Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) is an electronic/optical instrument used for surveying and building construction. The total station is an electronic theodolite (transit) integrated with an electronic distance measurement (EDM) to read slope distances from the instrument to a particular point, and an on-board computer to collect data and perform advanced coordinate based calculations.
Robotic total stations allow the operator to control the instrument from a distance via remote control. This eliminates the need for an assistant staff member as the operator holds the reflector and controls the total station from the observed point.
Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) Angle measurement
Most Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) instruments measure angles by means of electro-optical scanning of extremely precise digital bar-codes etched on rotating glass cylinders or discs within the instrument. The best quality total stations are capable of measuring angles to 0.5 arc-second. Inexpensive “construction grade” total stations can generally measure angles to 5 or 10 arc-seconds.
Distance measurement
Measurement of distance is accomplished with a modulated infrared carrier signal, generated by a small solid-state emitter within the instrument’s optical path, and reflected by a prism reflector or the object under survey. Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) The modulation pattern in the returning signal is read and interpreted by the computer in the total station. The distance Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) is determined by emitting and receiving multiple frequencies, and determining the integer number of wavelengths to the target for each frequency. Most total stations use purpose-built glass corner cube prism reflectors for the EDM signal. A typical total station can measure distances with an accuracy of about 1.5 millimeters (0.0049 ft) + 2 parts per million over a distance of up to 1,500 meters (4,900 ft).
Reflectorless Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) can measure distances to any object that is reasonably light in color, up to a few hundred meters.
Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) Data processing
Some models Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) include internal electronic data storage to record distance, horizontal angle, and vertical angle measured, while other models are equipped to write these measurements to an external data collector, such as a hand-held computer.
When data is downloaded from a total station onto a computer, application software can be used to compute results and generate a map of the surveyed area. The newest generation of Total Station Surveying (Onsite Training) can also show the map on the touch-screen of the instrument immediately after measuring the points.
