Intro Surveying BRE BCM BQS 201 JBKK Part 3a Revised

Part 3a: Surveying Methods
§ Electronic Distance Measurement

§ Global Navigation Satellite Systems
§ Remote Sensing / Earth Observation
§ Geographic Information Systems
EDM - Background
Compared with chains, tapes, etc., EDM has a short history.
Its rapid development is linked with the development of
electronics during the last century.
Advent of EDM equipment has completely revolutionized all
surveying procedures, resulting in a change of emphasis and
techniques.
C o n s e qu e n t ly, t ap ing d is t a nc e ha s b e e n re n d e re d
obsolete for all base-line measurement.
EDM allows distances to be measured easily, quickly and
with greater accuracy, regardless of terrain conditions.
EDM – Background (2)
Modern EDM equipment contain algorithms for
reducing the slope distance to its horizontal and vertical
equivalent.
For most surveys, ‘total stations’ combined with
electronic data loggers are now virtually standard
equipment.
Standard EDM based distance measurement takes
between 1.5 and 3 Secs.
Automatic repeated measurements can be used to
improve reliability in difficult atmospheric conditions.
The development of EDM has produced fundamental changes
in surveying procedures including:
(1) Traversing on a grandiose scale, with much greater control of
swing errors, is now a standard procedure;
(2) The inclusion of many more measured distances into
triangulation, rendering classical triangulation obsolete. This
results in much greater control of scale error;
(3) Setting-out and photogrammetric control, over large areas,
by polar coordinates from a single base line;
(4) Offshore position fixing; and
(5) Deformation monitoring to sub-millimetre accuracies using
high-precision EDM.
Latest developments in EDM equipment provide plug-in
recording modules capable of recording many thousand
blocks of data for direct transfer to the computer
allowing for electronic booking and even computerized
data processing and plotting.
Today there is practically no surveying operation which
does not utilize the speed, economy, accuracy and
reliability of modern EDM equipment.
EDM Measuring Principles
Although there is a wide variety of EDM instruments available,
there are basically only three (3) methods of measurement
employed, namely the pulse method, the more popular phase
difference method and interferometry.

a) Pulse 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.
Where
2 d  c t d = Distance between instrument and target;
2d  c(t a  t d ) t = Flight time of the pulse;

td
= Time of departure of the pulse; and
ta
= Time of arrival of the pulse.
Pulse Method (2)
Method relies on measuring flight time between transmission
and reception of the same pulse.
Accuracy of the distance measurement by this method is
d e p e n d e n t o n t h e a c c u r a c y o f t h e re c o r d i n g t i m e
(accuracy of recording flight time to 0.1 nanosecond is ≈
15mm).
This method is rarely used in practice since most EDM
instruments do not measure flight time.
Some applications of this method include Lunar Laser
Ranging, Radar, Satellite Radar Altimetry.
Part 3b: Surveying Methods
b) Phase Difference Method
The majority of EDM instruments, whether infra-red,
light or microwave, use this form of measurement.
It is a method of measuring phase differences of
continuous waves for distance measurement.
Phases of outgoing and incoming signals are compared,
and the phase difference measured.
Basically the instrument measures the amount () by
which the reflected signal is out of phase with the
emitted signal.
Phase Difference Method (2)
The fundamental distance equation is of the form:
  
d m 
2 2 2
where
 = Wave length.
ΔΦ = phase difference
m = integral number of full wavelengths.
m is the only unknown in the above equation and
can be solved by use of a number of frequencies
in the instrument.
c) Interferometry
Used for high precision distance measurements over short
distances.
They are based of the principle of optical interference. Due to
the uncertainty of refractive index determination, accuracy is
limited to ±0.1 ppm.
Interferometers have a range of about 80m and are mainly used
indoors.
Carrier Waves
Electromagnetic waves whose wavelengths are suitable for
measuring short distance have frequency in the range 500
MHz to 7.5 MHz. This corresponds to wavelengths of
0.6m to 40m.
These waves are called measuring waves or modulating
waves. Waves within this range are adopted because of
limitation in wave phase comparison techniques and need
to attain certain desired accuracies.

Carrier Waves (2)
Due to effects of interference , reflection, fading and
scatter, waves of the frequency range of the measuring waves
are unsuitable for transmission through the atmosphere.
To overcome this difficulty, these waves are superimposed
electronically on other waves known as carrier waves. Carrier
waves are of a much higher frequency and act as a medium for
carrying the distance information.
This process of electronic superimposition is known as
modulation.
Two methods of modulation are amplitude modulation (for
l i g h t w ave s ) a n d f re q u e n c y m o d u l a t i o n ( m i c row ave
waves).
Errors and Calibration
Although modern EDM equipment is exceptionally well
constructed, the effects of age and general wear and
tear may alter their performance.
It is essential therefore that all field equipment should
be regularly calibrated.
From the point of view of calibration, the errors are
classified under three main headings:
i) Additive constant / Zero error (independent of
distance);
ii) Cyclic error (varies with distance); and
iii) Scale errors (proportional to distance).
Sources of Errors
1) Errors in the determination of the velocity of light:
This is negligible in EDM applications in surveying. Its influence
is of a constant scale change in the absolute determination of
the distance.
2) Modulation frequency errors:
Excessive heating and aging of the control crystals may cause a
frequency drift. Frequency calibration should be carried out
periodically.
3) Refractive Index Errors:
These errors may result from the d e t e r m in a t io n o f
temperature, barometric pressure, and the relative humidity in
the air. Influence of humidity is significant in microwave
instruments, but may be ignored for EODMs.
Sources of Errors (2)
4) Errors in phase difference determination:
Ground swing in microwave instruments may cause some
problems and it is often necessary to take steps to
reduce its effect (e.g. varying heights of instruments and
reflectors to change the angle of incidence etc.).
5) Zero errors:
These errors are due to errors in calibration of
corrections for both instruments and reflectors.

Instrument Specification
The measuring accuracy of all EDM equipment is specified in
manufacturers’ literature as
±(a mm + b mm/km)
Using a typical example of ±(3 mm + 3 mm/km) of the
distance measured) for a distance of 2 km, the accuracy is
±Sqrt{(32 + 62)} = ±7 mm
In the above specification, a is a result of errors in phase
measurement (θ) and zero error (z), i.e.,
a2 = σ θ 2 + σz2
Instrument Specification (2)
In the case of b, the resultant error sources are error in the
modulation frequency f and in the group refractive index ng,
i.e.
b2 = (σf /f)2 + (σng/ng)2
The reason why the specification is expressed in two parts is
that θ and z are independent of distance, whilst f and ng are a
function of distance
For short distances, frequently encountered in engineering,
par t a is more significant and would require greater
consideration.
Accuracy of EDM
For various instruments, typical accuracies are given in
the form:
 a mm + b ppm   a + b mm/km
The overall standard error of the measurement is given
by:
σD2 = a2 +  D b x 10-62
where D is the distance in km.
From the formula, it is clear that a is significant for short
distances while b is more important for longer distances.
GNSS Overview
GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Systems) started with the
launch of the U.S Department of Defense Global Positioning
System (GPS) in the late 1970’s
GNSS currently include:
GPS (United States)
GLONASS (Russia)
Galileo (European Union)
BeiDou (China)

GNSS Architecture
• GNSS satellite systems consists of three major
components or “segments”:
• Space Segment
• Control Segment
• User Segment

GNSS Space Segment
 Consists of GNSS satellites,
orbiting about 20,000 km
above the earth. Each GNSS
has its own constellation of
satellites

§ Geographic Information Systems 23
GNSS Control Segment
• The control segment comprises of a ground-based network of
master control stations, data uploading stations, and monitor
stations.
• Master control stations adjust the satellites’ orbit parameters
and on-board high-precision clocks when necessary to
maintain accuracy.
• Monitor stations monitor the satellites’ signal and status, and
relay this information to the master control station.
• Uploading stations uploads any change in satellite status back
to the satellites.
GPS Monitoring Stations
(Source http://www.kowoma.de/en/gps/control_segment.htm)
User Segment
• User segment consists of GNSS antennas and
receivers used to determine information such as
position, velocity, and time.

Basic GNSS Concept
Steps involved in
using GNSS to
determine time
and position then
applying the
information.

GNSS Satellites
• Multiple GNSS constellations orbiting the earth
• Beneficial in difficult environment with obstructions to direct line of sight to
satellites. Multiple constellations will give more observations
• GNSS satellites know their time and orbit ephemerides very

accurately
• Timing accuracy is very important. The time it takes a GNSS
signal to travel from satellites to receiver is used to determine
distances (range) to satellites
• 1 microsecond = 300m, 1 nanosecond = 30 cm.
• Small deviations in time can result in large position errors
GPS Satellites
• GPS transmits at the following frequencies
• This frequency band is referred to as the L-band, a portion of

the radio spectrum between 1 and 2 GHz
• L1 transmits a navigation message, the coarse acquisition
(C/A) code which is freely available to public. An encrypted
precision (P) code, called the P(Y) code (restricted access), is
transmitted on both L1 and L2.
GPS Satellites (2)
• Navigation message includes the following information:
• GPS date and time
• Satellite status and health
• Satellite ephemeris data, which allows the receiver to calculate the satellite’s
position.
• Almanac, which contains information and status for all GPS satellites
• The P(Y) code is for military use, and provides better

interference rejection than the C/A code.
• Newer GPS satellites now transmits L2 C/A code (L2C),
providing a second publicly available code to civilian users.
GNSS Signal Propagation
• GNSS signals pass

through the near-
vacuum of space,
then through the
various layers of the
atmosphere to the
earth, as illustrated in
the figure

GNSS Signal Propagation (2)
• To determine accurate positions, we need to know the range
to the satellite. This is the direct path distance from the
satellite to the user equipment
• The signal will “bend” when traveling through the earth’s
atmosphere
• This “bending” increases the amount of time the signal takes
to travel from the satellite to the receiver
• The computed range will contain this propagation time error,
or atmospheric error
• Since the computed range contains errors and is not exactly
equal to the actual range, we refer to it as a “pseudorange”
• The ionosphere contributes to most of the atmospheric error.
It resides at 70 to 1000 km above the earth’s surface.
• Free electrons resides in the ionosphere, influencing
electromagnetic wave propagation.
• Ionospheric delay are frequency dependent. It can be virtually
eliminated by calculating the range using both L1 and L2.
• The troposphere, the lowest layer of the Earth’s atmosphere,
contributes to delays due to local temperature, pressure and
relative humidity.
• Tropospheric delay cannot be eliminated the way ionospheric
delay can be.
• It is possible to model the tropospheric delay then predict
and compensate for much of the error.
• Signals can be reflected on the way to the receiver. This is
called “multipath propagation”
• These reflected signals are delayed from the direct signal, and
if strong enough, can interfere with the direct signal.
• Techniques have been developed whereby the receiver only
considers the earliest-arriving signals and ignore multipath
signals, which arrives later.
• It cannot be entirely eliminated.

GNSS Signal Reception
• Receivers need at least 4 satellites to obtain a position. If
more are available, these additional observations can be used
to improve the position solution.
• GNSS signals are modulated by a unique pseudorandom
digital sequence, or code. Each satellite uses a different
pseudorandom code.
• Pseudorandom means that the signal appears random, but
actually repeats itself after a period of time.
• Receivers know the pseudorandom code for each satellite.
This allows receivers to correlate (synchronize) with the
GNSS signal to a particular satellite.
• Through code correlation, the receiver is able to recover the
signal and the information they contain.
GNSS Signal Reception (2)
• For each satellite tracked, the receiver determines the
propagation time.
• The above figure shows the transmission of a pseudorandom

code from a satellite. The receiver can determine the time of
propagation by comparing the transmit time to the receive
time.
GNSS Computation
• Range measurements from 4 satellites are needed to
determine position
• For each satellite tracked, the receiver calculates how long the
satellite signal took to reach it, which in turn, determines the
distance to the satellite:
• Propagation Time = Time Signal Reached Receiver – Time Signal Left Satellite
• Distance to Satellite = Propagation Time * Speed of Light
• Receiver now knows where the satellite was at the time of

transmission through the use of orbit ephemerides.
• Through space resection / trilateration, it is possible to
calculate the receiver position.
Satellite Constellation “Geometry”
Dilution of Precision (DOP) depends on the distribution of
the satellites in space.
With clear visibility and a large number of satellites, the
value of DOP is low, indicating a good geometry.
With obstructions and fewer satellites, however, the DOP
values becomes high, indicating poor geometry, which may
negatively affect positioning accuracy.
Also used to measure the geometric strength is the Position
Dilution of Precision (PDOP) which can be used essentially
as an expression of the quality of the satellites geometry,
which is essential for ambiguity resolution.
Usually, a PDOP value of less than 6 but greater than 1 is
desirable.
Satellite geometry: Left (good geometry); Right (poor geometry)
GNSS Error Sources
• There are various GNSS error sources that affect the
accuracy of pseudorange calculation:
• The degree with which the above pseudorange errors affect

positioning accuracy depends largely on the geometry of the
satellites being used.
GNSS Applications
Some common GNSS Applications include:
 Transportation
 Timing
 Machine Control
 Marine
 Surveying
 Defence
 Port Automation
Transportation
 Portable navigation devices
 Air, marine, and ground based vehicle navigation

Machine Control

Surveying

§ Electronic Distance Measurement Google Street View

GIS

§ Electronic Distance Measurement Google Map

Port Automation

Defence

GNSS Equipment
 There are different types of GNSS equipment available
depending on the application and project requirements


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Part 3a: Surveying Methods

§ Electronic Distance Measurement

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

2 d  c t d = Distance between instrument and target;

2d  c(t a  t d ) t = Flight time of the pulse;

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

• GNSS satellites know their time and orbit ephemerides very

• This frequency band is referred to as the L-band, a portion of

• The P(Y) code is for military use, and provides better

• GNSS signals pass

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

• The above figure shows the transmission of a pseudorandom

• Receiver now knows where the satellite was at the time of

• The degree with which the above pseudorange errors affect

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

§ Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

§ Global Navigation Satellite Systems

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

Part 3a: Surveying Methods

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