Definition of Engineering survey: it is the activities involved in the planning and execution of surveys for

the location, design, construction and maintenance of engineered projects

ELECTRONIC DISTANCE MEASUREMENT

Introduction

Distance measurement has been previously done by taping, but of late the use of electromagnetic
waves, such instruments being called electromagnetic distance measuring instruments or EDMs has
increasingly become common. The use of EDM equipment has enabled the measurement of distance
over long range and to a higher precision than it is possible when using a tape.

Two groups of instruments can be identified, namely the electronic, or microwave, types and the
electro-optical types. In each case the velocity of the electromagnetic wave in air must be known
precisely for the accurate determination of Distance

To use an EDM the instrument is set over one end of the line to be measured and some form of reflector
is set over the other end, such that the line of sight between the instrument and the reflector is not
obstructed. An electromagnetic wave is transmitted from the instrument to the reflector where part of
it is reflected back to the instrument by comparing the transmitted and the received wave. The
instrument is capable of manipulating the information to compute and display the distance being
measured.

What is an electromagnetic wave?

It is an electrical energy conveyed through a media, i.e. atmosphere. They require no material medium
to support them.

Properties of electromagnetic waves

They are sinusoidal in nature and they form a complete cycle.

The number of times in one second the wave completes a cycle is called frequency.

The wavelength of a wave is the distance between two identical points on the wave or is that length
traversed in one cycle by the wave and is denoted λ.

The time taken by the wave to travel one is known as period.

The velocity of the wave depends on the medium through which it travels in a vacuum. The velocity of
electromagnetic waves is of the speed of light and the speed of light is denoted by c. Where c = 3.0 × 10 8
m/s.

Distance Determination

There are two methods available in the use of microwaves for distance measurement, either pulse
transit times or phase difference being measured.

MEASURING PRINCIPLES.

Electro-magnetic wave
1. Carrier wave

2. Measuring wave

Superimposition: its achieved by

1. Frequency modulation

2. Amplitude modulation

3. Impulse modulation

Frequency modulation

Amplitude is maintained but the carrier wave varies to the frequency of the measuring wave

Amplitude modulation

Frequency of the carrier wave is kept constant but the amplitude of the carrier wave is to match the
fluctuation of the measuring wave
Impulse modulation

Carrier wave is sent in a series of spaced constant amplitude pulses

MEASURING TECHNIQUES

1. Pulse

2. Phase method

1. 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, i.e.

2D = c *t
D = c *t/2

If the time of departure of the pulse from gate A is tA and the time of its reception at gate B is tB, then
(tB − tA) = t.
c = the velocity of light in the medium through which it travelled
D = the distance between instrument and target

2. Phase Difference

It is the difference of the phase angle of the reflected signal and the phase angle of the transmitted
signal. If Ø1 and Ø2 are the phase angles of the transmitted and reflected signals,
EDM ERRORS
Zero error (independent of distance)

Zero error arises from changes in the instrument/reflector constant due to ageing of the instrument or
as a result of repairs.
Cyclic error (varies with distance)

the measurement of the phase difference between the transmitted and received waves enables the
fractional part of the wavelength to be determined. Thus, errors in the measurement of phase
difference will produce errors in the measured distance. Phase errors are cyclic and not proportional to
the distance measured and may be non-instrumental and/or instrumental.
The non-instrumental cause of phase error is spurious signals from reflective objects illuminated by the
beam. Normally the signal returned by the reflector will be sufficiently strong to ensure complete
dominance over spurious reflections. However, care should be exercised when using vehicle reflectors
or reflective material designed for clothing for short-range work.
The main cause of phase error is instrumental and derives from two possible sources. In the first
instance, if the phase detector were to deviate from linearity around a particular phase value, the
resulting error would repeat each time the distance resulted in that phase

Scale error (proportional to distance)

Scale errors in EDM instruments are largely due to the fact that the oscillator is temperature dependent.
The quartz crystal oscillator ensures the frequency ( f ) remains stable to within ±5 ppm over an
operational temperature range of –20◦C to 50◦C. The modulation frequency can, however, vary from its
nominal value due to incorrect factory setting, ageing of the crystal and lack of temperature
stabilization. Most modern short-range instruments have temperature-compensated crystal oscillators
which have been shown to perform well. However, warm-up effects have been shown to vary from 1 to
5 ppm during the first hour of operation. Diode errors also cause scale error, as they could result in the
emitted wavelength being different from its nominal value.

Other sources

Escentricty

These errors may arise from the manner in which the EDM is mounted with respect to the transit axis of
the total station and the type of prism used. Incase of a telescope mounted EDM the correction can be
applied. In total station no correction is applied since the EDM in mounted co- axially with the axis of
the telescope

Effect of Atmospheric Conditions

All electromagnetic waves travel with the same velocity in a vacuum. The velocity of the waves is
reduced when travelling through atmosphere due to retarding effect of atmosphere. Moreover, the
velocity does not remain constant due to changes in the atmospheric conditions

Atmospheric corrections

Refractive Index Ratio

The refractive index ratio is the ratio of the velocity of electromagnetic waves in vacuum to that in
atmosphere.

ERRORS, CHECKING AND CALIBRATION

Checking is concerned with verifying that the instrument is performing within acceptable tolerances

Calibration is the process of estimating the parameters that need to be applied to correct actual
measurements to their true values.