Electronic Distance

Measurement
(Edm/Total Station)
DCC3093- ENGINEERING SURVEY2

Electronic Distance Measurement

Electronic distance measurement (EDM), first introduced in the 1950s by
the Geodimeter Inc. founders, has since those early days undergone
continual refinement. The early instruments, which were capable of
very precise measurements over long distances, were large, heavy,
complicated, and expensive. Rapid advances in related technologies
have provided lighter, simpler, and less expensive instruments these
EDM instruments (EDM Is) are manufactured for use with theodolites and
as modular components of Total Station instruments. Technological
advances in electronics continue at a rapid rate as evidenced by recent
market surveys that indicate that most new electronic instruments have
been on the market for less than two years.

Current EDMIs use infrared light, laser light, or microwaves. The microwave
systems use a receiver/transmitter at both ends of the measured line,
whereas infrared and laser systems utilize a transmitter at one end of the
measured line and a reflecting prism at the other end. Some laser EDMIs will
measure short distances (100 - 350 m) without a reflecting prism reflecting
the light directly off the feature (e.g. building wall) being measured,
Microwave instruments are often used in hydrographic surveys and have a
usual upper measuring range of 50 km. Although microwave systems can be
used in poorer weather conditions (fog, rain, etc.) than can infrared and laser
systems, the uncertainties caused by varying humidity conditions over the
length of the measured line may result in lower accuracy expectations.
Hydrographic measuring and positioning techniques have, in a few short years,
been largely supplanted by Global Positioning System (GPS) techniques.

EDM

Principles of Electronic Distance Measurement (EDM)

Figure shows a wave of wavelength . The wave is

travelling along the x axis with a velocity of 299,
792.5 0.4 km/s (in vacuum). The frequency of the
wave is, the time taken for one complete wavelength.

=c/
where

= wavelength in meters
c = velocity in km/s
= frequency in hertz (one cycle per second)

EDM CHARACTERISTICS
Following are the characteristics of recent models of add-on EDMIs. Generally the more expensive
instruments have longer distance ranges and higher precision.
Distance range
800 m to 1 km (single prism with average atmospheric conditions) Short-range EDMIs can be extended to
1300 m using 3 prisms, Long-range EDMIs can be extended to 15 km using 11 prisms(Leica Co.)
Accuracy range
(15 mm + 5ppm) for short-range EDMIs (3mm + 1 ppm) for long-range EDMIs
Measuring time
1.5 seconds for short-range EDMIs to 3.5 seconds for long-range EDMIs Both accuracy and time are
considerably reduced for tracking mode measurements.
Slope reduction
Manual or automatic on some models Average of repeated measurements: available on some models
Battery capability is 1400 to 4200 measurements, depending on the size of the battery and the
temperature
Temperature range
-20C to +50C. Nonprism measurements: available on some models with distances from 100 to 350 m (3
to 5 km with prisms)

PRISMS
Prisms are used with electro-optical EDMIs (light, laser, and
infrared) to reflect the transmitted signals.
A single reflector is a cube corner prism that has the characteristics
of reflecting light rays back precisely in the same direction as they
are received.
This retro-direct capability means that the prism can be somewhat
misaligned with respect to the EDMI and still be effective.
A cube corner prism is formed by cutting the corners off a solid glass
cube.
The quality of the prism is determined by the flatness of the
surfaces and the perpendicularity of the 90 surfaces.

EDM INSTRUMENT ACCURACIES

Most instruments now on the market have claimed accuracies in the range of
(3mm 4- 1 ppm) to (10 mm + 10 ppm). The proportional part error (ppm) is
insignificant for most work, and the constant part of the error assumes less
significance as the distances being measured lengthen. At 100 m, an error of
5 mm represents 1/20,000 accuracy, whereas at 1,000 m the same
instrumental error represents 1/200,000 accuracy.

EDMI OPERATION
The operation of all EDMIs involves the following basic steps:
(1)

set up

Tribrach-mounted EDMIs are simply inserted into the tribrach (forced centring)
after the tribrach has been set over the point by means of the optical plummet.
Telescope or theodolite yoke-mounted EDMIs are simply attached to the
theodolite either before or after the theodolite has been set over the point.
Prisms are set over the remote station point either by inserting the prism into an
already setup tribrach (forced centring) or by holding the prism vertically over the
point on a prism pole. The EDMI is turned on and a quick check is made to ensure
that it is in good working orderfor example, battery, display, and the like. The
height of the instrument (telescope axis) and the height of the prism (centre) are
measured and recorded; the prism is usually set to the height of the theodolite
when it is mounted on an adjustable prism pole

(2) aim
The EDMI is aimed at the prism by using either the built-in sighting devices on the
EDMI or the theodolite telescope. Telescope or yoke-mount EDMIs will have the
optical line of sight a bit lower than the electronic signal. Some electronic
tacheometer instruments (ETIs) have a sighting telescope mounted on top of the
instrument. In those cases, the optical line of sight will be a bit higher than the
electronic signal.
Most instrument manufacturers provide prism/target assemblies, which permit
fast optical sightings for both optical and electronic alignment (see Figure 6.6).
That is, when the crosshair is on target, the electronic signal will be maximized
at the centre of the prism.
The surveyor can (if necessary) set the electronic signal precisely on the prism
centre by adjusting the appropriate horizontal and vertical slow-motion screws
until a maximum signal intensity is indicated on the display (this display is not
available on all EDMIs). Some older EDMIs have an attenuator that must be
adjusted for varying distances the signal strength is reduced for short distances
so that the receiving electronics are not overloaded. Newer EDMIs have
automatic signal attenuation.

(3) Measure
The slope distance measurement is accomplished by simply pressing the "measure"
button and waiting a few seconds for the result to appear in the display. The displays
are either LCD (most) or LED. The measurement is shown to two decimals of a foot
or three decimals of a meter: a foot/meter switch readily switches from one system
to the other. If no measurement appears in the display, the surveyor should check on
the switch position ,battery status, attenuation, and crosshair location (sometimes
the stadia hair is mistakenly centred).
EDMIs with built-in calculators or microprocessors can now be used to compute
horizontal and vertical distances, coordinates, atmospheric, curvature, and prism
constant corrections. The required input data (vertical angle, ppm, prism constant,
etc.) are entered via the keyboard.
Most EDMIs have a tracking mode (very useful in layout surveys, which permits
continuous distance updates as the prism is moved closer to its final layout position.
Handheld radios are useful for all EDM work, as the long distances put a halt to
normal voice communications. In layout work, clear communications are essential if
the points are to be properly located. All microwave EDMIs permit voice
communicationwhich is carried right on the measuring signal.

(4) Record
The measured data can be recorded conventionally in HOLD note format, or they
can be manually entered into an electronic data collector. The distance data
must be accompanied by all relevant atmospheric and instrumental correction
factors. Total Station instruments, which have automatic data acquisition
capabilities

EXAMPLE
6.1) An EDM slope distance AB is determined to be
561.276 m. The EDMI is 1.820 m above its station (A),
and the prism is 1.986 m above its station (5). The
EDMI is mounted on a theodolite whose optical centre
is 1.720 m above the station. The theodolite was used
to measure the vertical angle (+60 2 38") to a target
on the prism pole; the target is 1.810 m above station
B. Compute both the horizontal distance AB and the
elevation of station B, given that the elevation of
station A = 186.275 m.

Solution
The given data are shown in Figure 5-15(a) and the resultant figure is shown. The X value
introduced in Figure 5-14(b) is, in this case, determined as follows :
X

= (1.986- 1.810)-(1.820- 1.720)

= 0.176 - 0.100
= 0.076 m

If H had been computed by using the field vertical angle of 621'38", the result would have
been 557.82m not a significant difference in this example.
Elevation B = elev. A + 1.820 + 561.276 sin 60 22 06" - 1.986
= 186.275 + 1.820 + 62.257 - 1.986
= 248.336 m
If V had been computed by using 621'38", the result would have been 62-181 m
instead of 62.257m a more significant discrepancy.

TOTAL STATION

Total Station
A combination of interfaced EDMIs and electronic data collectors, they become
electronic tacheometer instruments (ETIs).
These Total Stations can read and record horizontal and vertical angles together with
slope distances.

The microprocessors in the Total Stations can perform a variety of mathematical

operations: for example, averaging multiple angle measurements: averaging multiple
distance measurements; determining X, Y, Z coordinates, remote object elevations (i.e.,
heights of sighted features), and distances between remote points; and making
atmospheric and instrumental corrections.
The data collector can be a handheld device connected by cable to the tacheometer
but many instruments come with the data collector built into the instrument