Lecture-3

Electronic Measurements of Distance

Introduction
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 (Table 10.1).

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.

Fundamental Measurements : Measurements which can be measured directly in the field is known as
fundamental measurements such as distance (horizontal and vertical), angles (horizontal and vertical)
etc.

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 (Figure 10.2).

Figure 10.2 Reflector

Principle of Working of the Instrument

The basic principle of EDM instrument is the determination of time required for electromagnetic waves to travel between two stations. Here the velocity of electro-magnetic wave is the
basis for computations of the distance.

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

in which l = wavelength;
V= velocity of light through the atmosphere, m/s;
f = Modulating frequency, Hz (cycles per second).
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 intervisibility 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 (Figure 10.3) , 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 15kHz 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 (V o
= 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 l is the 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
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.

Ex10-1 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 25 o
C and atmospheric pressure was 751 mm Hg. Calculate the modulated wavelength of the light
under the given atmospheric conditions.
Solution : 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 (l) 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 outlined in Lesson 9.
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 10.4, 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 c r , 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.

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 c 1 ,
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.
Exercise 10
Ex.10-1 List in tabular form the fundamental differences between electro-optical and
electromagnetic distance measuring instruments.
Ex.10-2 List the major systematic errors that affect the observation of EDM system. State
how the errors are m.
Ex.10-3 The modulated frequency for microwave transmission is exactly 10 MHZ at
temperature 15.4 oC atmospheric pressure 645 mm Hg and vapor pressure 3.8 mm Hg.
Calculate the modulated wavelength under this connection.
Answers
For Exercise 10
M3-Ex.10-3 29.97165 m