Lab No.

1
Detailed Study of Total Station and Prism

Objective:
This job is performed to determine slope distance, vertical distance and horizontal distance in
UMT Greens to form a closed traverse.
Apparatus:
1. Total Station
2. Optical Survey Prism and Stand
3. Wooden Pegs
4. Tripod Stand
5. Wooden Hammer

Survey Peg:
Survey pegs or Survey stakes are used for land making boundaries and indicate points and
position of a site. They can be found in various lengths but usually they are 40-60cm. They
are made up of different materials like wood, metal or plastic. These pegs have pointed ends
used for easy hammering at a specify point. Some of the most common survey pegs are:
 Indicator Survey Pegs
 Boundary Survey Pegs
 Dumpies Survey Pegs
 Residential Survey Pegs
Tripod Stand:
Tripod is a supporting for the theodolite instrument. It consists of 3 legs and has screws on it
which are used for increasing or decreasing the height of an instrument that is placed on it. A
center screw is used to fix the theodolite so that it may not be move from its original place.
Fix the tripod in appropriate height in order to find the horizontal angle from the ground by
seeing through the eye piece lens.

Optical Survey Prism:

Optical Survey prism reflects the EDM beam back to total station with both a wide angle of
incidence and with high precision. Prisms reduce the scatter of the beam and provide more
accurate measurement over a wide range.
Types of Prism:
 Topcon Prism
 Sew Prism
 Leica Prism
Related Theory:
Surveying:
Surveying is the technique, profession, and science of determining the terrestrial or three
dimensional positions of points above, on, or beneath the earth’s surface of a land area span
and
the distances and angles between them in order to design a plan or map for construction.
Total Station:
Total station is an electronic device used for the measurement of horizontal and slope
distances, horizontal and vertical angles and elevations in topographic surveys and geodetic
works, tachometric surveys, as well as for survey solutions.
Structure:
A total station is a combination of:
 Transit Theodolite
 Electronic Distance Measuring (EDM) Device
 Microprocessor with memory unit
Function of Total Station:
1- Angular Measurement:
 The transit theodolite is used with an accuracy of 2-6 seconds to measure horizontal
and vertical angles.
  For horizontal measurement of angles, any direction can be taken as reference.
 In the case of vertical measurement of angles, upward direction is taken as
reference.
2- Distance Measurement:
 To measure the distance, Electronic Distance Measuring (EDM) instrument of total
station is used with an accuracy of 5-10 mm per km.
 The range of EDM varies from 2.8-4.2 km.
3- Data Processing:
 Computation of horizontal distances along with X, Y, Z coordinates is done by the
instrument called Microprocessor.
 If atmospheric temperature and pressure is applied, the microprocessor applies
suitable correction to the measurements.
Principle of Working:
The EDM instrument fitted inside the telescope of total station transmits an infrared beam,
which is reflected to the unit with the help of a prism (after total internal reflection), and the
EDM uses timing measurements to calculate the distance travelled by the beam.
Distance Formula for reflection:
D=vx
Here,
D = Covered Distance, v = Velocity of infrared beam, t = time taken for the reflection of
beam
Applications of Total Station:
Total Station can be used for:
 Detail survey i.e., data collection.
 Control Survey (Traverse).
 Excavation by the archeologists.
 Free Stationing (Resection)
 Area calculations, etc.
 (MLM) Missing Line Measurement, (REM) Remote Elevation Measurement,
(RDM) Resource Design & Management
 Crime investigation by armed forces.
Parts of Total Station:

Advantages of Total Station:

Following are some of the major advantages of using total station over the conventional
surveying instruments:
 Fieldwork is carried out very fast.
 Total Stations understand all languages.
 Accuracy of measurement is high.
  Manual errors involved in reading and recording are eliminated.
 Calculation of coordinates is very fast and accurate. Even corrections for
temperature and pressure are automatically made.
 Multiple surveys can be performed in one set-up.
Disadvantages of Total Station:
 It does not provide hard copies of field notes. Hence, it may be difficult for the
surveyor to look over and check the work while surveying.
 For an overall check of the survey, it will be necessary to return to the office and
prepare the drawings using appropriate software.
 Total station should not be used for observations of the sun, without special filters, if
not, the EDM part of the instrument will get damaged.
 The instrument is costly, and for conducting surveys using total station, skilled
personnel are required.

Procedure:
 Place all the equipment in UMT ground.
 To form a traverse, place the tripod at the stations described on the ground.
 Hammer peg at A and mark cross head X for centering.
 At the described point, open the tripod stand by making all the length equal.
 Place the total Station on tripod and place the battery.
 Set the instrument on the ground by centering and levelling.
 Place the prism at different sections of ground and center the prism.
 Press F1 and F2 to go distance mode.
 Turn laser on by pressing F1 again and measure Horizontal Distance, Vertical
Distance and Slope Distance.
 Repeat the process at different points and make a traverse.
POINTS DISTANCE ANGLE
AB 180.459 ft 108°
BC 138.49 ft 148°
CD 112.265 ft 143°20°3°
DE 213.582 ft 146°
EF 394.184 ft 77°

FA 236.232 ft 82°

Comments:
This lab tells us about comprehensive information and the practical application of surveying
instruments that are used by surveyors during the survey.