Electronic Distance

Measurement
P.Padma Rao,
Assistant Professor
Vignan’S Univeristy
Vadlamudi
 Syllabus
• ELECTORNIC DISTANCE MEASUREMENTS:
Basic concepts, Classification of Electronic
Radiation, Basic principle of Electronic
Distance Measurement, Computing the
distance from the phase differences, Electronic
Total Station, Types, Measurement, Recording,
Traversing, Data retrieval, Instrumental errors
in EDM.
 Introduction
• Electronic distance measurement can be done by
instruments like geodimeter, tellurometer or
distomat etc. The first EDM instrument called
geodimeter was developed in Sweden in the year
1948. Geodimeter is geodetic distance meter
developed based on a modulated light beam.
• The second instrument for EDM was designed and
developed in Africa in the year 1957, named
tellurometer. This instrument employs modulated
microwaves.
 Cont…
• As years passed technology has improved drastically.
At present, we have modern EDMs that displays
distance in digital form and many gains
microcomputers that calculates horizontal and vertical
distance i.e. DX and DY. They also show sloped
distance (DH).
• Electronic distance measurement equipments are
incorporated along with theodolites that possess
automatic angle readout called as total station
(electronic tacheometers) also called as field to finish
systems. These record distance and angles
simultaneously.
 Need of EDM
• Direct measurement of distance using tape is
difficult when the terrain is rough or the site is
congested. Indirect measurement of distance using
optical method is not suitable for high accuracy
measurement. Thus, to obtain high accuracy
measurement in difficult terrain or for long
distance, measurements are taken electronically.
 Instruments
• Electronic measurement of distance is being
carried out either by using an electro-optical
(light wave) device coupled with reflector
(also called Laser Range Pole) or by a pair of
electromagnetic (microwaves) instruments.
 EDM Instrument
• It is usually an integrated unit called EDMI (Electronic
distance - measuring instrument) consisting of an
electro-wave generator, an oscillator, a modulator, a
transmitter, and a receiver etc. The type, range and
accuracy of an EDM instrument depend on the type of
carrier waves it can generate and subsequently can
transmit, receive and analyze.
• An EDM instrument generally gets mounted in the
framework of an electronic theodolite. The net result is
a single instrument termed as total station (Figure 10.1)
which can be used to measure all the fundamental
measurements involved in surveying.
Reflector
• It consists of one or more corner cube prisms
in which the sides are perpendicular to each
other in order to get back incident light
reflected parallel to itself
 Classification of Electronic Radiation

• Generally,electro magnetic
radiation is classified by wavelength into
radio wave, microwave, tera hertz (or sub-
millimeter) radiation, infrared, the visible
region that is perceived as light, ultraviolet, X-
rays and gamma rays.
 Classification of EDMI

• EDMI can be classified on the basis of three

parameters (Schoffield, 2001; Kavanagh, 2003):
(i) wave length used
(ii) working range
(iii) achievable accuracy
 Classification on the basis of
wavelength
• Present generation EDMIs use the following
types of wavelengths (Schoffield, 2001):
Infrared
Laser
Microwaves
The first two types of systems are also known
as electro-optical whereas the third category is
also called the electronic system.
 Electro-optical Systems
• Infrared: Systems employing these frequencies
allow use of optical corner reflectors (special
type of reflectors to return the signal, explained
later) but need optically clear path between two
stations. These systems use transmitter at one
end of line and a reflecting prism or target at the
other end.
• Laser: These systems also use transmitter at
one end of line and may or may not use a
reflecting prism or target at the other end.
However, the reflector less laser instruments are
used for short distances (100 m to 350 m).
These use light reflected off the feature to be
measured (say a wall).
 Electronic System
• Microwave
• These systems have receiver/transmitter at both ends
of measured line. Microwave instruments are often
used for hydrographic surveys normally up to 100 km.
Hydrographic EDMIs have generally been replaced
by Global Positioning System (GPS).
• These can be used in adverse weather conditions
(such as fog and rain) unlike infrared and laser
systems. However, uncertainties caused by varying
humidity over measurement length may result in
lower accuracy and prevent a more reliable estimate
of probable accuracy.
 Cont…
• Existence of undesirable reflections and signal
leakage from transmitter to the receiver requires
the use of another transmitter at the remote
station (also called the slave station). The slave
station is operated at different carrier frequency in
order to separate two signals. This additional
transmitter and receiver add to weight of
equipment. Multipath effects at microwave
frequency also add to slight distance error which
can be reduced by taking series of measurements
using different frequency.
 Classification on the basis of
range
• EDMIs are also available as: long range radio
wave equipment for ranges up to 100 km
• medium range microwave equipment with
frequency modulation for ranges up to 25 km
• short range electro-optical equipment using
amplitude modulated infra-red or visible light for
ranges up to 5 km
 Classification on the basis of
accuracy
• Accuracy of EDMI is generally stated in terms of constant
instruments error and measuring error proportional to the
distance being measured: ± (a mm + b ppm).
• The first part in this expression indicates a constant instrument
error that is independent of the length of the line measured.
• The second component is the distance related error.
• Here, a is a result of errors in phase measurements (θ) and
zero error (z), whereas b results from error in modulation
frequency (f) and the group refractive index (ng). The term
group index pertains to the refractive index for a combination
of waves- carrier wave and multiple modulated waves in
EDMI. θ and z are independent of distance but f and ng are
functions of distance and are expressed as (Schoffield, 2001):
In above equations, σ indicates the standard error. Most EDMI
have accuracy levels from ± (3 mm + 1 ppm) to ± (10 mm +
10 ppm). For short distances, part a is more significant; for
long distances b will have large contribution. Table 1.1 lists
details of a few EDMIs
Example: Parts per million can be used to express the likely
error in a measurement as in an instrument specification e.g.,
2mm + 3ppm for an EDM
 Selected electronic distance measuring
instruments (Anderson and Mikhail, 1998)

• Selected EDM.xls
 Principle of Working of the
Instrument
• The basic principle of EDM instrument is the
determination of time required for electro-
magnetic waves to travel between two stations.
Here the velocity of electro-magnetic wave is
the basis for computations of the distance.
 Various EDMIs in use are based on
two methods:
using timed pulse techniques such as those
used in variety of radar instruments.
using measurements of a phase
difference which may be equated to one part
of a cycle expressed in units of time or length.
• Pulse methods have advantages over the
phase difference methods but their weight
and power requirement is such that they
cannot be classed lightweight portable
instruments.
 Pulse techniques
• All such measurements incorporate a very
precise measurement of time usually expressed
in units of nanoseconds (1x10-9s), which a EM
wave takes to travel from one station to another.
In this method, a short, intensive pulse radiation
is transmitted to a reflector target, which is
immediately transmitted back to the receiver.
The distance (D) is computed as the velocity of
light (V) multiplied by half the time (Δt/2) the
pulse took to travel back to the receiver (D = V x
Δt/2).
• ..\Downloads\heart pulse test.mp4
Principle of EDMI based on pulse measurement (Schoffield, 2002)
 Phase difference techniques
The phase difference of a sine wave can be defined
as “The time interval by which a wave leads by or
lags by another wave” and the phase difference is
not a property of only one wave, it’s the relative
property to two or more waves. This is also called as
“Phase angle” or “Phase offset”.
The phase difference represented by the Greek letter
Phi (Φ). The complete phase of a waveform can be
defined as 2π radians or 360 degrees.
 Phase difference techniques
• The relationship between wavelength and
associated phase difference can be illustrated
by the Figure 1.5 which shows that for a
given complete cycle of EM wave, the phase
difference can be expressed both in terms of
angular (degrees) and linear (fraction of
wavelengths) units. In phase difference
method used by majority of EDMI, the
instrument measures the amount δλ by which
the reflected signal is out of phase with the
emitted signal (Figure 1.6).
• ..\Downloads\Sinusoid - Wave-form - Phase
Difference - 90 Degrees to 360 .mp4
EDM Instrument and their features
• http://nptel.ac.in/courses/105107122/modules/
module3/htmlpage/table3.htm
• https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frequency_modu
lation
• ..\Downloads\Amplitude Modulation and
Frequency Modulation.mp4
Where m is unknown integer number of complete wavelengths
contained within double distance, Φ; is the measured phase
difference and λ is modulation wavelength, and k is constant.
Multiple modulation frequencies are used to evaluate m ,
the ambiguity .
 Principle of Working of Electro -
Optical EDM Instrument
• An Electro - optical EDM instrument, set up
on one station, emits a continuous-wave carrier
beam of light. It is generated in the transmitter
and modulated by an electronic shutter before
entering the aiming optics. The modulator
chops the beam into wavelengths that are
proportional to the modulating frequency,
where the wavelength is given by
 Cont…

in which ʎ = wavelength;
V= velocity of light through the atmosphere, m/s;
f = Modulating frequency, Hz (cycles per second).
..\Downloads\Frequency, Wavelength, and the
Speed of Light a video course.mp4
..\Downloads\EDM Part 1.mp4
• The modulated light is transmitted to the reflector,
placed at the other end of the line. The reflector, acting
as a mirror, reflects the light beam back to the receiver,
where the incoming light is converted to an electrical
signal. A phase comparison is made between the
projected and reflected pulses. Then the amount by
which the transmitted and received signals are out of
phase get measured electronically and registered in a
meter by getting converted to an equivalent distance.
• In using an Electro - optical EDM, a clear line of sight
is required and thus required inter-visibility between the
stations.
 Working of Electro-magnetic EDM
Instrument
• Electromagnetic (microwaves) EDM instrument
transmit high-frequency microwave. The measurement
involves two interchangeable instruments, one being set
up on each end of the line to be measured. The sending
instrument transmits a series of microwaves which run
through the circuitry of the receiving unit and are
retransmitted to the original sending unit, which
measures the phase difference between the transmitted
and received signal. The net phase difference gets
converted to linear distance.
• In this case the inter visibility between stations is not
required; however, an unobstructed measured path
between stations is necessary.
 Principle of Measurement of
Distance using EDM
• In order to measure the distance between stations
A and B, let an EDM be placed at A and a
reflector be at B. The modulated beam
transmitted from A travels to B and returns back.
Let the received signal is out of phase from the
transmitted signal by f, as measured by a phase
meter. The equivalent linear distance, d is
• Thus, the distance (D) between the stations is

• where n is the integral number of wavelength, l in the

double path.
• The ambiguity of n is resolved commonly in EDM
instruments by employing multiple-frequency technique
based on decade modulation. It is usually built into the
EDM device, permitting automatic determination of n
and thus a direct readout of the distance.
 Decade Modulation Technique
• In decade modulation, a number of frequencies in
a multiple of 10 are generally used. The phase
difference for each frequency and thus equivalent
distance is determined separately and finally the
total distance is computed.
• Let us consider a modulation frequency of 15
MHz has been set up in the instrument, resulting
in a half wavelength of 10 m.
• Thus, a full sweep of the phase meter represents 10
m distance i.e., the phase-meter provides reading in
unit meters and its decimal part and thus the range
of the measured distance is from 0 to 9.999 m. For
example, in a distance of, say, 4567.123 m, this
frequency would provide the distance 7.123 m.
• Switching down to 1.5 MHz, the half wavelength
is now 100m, which is resolved by the phase
meter to give the tens of metres i.e., reading
ranging from 10 to 90 m. In this example 60 (6
tens). The next frequency is then 0.15 MHz,
which in conjunction with the phase meter, gives
the hundreds of metres. In this instance it is 500
(5 hundreds). Finally, a 15-kHz frequency will
give the number of thousand metres in the
distance, which in this instance is 4000 (4
thousands). Thus, total distance is 7.123 + 60 +
500 + 4000 = 4567.123 m.
 Errors in EDM Measurement
• The systematic errors prevalent in EDM
measurements are due to the effects of
atmospheric conditions on wave velocity,
uncertainties in the position of the
electrical centre of the transmitter,
uncertainties in the effective centre (s) of
the reflector (s) and contribution from
transmitter nonlinearity.
 Atmospheric Error
• The velocity V of electromagnetic waves in
air is a function of the speed of light in
vacuum (Vo = 299,792.5 Km / s) and the
refractive index (n) of air and is given by
• Thus velocity of the modulated waves get
altered as atmospheric conditions vary
resulting in corresponding change in the
modulated wavelength and hence the basic
measuring unit of the EDM instruments. The
refractive indices of electromagnetic waves in
air are functions of air temperature,
atmospheric pressure and the partial
pressure of water vapor. But, light waves and
microwaves react somewhat differently to
varying atmospheric conditions.
• For light wave, the index of refraction ng of
standard air (i.e., for an atmosphere at 0o C,
760 mm Hg pressure and 0.03 percent carbon-
di-oxide) as given by Barell and Sears
Equation
•

in which is the ʎ wavelength of the carrier beam of light in

micrometers.
• Owing to changes in temperature pressure
and humidity the refractive index of air
becomes na, is given by

Where p = atmospheric pressure in mm Hg

t = temperature in oC
e = vapor pressure, mmHg.
• For microwave , the refractive index ( n r ) of
the atmosphere is

Where p = atmospheric pressure, mmHg

e= Vapor pressure, mmHg
t = temperature, oC
 Cont…
• The method of correcting the obscured distance
to account for varying atmospheric conditions is
achieved through recording of temperature and
atmospheric pressure at each end of the line.
Once the meteorological data are recorded,
corrections to observed distances are carried out
either by calculating through charts and
nomographs provided with the instrument or by
dialing in the parameters for automatic
compensation during measurement. In case of,
microwave EDM, the partial pressure of water
vapor is also determined along with temperature
and atmospheric pressure.
• An electro-optical instrument utilizing infra-
red light with a wavelength of 0.860 m m
has a modulation frequency at 252.6 MHZ.
At the time of measurement the
temperature was 25o C and atmospheric
pressure was 751 mm Hg. Calculate the
modulated wavelength of the light under
the given atmospheric conditions.
• For light wave, the index of refraction ng of
standard air is
• Neglecting the second term, the refractive index of
air, owing to changes in temperature pressure and
humidity, becomes na and is given by
• The velocity of the infrared light (va) through the
atmosphere is given by
• Thus the modulated wavelength (ʎ) in given
atmosphere is given by
 Slope Correction
• For short lines of lengths less than 3 Km in
length and/or vertical angles of less than 5°,
EDM slope distances corrected for
meteorological conditions and system
constants can be reduced to horizontal with the
usual slope correction equations as
• If the measured line is very long and slope
angle is more than 5°, the slope distance
measured using EDM gets reduced to
horizontal distance by some other complex
method which is beyond the scope of this
course.
 Ground Reflection
• Electromagnetic waves traveling from transmitter
and back to receiver usually have strong
reflections from the intervening terrain
specifically if it is smooth and free of coarse
vegetation. The reflection is more from water
surface along the path, if any. It is more
prevalent in microwave EDM. As reflected waves
travel along longer path, it causes error in the
measurement of observed distance. In order to
eliminate/reduce this error, a series of readings
are taken, each at different frequency, from both
ends of the line at the beginning and end of each
measurement. The average of all the readings
provides the measurement of the distance.
 Reflector Offset
• The effective centre of the reflector does not lie on the vertical
line passing through the station point on which reflector is
being held. This is due to the refractive index of the prism
glass causing equivalent air distance through which light
travels more than the actual distance traveled. With reference
to Figure, the distance through which the light travels in the
glass cube during retro reflection is a+b+c, which is equal to
2t. The equivalent air distance through the light travels is
1.57X 2t on account of the refractive index of the glass. The
effective centre of the corner cube is at R and represents the
end of the line. Thus, an error cr , known as reflector offset,
gets introduced and needs to be subtracted from the measured
distance of the line. The reflector offset is effectively
eliminated by advancing the electrical centre of the EDM by a
corresponding amount during manufacture.
• http://nptel.ac.in/courses/105107122/modules/module3
/htmlpage/fig10_4.htm
• When slope distances are measured, light rays striking
the reflector are not perpendicular to the front face of
the reflector and thus altering the path of the rays
within the reflector and changing the position of the
effective centre. Given the angle of slope, corrections
can be calculated to compensate for this error. Some
reflectors are designed with an adjustment allowing the
front face of the reflector placed perpendicular to the
incoming rays of light compensating for the error
instrumentally.
• Correction of this type is necessary for high
precision survey where slope angles are
consistently large.
 Instrumental Errors
• Systematic instrumental errors occurring in electro-
optical systems include uncertainties in the position of
the electrical centre of the transmitter, uncertainties in
the effective centre of the reflector, frequency drift, and
instrument nonlinearity. The first two sources of errors
must be taken into account in all survey measurements,
the third requires monitoring and the fourth is critical only
for measurements of high precision.
• Microwave systems are affected by uncertainties in the
electrical centres of the master and remote units and by
a phenomenon called ground swing or reflection.
• The EDM systems properly adjusted at the factory, the
errors noted above will be very small and in a practical
sense may be insignificant. However, it is important that
users of these systems carry out periodic calibration of
the instruments against a known distance and is
absolutely necessary to ensure consistent results.
 Instrument Offset
• If the electric centre of the instrument does
not lie along its plumb line, a constant
systematic error gets introduced in each
measurement. This is known as
instrument offset.
 Calibration of EDM
• A precisely measured base line is required to
find the instrument constant of an EDM. In
determining the instrument constant, repeated
measurements (say 10 to 15) of the base line
are be taken using the EDM. Meteorological
data during measurement should be gathered
with extreme care. The average of the EDM
measurements corrected for meteorological
conditions and for slope of the line should agree
with the length of the base line. The difference
between the two measurements represents the
instrument offset.
• If a reliable baseline is not available and if it is not
feasible to measure a line, instrument offset is
calculated by measuring a line of unknown length in
several sections. Let the distance D be divided into
arbitrary increments d1 , d2 , ….., dn (having atleast n
=2) (Figure 10.5). Measure the total length of the line
using EDM and then measure each segment
separately. All distances are to be corrected for
meteorological conditions and slope. Let the
instrument offset be c1 , then the total distance is D+
c1 and the increments are d 1 + c 1 , d2 + c 1 , ….., dn +
c 1 . Thus
• D+ c1 = ( d 1 + c1 )+( d2 + c 1 )+ …..+( dn + c 1)
 Frequency Offset
• The tuned frequency of the electromagnetic waves may
not be exact as required. An error in the frequency of
modulated waves produces an error in the scale of
electronic measurement of distance. For example, if the
correct modulated frequency is 10 MHz and if the actual
frequency departs from this by 10 Hz, a relative error of
1 ppm affects each measurement.
• The frequencies can be checked by using a frequency
counter. A frequency check is required to be performed
at regular intervals, particularly for high-order surveys or
when surveys with very long lines are being performed.
Otherwise, if the EDM is checked against a known
distance, applying corrections for instrument and
reflector offsets, meteorological conditions, and slope, a
frequency shift can be detected.
•
 Non-Linearity of EDM Systems
• As the length a line goes on increasing, the error in
measurement of distance using EDM repeatedly changes to
a maximum and a minimum value non-linearly. This non-
linearity of error in measurement is determined by making
use of a series of stations placed at precise intervals. The
distance between the first and the last point at which
reflector has been placed should be at least equivalent to
the half wavelength of maximum modulated frequency.
Readings are taken from a single instrument setup placing
reflectors at successive points. A plot of distance versus
correction provides the correction for measurement of
distance.
• In most EDM, factory calibration is performed so that the
average non-linearity and true distance coincide. However,
calibration for non-linearity is needed when it is being used
for high precision projects.