History Of Surveying Equipment – Part 3

Continuing from – Part 2

Transit – The transit was a sort of improved compass with telescope attached to it. With this device, there was no need for needle when measuring the angles between points. The angles were measured with perfect accuracy. This device was considered as one of the most important surveying tools in the United States.

Solar Compass – William Austin Burt developed the solar compass in 1853. The solar compass allowed surveyors to determine the true North direction with perfect accuracy. This surveying equipment was made of brass and had a solar attachment. The surveyors could determine the north direction by a reference to the Sun instead of referencing to the north pole. The solar compass was also used for measuring horizontal angles just like the transit.

Gunter’s Chain – The Gunter’s Chain is a measuring device which is mainly used for land surveying purposes. It has been invented and developed by the English mathematician Edmund Gunter. The Gunter’s chain is divided in 100 links. The process of surveying a land or field by using a Gunter’s chain starts first by determining the corners and other significant locations and then measuring the distance between them. One hundred links of the chain is approximately 20 meters in length.

Geodimeter – The geodimeter was developed in 1953 in Sweden by Erik Bergstrand. It was the very first EDM device that was designed to use laser beams or radio frequencies in order to measure the distance between points. This revolutionary piece of surveying equipment reduced the time for completing various surveying tasks and jobs from weeks to several hours.

Total Station – The total station was developed in the 80’s, and is since a standard piece of surveying equipment for every modern surveyor. It is a modern electronic or optical device which is used in almost every surveying or construction project. It is actually an electronic theodolite equipped with electronic distance meter.

Global Positioning Systems (GPS) – The GPS or the Global Positioning System is a space based navigation system which is supported by 24 satellites orbiting into the Earth’s atmosphere. The GPS is widely used today in the surveying processes because it provides accurate and precise data and because it is not affected by weather conditions.

3-D Laser Scanner – The 3D laser scanner is very useful device that uses laser beams in order to probe the material or the subject. This state of art laser levelling equipment today is frequently used in various surveying projects and tasks.