EDM and Total station

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ELECTRONIC DISTANCE MEASUREMENT
• Developed approximately 60 years ago
• measure lengths by indirectly determining the number of full and
partial waves of transmitted electromagnetic energy required in
traveling between the two ends of a line.
• the energy is transmitted from one end of the line to the other and
returned to the starting point; thus, it travels the double path distance.
• Multiplying the total number of cycles by its wavelength and dividing
by 2, yields the unknown distance.
• Early types of EDM equipment were expensive and not readily
portable for field operations limiting their use though

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•Prior to EDM, taping made accurate distance measurements.
•precise taping is one of the most difficult and painstaking of all
surveying tasks.
•EDM obtain accurate distance measurements rapidly and easily.
•Given a line of sight, long or short lengths can be measured over bodies
of water, busy freeways, or terrain that is inaccessible for taping.

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•current generation, EDM instruments are combined with digital theodolites and
microprocessors to produce total station instruments.
•can simultaneously and automatically observe both distances and angles.
•The microprocessor receives the measured slope length and zenith (or altitude)
angle, calculates horizontal and vertical distance components, and displays them
in real time.
• When equipped with data collectors they can record field notes electronically
for transmission to computers, plotters, and other office equipment for
processing.
• These so-called field-to-finish systems are gaining worldwide acceptance and
changing the practice of surveying substantially.
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 1. Components of EDMI
•An electronic digital measuring instrument (EDMI) is composed of
i. carrier signal
ii. modulation signals and modulator
iii. signal transmitter and signal receiver
iv. beam splitter
v. reflector
vi. filter
vii. amplifier
viii. phase discriminator
ix. display unit
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 i) Carrier Signal

•This this the guiding factor for many of the characteristics of

EDMI that follow. Three very distinct types of frequencies are
used giving rise to three groups of instruments.
•a) Long radio waves of the hundreds of meters
•b) Micro radio waves of the order of a few centimeters
•c) Wavelength near the visible spectrum of the order of
micrometers

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a) Long wavelength instruments
• These work over longest ranges
• are used mainly for navigational purposes for ships and aircrafts,
oceanographic and hydrographic surveys - employing ground wave
mode of propagation.
• have lower accuracy compared to other methods mainly due to
uncertainties in the value of the phase lag at the earth's surface.
b) Microwave instruments
• Lines up to 100 km have been measured successfully with these
instruments.
• The range is affected to some extent by the atmospheric conditions-
shorter wavelengths of 3 cm are more affected than the longer 10 cm
carrier signal.
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c) Instruments using visible or infrared radiation
• These have a very short range of 1 to 2 km under favourable atmospheric
conditions.
• The Geodimeter uses visible light with a wavelength of 0.56 µm while the infra-
red instruments use wavelength of about 0.91µm.
• These instruments use a system of mirrors and lenses to produce narrow collimated
beam usually with divergence of about 1/4°.
• The narrow beam of the carrier signal needs very little power to achieve working
level
• though it necessitates precise adjustment which is sometimes a disadvantage.
• Because of the narrowness of the beam, there is very little chance of any trouble
from reflected rays although in the case of instruments using visible light, strong
light is often a cause of nuisance.
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 ii) Modulator and modulation signals
 Modulation is defined as the process of varying the amplitude
(amplitude modulation), frequency (frequency modulation),
phase (phase modulation) or the polarization (polarization
modulation) of a carrier wave in accordance with other signals.
 The long wave instruments are unmodulated and the carrier
signal itself is the measurement signal.
 For microwave instruments, the carrier signal is generated by a
reflex Klystron which is more suitable for frequency modulation.
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 iii) Signal transmitter and receiver
•For long waves the most efficient radiator is a straight
vertical wire.
•In case of microwave, the signals can be radiated by dipoles
of the appropriate dimensions.
• These approximate to point sources of radiation and are
located at the focus of the sheet metal parabolic reflector,
which produces a well-directed beam.
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•
iv) Beam splitter
•It divides the light emitted from the diode into two signals: an
external measurement beam and an internal reference beam.
By means of telescope mounted on EDMI, the external beam
is targeted to a retro-reflector.

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 v) Reflector
•Reflectors are required to return the signal to the point of comparison (at the master
station)
•Instruments using visible or near visible wavelengths use directly reflected signal
•have the advantage that no complicated and expensive instrument is required at the
remote station.
•special reflector are generally cube of glasses with sides accurately ground to displace the
reflected ray parallel to the incident ray.
•A cube corner prism is formed by cutting the corners of a glass cube.
•These prisms can be mounted with tribrach on tripod, centered by optical plummet or
attached to prism pole held vertical on point with the help of circular level.
•For better accuracy, tribrach mounted prisms are preferable.
•The height of the prism is usually kept same as the height of instrument; otherwise
appropriate correction need to be applied for difference in their heights.
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• Reflector less EDMI
•Some EDMI measure distance without using reflecting prism - the
measuring surface itself acts as reflector.
• In such instruments, the range of measurements is small (usually 100 to
300 m) depending upon the light conditions (cloudy days and night
darkness provide better measurements).
•Targets with light colored and flat surfaces (e.g. wall) perpendicular to
the measuring beam provide the best ranges and accuracies.

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 Iv) Filter
•The internal beam passes through a variable-density filter and is
reduced in intensity to a level equal to that of the returned external signal
which enables a more accurate measurement.
•Both internal and external signals pass through an interference filter,
which eliminates undesirable energy.

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 v) Amplifier
•The filtered signals are converted to electrical energy while maintaining the
phase-difference. They ae weak and therefore are amplified by an amplifier.
•
vi) Phase discriminator
•Phase discrimination is carried out by this component.
•A phase meter converts the phase difference into direct current with magnitude
proportional to the differential phase which is subsequently displayed as the
distance measured.
vii) Display unit
•The display unit provides results of range measurement on LCD panel.
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 Working principle and Classification of EDMI
•Although there are many EDM instruments available, there
are basically only two methods of measurement employed,
•pulse method and
•the more popular phase difference method.

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 i) Pulse method/pulsed laser method
•A short, intensive pulse of radiation is transmitted to a reflector target,
which immediately transmits it back, along a parallel path, to the
receiver.
•The measured distance is computed from the velocity of the signal

multiplied by the time it took to complete its journey.

• Distance (D)= 0.5 * V * t .
• Large no. of pulses gets analyzed during measurements

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 ii) Phase difference method/phase difference method
•The majority of EDM instruments, whether infra-red or light,
use this form of measurement.
•Basically the instrument measures the amount by which the
reflected signal is out of phase with the emitted signal.

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Cont.. Phase difference method
• Uses continuous Electro Magnetic (EM) waves
• Modulated EM Wave is transmitted to the target, Placed at the other
end of the line.
• Target, acts as reflector, reflects the light beam back to the receiver,
• the incoming light is converted to an electrical signal.
• A phase comparison is made between the projected and reflected
signals.
• Then the amount by which the transmitted and received signals are
out of phase gets measured electronically
• Then registered in a meter after conversion to an equivalent distance

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Operations with EDMI
Measurement with EDMI involves four basic steps:
• Set up
• Aim
• Measure
• Record

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• Setting up:
• The instrument is centred over a station by means of
tribrach or by mounting over a compatible theodolite.
• Reflector prisms are set over the remote station either on
tribrach or on a prism pole.
• Observations related to height or instrument and prism are
recorded. These are usually kept the same to avoid any
additional corrections.

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• Aiming:
• The instrument is aimed at prisms by using sighting devices
or theodolite telescope.
• Slow motion screws are used to intersect the prism centre.
• Some kind of electronic sound or beeping signal helps the
user to indicate the status of centering.

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• Measurement:
• The operator presses the measure button to record the slope
distance which is displayed on LCD panel.
• Recording:
• The information on LCD panel can be recorded manually or
automatically.
• All meteorological parameters are also recorded.

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 Error sources in EDMI
•Measurement with EDMI has the following error sources
which have to be accounted for while reporting the distance
i) Personal:
•• Careless centring of instrument and/or reflector
•• Faulty temperature and pressure measurements
•• Incorrect input of T and p

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•(ii) Atmospheric errors
•Meteorological conditions (temperature, pressure, humidity, etc.) have to
be taken into account to correct for the systematic error arising due to this.
•These errors can be removed by applying an appropriate atmospheric
correction model that takes care of different meteorological parameters
from the standard (nominal) one.
iii) Instrument error:
•Consists of three components - scale error, zero error and cyclic error.
These are systematic in nature.
•Generally arise from lack of calibration of the instrument
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 Importance of EDM in total stations

i) Traversing over great distances, with much greater control

of swing errors.
ii)The inclusion of many more measured distances into control
networks, rendering classical triangulation obsolete. This
results in much greater control of scale error.
iii)Setting-out and photogrammetric control, over large areas,
by polar coordinates from a single base line.
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 THE TOTAL STATION
• It is combination of EDM instrument and electronic theodolite.

• integrated with microprocessor, electronic data collector and storage

system..
• Microprocessor unit processes the data collected to compute:

i) Average of multiple angles measured

ii) Average of multiple distance measured

iii) Horizontal distance

iv) Distance between any two points

v) Elevation of objects and all the three coordinates of the observed points.

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• the instrument combines both angle and distance measurement in the
same unit, thus known as integrated total station which can measure
horizontal and vertical angles as well as slope distances
• Data collected and processed may be down-loaded to computers for
further processing.
• Total station is a compact instrument and weighs approximately 5kg
thus a person can easily carry it to the field.
• Total stations with different accuracies, in angle measurement and
different range of measurements are available

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 N

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 N

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Working using a total station
i. The reflector (prism) is attached to a detail pole
ii. The telescope is aligned and pointed at the prism
iii. The measuring sequence is initiated and a signal is sent to the reflector and a
part of this signal is returned to the total station
iv. This signal is then analysed to calculate the slope distance together with the
horizontal and vertical angles.
• Total stations can also be used without reflectors and the telescope is pointed
at the point that needs to be measured
• Some instruments have motorised drivers and can use automatic target
recognition to search and lock into a prism
• this is a fully automated process and does not require an operator.
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Factors influencing the use of Total Stations:
 A clear line of sight between the instrument and the measured points
is essential.
 The precision of the instrument is dependent on the raw repeatability
of the direction and distance measurements.
 A well-defined measurement point or target/prism is required to
obtain optimal precision and accuracy.
 The accuracy of direction and distance measurement is subject to a
number of instrumental errors and the correct field procedures.

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Uses of total stations
 Total stations are ideal for collecting large numbers of points.
 They are commonly used for all aspects of modern surveying. Only
when harsh conditions, exist or distances are short will a transit and
tape be used
 General purpose angle measurement
 General purpose distance measurement
 Provision of control surveys
 Contour and detail mapping
 Setting out and construction work
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Disadvantages
 Total stations are dependent on batteries and electronics.
 The LCD screen does not work well when it is cold.
 Battery life is also short, batteries and electronics both do not work
well when wet.
 Total stations are typically heavier that a transit and tape
 Loss of data is an important consideration

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 The End

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