Ever since man has seen a need to hold their own land, land surveys have been conducted. There were surveying tools that were created in order to measure the land. These went out of fashion until the Middle Age. During this time frame, there was a renewed interest in holding land. The land owners wanted to know exactly how much they had and to make sure that no one was on land that was owned by them.
Many of the land surveying equipment that is used today are very similar to those used for centuries but with some great upgrades. With the age of technology in the middle of its heyday, this equipment is going through some drastic changes. The computer has revolutionized this industry.
Many of the tools of the trade have made their way into our technological advanced age. These tools are still being used in modern day land surveying. One of these popular surveying instruments is the theodolite. This allows for a measurement of both horizontal and vertical measuring. It was used extensively in the nineteen century.
Even as recent as a decade ago, the theodolites, albeit, these were more technologically advanced, were still being used for conducting a wide variety of surveys. There have been many improvements made. One huge improvement is making the theodolite electronic. This has taken on the acronym EDM and it stands for electronic measurement device or total stations. They are not longer the survey tool that they used to be. Many also contain computer components along with the software to run them.
Another piece of land survey equipment that has brought the industry into the computer age is the GPS surveying. GPS is another acronym and it stands for Global Positioning System. Unfortunately this great technology is not as accurate as other type of measuring equipment has been found to be. The length of accurate measurements is not a long as one would think with this type of technology.
This system works by using satellite technology. The image is transmitted by the GPS to the satellite and back again. Data can be lost in the file transfer. There are not many fail safes in place for these mistakes.
Some find that in areas that have a lot of trees, the accuracy is even more affected. This is why the use of total stations is still necessary. This is also why there is still a need for the other types of land survey equipment. Some companies who can afford more detailed surveys will use more than one method to conduct them. This can be done by helicopters which will double check any reading that was conducted at eye level.
It seems that when it comes to land survey equipment, the technology may become more advanced but the tried and true methods are not obsolete. As the industry changes, the methods still hold their roots in technologies of days gone by. These can be used in conjunction with newer technologies to offer the most accurate surveys. All of this is important to know when you work in the industry and want to purchase your own equipment.
