INTRODUCTION

Total station is a combination of Electromagnetic

Distance Measuring Instrument and electronic
theodolite. It is also integrated with microprocessor,
electronic data collector and storage system.
It is a modern electronic device that combines the
ability to measure a position horizontally and
vertically at the same time. It has two parts, a
machine mounted on a static tripod, and a 'target'
prism on a metal staff, which is moved around the
site. The instrument can be used to measure
horizontal and vertical angles as well as sloping
distance of object to the instrument.
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 PRINCIPLE
The Total Station is partly based on a principle used in
traditional theodolites, where angles are calculated from
vertical and horizontal 360-degree scales. It combines
these with a device known as an Electronic Distance
Measurer or EDM. This sends out a tiny light signal, which
bounces back from the prism giving a time interval that is
used to calculate distance.
 WORKING
The tripod-mounted machine part is set up at a 'base
station', usually a point from which as much as possible of
the survey area can be seen. Several base stations may be
needed to cover a survey area; it is always best to have at
least two so that some measurements can be taken from
both to test for accuracy. Co-ordinates for the base station
are programmed into the machine (these have to be
calculated before the survey begins) as well as the direction
to grid north and the heights of both the tripod and staff.
The prism is then carried around the site and positioned
vertically at recording points.
The machine part of the Total Station has a lens rather like
a telescopic rifle-sight with cross-hairs which are focused
on the prism. The whole instrument swivels horizontally
and the lens swivels vertically too.
The Total Station has an inbuilt microprocessor that
automatically collects these angle and distance
measurements, calculates the trigonometrical equations and
converts them into grid co-ordinates. Instead of the
surveyor noting these down in a notebook, they are
normally send directly to a data-logger mounted on the
tripod, which can then be downloaded into a computer to
produce a plot.
 CONCLUSION
Total station is used in varieties of fields:
 Mainly used by land surveyors
 Civil engineering
 Archaeologists use to record excavations
 Police use it in crime investigations, private accident re-
constructionists.

ADVANTAGAES(next page)
ADVANTAGES:
 Quick setting of the
instrument on the tripod
using laser plummet,
 Automation of old maps.
 Greater accuracy in area
computation.
 Graphical view of plots
and land for quick
visualization.
 Local language support.
REFERENCE
 WEB SEARCH:
• www.pastperfect.uk.org
• www.postsurvey/totalstation.in
• www.wikipedia.org
• www.linkedin.com
• theconstructor.org

 BOOKS:
• Surveying Vol.-1 by Dr. B C Punmia
Ashok K Jain
Arun K Jain