s u e
With the combined 3-D
Georadar and Measuring
Equipment SAGAS it is
possible to produce
subterranean maps from
just below the surface
and in high resolution,
ten times quicker. Here
the concept of the
automatically tracking
Leica Total Station
performs a real service.
The oldest hydro-electric
power station in Slovakia,
in the foothills of the
Carpathians, needed to
be renovated. The turbine
room had to be measured
exactly in order to increa-
se performance at the
plant. Success was
achieved with the DISTO
hand-held laser meter and
well-proven mining
surveying methods.
For the European Inter City
Express main rail axis,
Frankfurt-Mannheim, a
prefabricated underpass
had to be moved 23 metres.
Our solution was to use
the automatic target
recognizing Leica TCA 1800
Total Station, together with
the APS Win Software
package from Leica, which
were employed with great
success.
Editorial
Dear Reader,
A new survey of an
aspiring Latin-American
developing country
provided the basis for a
new survey and map in
the form of an inter-
active geographic
information system.
In this report one of
the engineers involved
describes the basic
surveying work. Here is issue 39 of our Leica
customers’ magazine.
It has been compiled from
contributions by specialists
Page 4: practically involved with
A new national survey for surveying, building and
Colombia mechanical engineering.
These contributions show
you how your professional
colleagues in other
countries, on other
The high precision continents and in various
determination of inclina- fields of activity, approach
tion and monitoring of and accomplish their tasks.
components and I can really imagine that
buildings is very simple you in your every-day work
with the Leica NIVEL 20. are also confronted with
Two concrete examples problems which are
taken from the fields of particularly difficult, and
mechanical engineering therefore especially novel
and building construc- and challenging as well.
tion prove this once Would that not be worth a
again. few lines to the editors of
the Reporter together with a
photograph? The Leica
Page 10: Reporter is the most widely
Precision of inclination for read magazine in our
machines and buildings branch in the whole world
and is published in five
languages to provide an
international exchange of
Page 14. experience. A quarter of a
Surveying on Television million readers would also
like to hear more about
Leica equipment is playing an active role in the your interesting tasks and
Republic of Belarus in creating new bases for targets. Your suggestions
surveying. On the occasion of a Leica service will reach me very quickly
training course for White Russian RSTC ECOMIR by e-mail on:
specialists, a report appeared on television Waltraud.Strobl@email.
about the important work carried out by leica.com. Many thanks,
surveyors.
Page 15:
Welcome to the Waltraud Strobl
FIG Congress! Brand & Image Planning
Manager
3
A new National Survey for C
by Dieter Egger*
The land of Bolivar and

García Márquez is presently

being freshly surveyed.

The new national survey is

part of a Swiss-Colombian

development project for

the National Geographic

Institute in Bogotá.

Promising results are now

appearing after five years of

close co-operation.

The Leica GPS System 300

performs well anywhere, not
only in regions difficult to reach
where there is no visual contact.

* The author is engineer ETH and works
at the EPFL in Lausanne. He spent six
months in Bogotá.
4
For Colombia, as for
numerous other aspiring
developing countries,
region-wide, reliable maps
and a recognised land
registry survey form the
basis for well conceived
planning and secure land
ownership. These are both
important factors for social
and economic development
as well as for the stability of
the nation. At the same
time, Switzerland has
always set international
standards in the field of
cartography, from the time
of the Dufour map in the
last century down to the
present day. From this
starting position, a Swiss-
Colombian development
project came into existence
five years ago for the
Colombian national geo-
graphic institute, the Institu-
to Geográfico Nacional
Agustin Codazzi (IGAC) in
Bogotá. Named after
Agustin Codazzi, a seafarer
and adventurer of Italian
descent but who was above
all Colombia’s first carto-
grapher, the IGAC today
employs about 1200 people.
Their main task consists of
producing all of Colombia’s
topographic and thematic
national maps, including
compiling and managing all
necessary data for them.
The Modernisation Project
To produce better maps
more efficiently, was the
aim of the large-scale and
comprehensive
modernisation project at the
IGAC. It was, initially, partly
pre-financed by a Swiss
banking consortium headed
by Crédit Suisse First
Boston, jointly financed by
the Swiss Ministry of
Foreign Trade and Invest-
ment (BAWI), Development
Aid Section in Bern, and
planned and realised by
Leica Geosystems AG in
Unterentfelden, Switzer-
land. The traditionally
employed graphic methods
of classical cartography
were replaced by modern
digital technology. The key
feature of the innovation
was the introduction of a
Geographic Information
System (Leica INFOCAM)
with a central database
for the four IGAC Departe-
mente Cartografía, Catastro,
Agronomía and Geografía.
Also belonging to this
project, apart from the
necessary training, were
instruments and programs
for registering, transferring
and outputting of data.
For example, aerial camera
systems, photogrammetri-
Colombia
From the ground to the map and then to the land register plan with the
Leica INFOCAM system.
cal restitution systems,
digitising stations and
precision plotters. Previous-
ly on maps, despite great
production expense, it was
often the case that hardly a
course of a river could be
recognised, if it existed at
all, today, detailed contours
and current changes
brought about by building
work can be recorded and
displayed in only a fraction
of the time once needed.
Printing plates in various
scales for the same territory
no longer have to be indivi-
dually engraved by hand
but can be produced from
one and the same database.
This combines various
types of information and
contains, for example, not
only the boundaries of par-
cels of land but also their
current use, owner etc.
Once the required data is
stored in the database, any
random section of the land
register map can be printed
within two minutes (see pic-
ture).
The National Survey
In order to provide maps
with coordinates (geo-
graphic referencing), the
area to be represented must
already contain some
points with known
coordinates which have
already been surveyed. In
the case of national maps,
the National Survey is
responsible for covering the
country with a network of
surveyed points (the
national grid).
In Colombia the IGAC had,
during the Forties in
co-operation with the
former US Defense
Mapping Agency (DMA,
now the National Imagery
and Mapping Agency
NIMA) had already
established such a nation-
wide network. It consists
mainly of polygons which
connect astronomically
determined points. Because
of the height of the
Cordilleras, the impenetra-
bility of the Amazon basin
and the size of Colombia
(about thirty times that of
Switzerland) the work
turned out to be extra-
ordinarily laborious and
only a heavily built-up part
of the country could be
surveyed. Because the
methods used at that time
(angle measurement with
optical theodolites)
necessitated visual contact
between the points, these
were located mostly on
mountain summits where
access was difficult, thus
Colombian-Swiss co-operation
on the new national survey of
Colombia with Leica GPS.
(Photos: D. Egger)
increasing the cost of
surveying them and
reducing their usefulness.
In the meantime, mankind,
wind and weather have
destroyed more than 50%
of these points of the
national grid. Additionally,
in the course of modernisa-
tion, serious distortions and
irregularities have come to
light. Thus, the existing
National Survey no longer
suffices for the increased
demands made by modern
cartography. In 1994 as a
logical consequence, the
Geodesia section of the
IGAC began the ambitious
project of a new national
survey for Colombia – with
more easily accessible
points, more exact
coordinates and reduced
costs.
5
The New Base Grid
As a first step in this new
national survey, a new base
grid was established. It
consists of 60 points disper-
sed over the complete
country (corresponding to
one point for 20,000 km2)
which are secured in the
ground with massive
concrete blocks. In the more
densely populated areas of
the Cordilleras in the north-
west of the country, the grid
is more closely meshed
(average distance between
points: 120 km) than in the
south-east lowland plains of
the Llanos Orientales and
the Amazon basin, where
the points are double this
distance apart.
All points were measured
with the satellite-based
GPS (Global Positioning
System). GPS allows the
position of a point to be
determined exactly in
relation to another, even
over great distances, with
the aid of satellites circling
the earth. As a result, this is
currently the standard
method of surveying
national grids. Because of
the satellite connection it is
also no longer necessary to
have visual contact
between the individual
points, so these could now
be located at places which
were easily accessible.
Nevertheless, there are still
points which are only to be
reached by air or following
a twelve hour desert
crossing. Under these
conditions the field work
lasted a whole four months.
While the grid was planned
and measured with high
precision, double frequency
GPS receivers by the ICAG
itself, the Unité de Topo-
métrie of the Ecole Poly-
technique Fédérale in
Lausanne (EPFL) attended
to the actual calculations for
six months, on location.
For this, in the context of
6
adapted technology, not
only technical aspects but
also local characteristics,
such as levels of education
and knowledge of foreign
languages, had to be taken
into account. Thus, for
example, operating instruc-
tions in English, were of no
value to many IGAC
engineers who did not
understand this language.
The grid point coordinates
could be determined with
an accuracy (standard
deviation) of 5 cm for the
location and 10 cm for the
elevation, all of which were
within the figures expected.
At the same time the new
base grid was fitted into
SIRGAS, South America’s
superior, wide-meshed
continental grid. SIRGAS
(Sistema de Referencia para
America del Sur) is a
What of the future?
With the completion of the
basic grid, Colombia has
laid the foundation for a
new national survey.
Because such a grid only
becomes efficient for the
daily work of survey offices
when a certain density of
points has been reached, an
increase in the 60 basic
points with further subsi-
diary points is necessary.
Added to this, all previous
coordinates must be con-
verted to the new national
survey.
No country can overcome
such challenges without
national and international
contacts. The successful
cooperation between the
Colombian IGAC and Swiss
industry, the Swiss Ministry
for Foreign Trade and
Investment, BAWI, and the
Ecole Polytechnique
Fédérale at Lausanne, EPFL,
has laid the ground rules
for the future of
cartography in Colombia.
modern geodetic reference
system which covers the
whole of South America
and was successfully
completed in 1997 with the
participation of inter-
national experts.
Owing to strong tectonic
plate movements in
Colombia, the grid points
drift away from each other
by up to 1 cm per year. A
state of affairs that will have
to be taken into account as
the years pass. Also, early
experience has already
shown that the concrete
slabs buried to a depth of
almost a metre, are
insufficient. They are being
destroyed as a result of
carelessness, concreted
over when new houses are
being built, and not least,
dug up by curious people
presuming that a valuable
treasure lies underneath.
More energy thanks to DISTO
3-D model for Ladce hydro-electric power station turbine
Slovakia´s first hydro-
electric power station is
now sixty years old. It is
situated at Ladce on the
central reaches of the Vah,
Slovakia´s longest river and
a tributary of the Danube.
In order to meet the rising
demand for energy of this
prospering central
European region in the
southern foothills of the
Carpathians, near the
border to the Czech
Republic, an increase in the
output of this old hydro-
electric power station was
necessary.
How exactly does this
turbine room appear after
six decades? What structu-
ral changes are necessary
to the spatial proportions
and what quantities of flow,
flow rates and degree of
efficiency are possible by
re-building, using today’s
turbine technology? To
determine dimensions and
for the computer-aided
simulation, the Leica DISTO
hand-held laser meter
served them admirably.
The existing intake and
discharge buildings were
not to be altered for this
increase in performance,
but only the turbine room
itself. The Department of
Surveying at the University
of Technology Bratislava
was awarded the contract
from the Waterpower
’Station Ltd, Tencin, to
ascertain the shape and
volume of the existing
turbine room. An optimal
re-construction of the
turbine was to be based on
this data. The surveyor,
With the Leica DISTO the
dimensions of the turbine room
was quickly determined by
distance measurement.
Isometric view of the 3-D model
of the Ladce turbine
Dr Alojz Kopác̆ik, employed
for this demanding task in
the dark turbine room, a
small, hand-held and simple
to operate measuring
instrument, which with the
most modern laser techno-
logy, determined distances
to the millimetre exactly.
With sections and profiles as
well as a few polar points
Dr. Alojz Kopác̆ik from the
University of Technology
Bratislava described his
surveying method to the
”Leica Reporter” as follows:
”The objects to be
measured had the form of a
space spiral from above
and from below that of a
paraboloid, with a
maximum height of eight
and a half metres and a
width of ten metres. The
walls consisted of smoothly
layered concrete which
readily allowed the use of
the Leica DISTO. With it a
polygon with a standard
deviation of ±2mm could be
determined. The particular
conditions such as darkness
and closed spatial areas
lead to the use of a measu-
ring method with sections
and profiles long familiar in
mining surveying. Those
portions of the turbine
room which could not be
determined in this way
were recorded in the form
of sets of polar points.”
Shape and volumes for the
3-D model
Based on this grid measure-
ment data, a 3-D model was
compiled on a PC with a
Pentium processor and CAD
software. The surfaces were
formed as B spline surfaces
with a tolerance of ten
millimetres, which, for the
surface points, represents
an accuracy of 10-20 milli-
metres.
Versatile calculations and
views
This model was used in
various ways for calculating
and 3-D visualising. Part of
the available data set is, for
example:
- a set of the spatial coordi-
nates of all measured
points,
- a set of the sections and
profiles,
- the digital shape of the
three dimensional model
with B spline surface
covering,
- the views of the model
from different directions.
As a result of this informa-
tion, the optimal shape for
the new turbine room could
be determined exactly,
quickly and reliably. The
environmentally friendly
“White Force” of the River
Vah will be better used with
a considerably degree of
efficiency, without changes
having to be made to the
landscape.
- Stf -
7
Automated control when moving
a bridge
A Leica TCA 1800 automatic
target recognizing precision
total station, controlled
by the Leica APS Win
Software, was in use when
a bridge was moved by
23 metres below the Inter
City Express main rail axis
Mannheim-Frankfurt. This
work on the Mannheim-
Blumenau railway line was
carried out by the
Mannheim office of Bilfinger
+ Berger Bauaktiengesell-
schaft. The surveyor
responsible for the
measured control of the
undertaking H. P. Echsle,
describes this operation for
our readers.

Improvement of the Inter City

Express high speed railway
line

As part of the improve-

ments to the high speed
railway line on the western Leica miniature prisms were located at all important surveying
double track Inter City points. They are clearly seen here next to the red clamps.
Express link Mannheim – Photo. Gudrun Keese
Frankfurt am Main the
barriered level crossing at
Here the Leica TCA 1800
ground level in Mannheim-
automatic target recognizing
Blumenau had to be
total station is being installed on
extended to become a road
the surveying column at the site.
underpass in a groundwater
Computer-controlled and
carrying area. Because this
recording to the APS Win
line is one of the German
measuring programs, it took aim
Federal Railway Ltd main
at the miniature prisms without
north-south routes, rail traf-
the presence of an observer and
fic could only be minimally
determined their current
restricted (slow speed line
position with great accuracy.
with a maximum of 70
Photo: Gudrun Keese
km/h). For this reason the
construction was built in the
form of a sliding frame in a
ditch directly next to the
tracks.

2,400 Tons Heavy and
18 Metres Wide
This sliding frame building
element was 18 metres
wide, 13 metres long,
8 metres high and weighed
2,400 tons. With computer-
controlled hydraulic presses
having a force of 3,500 tons,
it was pushed 23 metres
8
under the tracks until it
reached its final position.
To achieved this, from the
surveying point of view,
there were two problems to
solve:
- monitoring the element
during sliding,
- monitoring the tracks.
Measuring points signalled
with Leica miniature prisms
For this purpose three
groups of points were
established:
1. Five reference points for
location control (Ref 1-5),
2. Seven sliding frame
measuring points
(VR 10-16),
3. Twenty deformation
measuring points on the
provisional bridge for
the tracks (D 101-110,
D 201-210).
Leica miniature prisms
were fixed to all these
measuring points. The auto-
matic target recognizing
Leica TCA 1800 total station

which was installed on a
surveying column,
re-determined the measur-
ing point coordinates
during the sliding process
after each 20-40 centimetres
of the slide path.
This is how the bridge
re-location measuring
arrangements appeared.
© Echsle/Bilfinger + Berger
Immediate automatically
balanced coordinate values
The re-measuring of the
sliding process, which was
required, was started by a
single operator between
halts and pauses between
trains. The Leica APS Win
software controlled the
measuring procedure
completely automatically.
Balanced coordinate values
were available immediately,
The deviation at each measuring point was recorded and graphically
presented at regular intervals.
The sliding frame element was prefabricated in a ditch 23 metres
away.
and with their help, the
movements of the sliding
frame were ascertained
according to position and
height.
Controlling the sliding
frame was consequently no
problem.
The final position was
reached with a traverse
error of +2 mm on the front
edge of the frame and +6
mm at the rear. A final
deviation of ±25 mm
resulted for the height of
the frame caused by the
slide path.
Track settling diagrams with
MS Excel
For visualising the
deformation in the tracks,
settling diagrams were
drawn up with the help of
the MS Excel spread sheet
Photo: Gudrun Keese
program. The data transfer
from Leica APS Win was
effected with a self-written
program. With the help of
this settling diagrams, it
was possible to quickly
remedy the deformation in
the tracks.
The combination of the
Leica APS Win Software
with the automatic target
recognizing Leica TCA 1800
precision total station
allows us to acquire and
visualise large-scale
building movements
quickly and accurately.
9
Measuring even surfaces on
high precision components
The Leica NIVEL 20 in the production of measuring machines and machine tools
The Oelze Präzisions-
Messzeugfabrik GmbH in
Aschaffenburg, Germany,
is an accredited German
Calibration Service (DKD)
calibration centre for
quantities to be measured
for straightness, evenness
and squareness. When
measuring for straightness
and evenness, the NIVEL 20
is the means of measuring
at Oelze approved by the
German Federal Physical
Technical Institute (PTB).
Apart from its standard pro-
ducts, the innovative Oelze
family company, now into
its third generation, also
manufactures basic
modules for high precision
measuring machines and
machine tools. For some
time Oelze have been
working with the NIVEL 20
inclination sensor from
Leica and have gained at lot
of useful experience with it.
10
The base frame or bed of
such a machine is a load-
bearing component. Fixed
to it are feeding elements,
guides and drives etc. The
bed is therefore in the
direction of force lines and
it deforms as a result of the
forces which are exerted on
it.
In order to measure and
process products in the µm
range, one of the conditions
required is a statically,
dynamically and thermally
stable construction for the
base frame. Here, the
designer with a suitable
choice in raw materials and
a construction which takes
those materials into
account, can provide the
basis for a successful
machine. The Oelze
products which are
specifically designed for
customers, use primarily
granite as the material.
Dr T Barth from Oelze
explains the procedure as
follows: ”In order to manu-
facture the component part
of a precision machine from
a natural product like stone,
the functional surfaces are
highly accurately ground in
our factory, that is in the µm
range, and are then lapped
by hand. Apart from the
right personnel and stable
climatic conditions, a
further pre-condition is the
use of a suitable means of
measuring”.
Exacting straightness and
evenness measuring
For the actual measuring
for straightness and
evenness, the surface to be
measured is provided with
a grid. Along this network
the transducer is moved in
short stages. In doing this
the inclination of the
transducer is registered at
each measuring point and
from this data, changes in
height are calculated. The
individual changes in height
are linked by the software
and the straightness
and evenness profile is
calculated.
Measuring machine for
measuring rotationally
symmetrical components.
Required evenness for the
guide surface is 0.005 mm.
During measuring for
straightness, the inclination
is registered in one
direction, while during
measuring for evenness the
inclinations have to be
registered in two mutually
perpendicular directions.
The means of measuring
employed by Oelze must
have the following
characteristics:
- simple and reliable
operation of both the
transducer and the
software,
- reproducibility of the
results of measuring, that
is, long term stability,
operator independence,
- suitable resolution,
- low dead weight,
- rigid, low-vibration
construction,
- good price / performance
ratio.
As Dr T Bart from Oelze
said: ”From our point of
view the NIVEL 20
measuring instrument
offered by Leica fulfilled
these requirements. As
compared with the means
of measuring previously
known to us, the system
stands out particularly in
the simultaneous
registering of inclinations in
two mutually perpendicular
(bi-directional) directions.
Apart from the slight
possibility of making a
mistake (each movement of
a measuring sensor brings
about a possibility for
making an error) the result
is that the time taken for
measuring is minimised.
The saving in time with
more than 100 measuring
points can amount to
quarter of an hour.
Taking into account that the
manufacture of precision
surfaces is an iterative
process, that is, repetition
of measuring – processing –
measuring etc., the cost-
effectiveness of the system
can be proved fairly
quickly”.
Software now runs under
MS Windows
Unlike the original versions,
the NIVEL 20 software has
been noticeably further
developed. It now runs
under Windows and there-
fore enables the complete
Microsoft Windows world
to be used. By this means
the results (either as a table
or as a graphic) can be
directly inserted in a text or
test certificate etc.
Assembly equipment
for printing machines.
Required evenness
<0.008 mm over a
surface area of
2700 mm x 2100 mm.
Inclination sensors monitor
buildings
Information about
inclination and changes in
inclination can give
pointers to the stability of
buildings which move as a
result of the influence of
wind and / or sunshine or
changes in their
foundations. For both the
purposes of testing and
monitoring, such an
inclination measuring
system with five NIVEL 20
instruments is permanently
installed in Leica’s building
in Unterentfelden in
Switzerland.
The five measuring
instruments are attached to Five NIVEL 20 instruments are
the walls on the third floor permanently installed at Leica’s
and are linked to a PC. building in Unterentfelden,
They measure at defined Switzerland, to register changes
intervals, changes in in inclination.
inclination during a day, a
night and for months at a
time. Similar installations
have been employed for
bridges, dams and sky-
scrapers. Based on the
results of the measure-
ments, it is possible to
determine, amongst other
things, the influence of
temperature differences.
An alarm can be given
where the inclination values
are critical and a pre-set
tolerance value is exceeded.
The link to the office is
made by modem which
enables data exchange to
take place over great
distances. Thus the
operator can, for example,
change the settings at the
location or call off
measuring data from the
office. The diagram gives a good
In this way up to 128 insight into the behaviour of
NIVEL 20 instruments can buildings.
be used simultaneously for Variations of up to ±1mm/m occur.
monitoring.
11
A close look directly below
the Earth’s surface
Frank Lehmann, a graduate Frank Lehmann has located here
physicist at the Technical with his georadar system, a
University in Zurich (ETHZ), scour pool at which during a
compiled high resolution certain post ice age period the
3-D maps of the subsoil courses of two rivers met. The
down to a maximum depth present remaining river course
of twenty metres, ten times of the Rhine lies a few hundred
quicker than previously metres further south (to be seen
possible, using a developed in the background of the picture)
georadar and surveying and is about sixty metres deeper.
system. In his SAGAS The extensive test area was
system, the research within a present-day gravel pit
student studying for his near Hüntwangen in the Swiss
doctorate at the ETH canton of Schaffhausen.
Institute for Geophysics
combined an electro-
magnetic georadar unit with
an automatic precision total
station able to continuously
determine position and
height.
All geological and geo-
graphical data is collected in
real-time online via glass
fibre cables by a laptop PC
using specially developed
software, and then linked
and processed. Thus the
geophysicist and other inte-
rested specialists received
the 3-D subterranean map
from just below the surface
of the ground, straight after
completing the field measu-
rements!

This ”Semi-Automated Geo-

radar Acquisition System”
SAGAS, enables a single
person to gain high
resolution insights into the
upper earth layers and
simultaneously to determine
three-dimensionally this
measuring data in real-time
exact to the centimetre.
In a comprehensive practical
test in a geologically well-
documented former ice age
river bed landscape not far
from the Rhine on the
Swiss-German border, the
subsoil of the 625 square
metre large test area could
be three dimensionally
recorded about ten times
quicker than with the static
”stop-and-go” measuring
method used up to now, and
in considerably more detail.
12
The data is collected in a laptop computer via glass fibre cables. The geophysicist monitors the
acquisition of data on the screen.
Spatial geologic and
surveying data provided
together and continuously
The normal commercially
available georadar antennas
of the SAGAS system (trans-
mitter and receiver) work to
achieve a high resolution
with frequencies between
25 to 1000 MHz. They are
fixed in a measuring carriage
above the ground. The
appearance of this little
carriage reminds the
observer on first sight of the
LEM-Moon Rover, but it is
considerably more simply
constructed from rods and
connecting elements which
are all plugged together, are
free of electro-magnetic
influences and can also be
dismantled to save space
when transported by road,
vehicle or aeroplane. The
highest point on the measu-
ring carriage is a glass
reflector prism, which also
does not disturb the geo-
radar signals and is located
exactly in the middle of the
radar antennas. It is
continuously targeted by a
Leica TCA 1800 automatic
target recognizing precision
total staion. For this, the
measuring instrument is
mounted on a tripod at the
start of the field work,
aimed once at the prism
with the telescope and then
switched to ”Measure”.
From this moment on, the
Leica TCA 1800 always
holds the measuring
carriage prism in focus
automatically.
The total station constantly
determines the horizontal
and vertical angle to the
prism as well as its current
distance from continually
running measuring sequen-
ces, from electro-optical
angle measuring and
electronic infra red laser
distance measuring. This
data is immediately compu-
ted by the Leica TCA 1800
into position and height
coordinates of the prism or
of the georadar centre
point, exact to the centi-
metre. At the same time,
where the terrain has an
inclination, the vertical
variations of the prism at
the point of the measuring
carriage are also mathe-
matically compensated by
the SAGAS software. The
georadar equipment and
measuring station are
directly connected to the
geophysicist’s laptop
computer by thin glass fibre
cables and he draws the
measuring carriage along
the desired profiled lines
with the help of the real-
time position data.
3-D evaluation directly in
the field
The SAGAS software
continuously integrates all
reflection and coordinate
data and presents it to the
In this interlocking georadar
picture sections and the equal
time section, the geophysicist
recognises on location at once
the water table (green line) and
reflections from objects trans-
mitted from above the surface of
the ground (yellow lines) thanks
to the 3-D presentation. SP1 and
SP2 mark the lower boundary
between two erosion troughs.
© Frank Lehmann/ETH.
geophysicist in the desired
form directly in the field.
Special features of the
territory investigated and its
surroundings, such as, for
example, the ground water
table and reflections from
buildings above ground
level which are also repre-
sented in the georadar data,
can in this way be explained
more quickly and if required,
filtered out. Naturally, these
comprehensive and three-
dimensionally high-resolu-
tion data sets can be used in
the office later for various
purposes including further
and more detailed study.
In comparison with the static
methods, appreciably finer
analyses are possible in a
distinctly shorter period of
time.
Six equal time sections of the scour pool. Its boundaries are
shown here marked with green lines.
© Frank Lehmann/ETH
At least ten times quicker
than previously
Frank Lehmann together
with Alan G Green has
described this system in
detail in a paper entitled
”Semi-automated georadar
data acquisition in three
dimensions”.
It is accessible by e-mail
(frankl@augias.ig.erdw.ethz
.ch) to anyone who is
interested. As Frank
Lehmann says: ”With this
method a variety of
problems affecting the
subsoil and of concern in
geology, engineering
science and archaeology
can be solved more simply
and more exactly than
previously. During our
study we pulled our measu-
Here SAGAS presents a section of the scour pool
of the two water courses from the complete picture
in raised, three-dimensional volume presentation.
The Leica TCA 1800 total station
tracked the measuring carriage
continuously and provided the
geophysicist with his actual
position by way of a graphic
display in real-time on the
laptop screen. Thus he can also
always keep to the ideal line for
his current project and the
system trigger the radar measu-
rements at the correct intervals.
The geophysicist is carrying the
georadar control unit on his
back.
ring carriage at the rate of
only 0.3 m/s although as far
as the measuring system
itself was concerned, even
3 m/s would have been
possible for providing
sufficient accuracy. Even
with our gentle speed, we
obtained our results ten
times more quickly when
compared with the methods
available up till now. The
data processing was also
carried out so quickly that
we could easily display, on
our laptop screen, three-
dimensional profile sections
in various directions and
also sections covering peri-
ods from the past, while still
in the gravel pit ”.
- Stf -
© Frank Lehmann/ETH
13
Surveying on Television
The general public in Belarus is informed about surveying projects.
Cameraman and TV reporter are interested in the work of surveying
specialists. Centre picture: Dr Alexander A. Kovalyov, Director of
ECOMIR (left) and Leica service training engineer Anton Schneider
being interviewed.
Next
Olympic Games
in view
Australian sports fans are
already preparing for the
biggest sporting event of
the turn of the millennium.
14
In Sydney, building work
for a new Olympic stadium
is beginning. One of the
building contractors
principally engaged has just
acquired two Leica TCA
1100 total stations specially
to cope with this mighty
and demanding project.
As with the “Stade de
France” which matched
Olympic proportions
(see Reporter 38), just as
the football World Cup
Championship comes to an
end, this stadium will bear
the good measure of Leica.
In the Nineties, in the field
of surveying and land
registration, the Republic of
Belarus took a mighty step
forward into the future.
Nestling between Poland in
the west, Ukraine in the
east and Lithuania and
Latvia in the north, White
Russia has become an
important hub for north-
east Europe.
With the creation of a new
basis for private property,
projects involving traffic
infrastructure and docu-
ments for environmental
protection in the form of
digital maps and plans, the
RSTC ECOMIR Center
associated with the Belarus
Academy of Sciences has
performed the pioneering
work. The most important
work was carried out with
Leica surveying equipment.
On the occasion of a service
Maritime safety
with Leica
Leica was awarded the
contract worth more than
$US 1.79 million to erect a
DGPS transmitting station in
China.
The PRC Maritime Safety
Administration has awarded
Leica the contract for
erecting a DGPS reference
beacon station. The contract
also includes DGPS and
surveying instruments
(MX9400, RTK System,
TPS 1000, NA3003 digital
level) for hydrographic and
land surveying tasks, as well
as DGPS navigational instru-
ments (MX GPS Navigator)
for their marine engineering.
training course conducted
by Leica specialists directly
in Minsk for members of
this Center, a Belarus
television team portrayed
the ECOMIR Center and
its important tasks in
developing the country.
Reporter readers will also
learn more about this from
the pen of one of the
specialists involved, in the
next issue.
- Stf -
This is the second DGPS
station with surveying equip-
ment which the Peoples’
Republic of China has
ordered from Leica, follow-
ing the positive experience
gained on completing a first
contract. As hardly any other
manufacturer operating in
the world market, Leica can
deliver this equipment of
high quality and reliability
from a single source and
offer the Chinese MSA a
complete solution of marine
navigation and for all
hydrographic surveying and
land survey problems.
FIG in Brighton
Brighton, THE coastal resort,
this year accommodates in the
Brighton Metropole Hotel the
international FIG congress and
exhibition. Brighton, one of the
most attractive towns on
Britain’s south coast, also offers
a considerable choice of
opportunities for entertainment
and relaxation. It is only a few
paces from the exhibition hall
to the promenade with its
innumerable small cafes, bars
and restaurants, and the Palace
Pier with its traditional and
modern beach amusements:
exactly the right surroundings
after a day richly loaded with
congress topics and exhibition
visits. This year’s FIG congress
subject is “Developing the
Profession in a Developing
World” clearly indicates
without the necessity for
further explanation what is
waiting there for you. Not only
international businesses and
organisations are on the list of
exhibitors, but also local
surveying and mapping firms
and institutions, all of which
promises to be an interesting
mixture!

Leica Geosystems can be found

at Stand 14 in Hall 3. If it should
prove impossible for you to
meet us there, you will get the
opportunity of receiving
information in the next issue of
the Reporter or from our web
site in the Internet.

Waltraud Strobl

15
 Extreme measures by Leica
30 40 50

“Leica GPS systems are bringing two countries together.” was established. Supplying real time GPS data over the entire project

So many nations have something keeping them apart. For the people of area makes the project easy to coordinate and maintain And it ensures .

Sweden and Denmark, it’s the Øresund. all our contractors are always given the correct data ,

A 16km stretch of turbulent, icy water. But with the help of Leica’s which saves everyone time and money.”

GPS, they’re getting over it. Aage Hansen, Project Coordinator at Øre- For Aage Hansen, choosing Leica is already paying off, with the project

sundkonsortium, is overseeing GEO and GIS technology for making impressive progress. And now you too can benefit from the expe-

The Øresund Link. A vast structure planned to join the countries . rience gained in helping build The Øresund Link. To find out how, call +44

“Before crossing the Øresund, there were bigger problems to 181 256 9030 (Europe) or your

negotiate. Strong frequency limitations were giving us trouble. And local representative, and let

a project of this scale must have reliable information. Leica had the inno- Leica Geosystems help you and

vative solution. Using GPS technology, a system with six frequencies your projects go further.
M A D E T O M E A S U R E
Call Leica Geosystems +1 800 367 9453 (Americas) +65 568 9845 (Asia) or www.leica-geosystems.com/ads