Robots in surveying.

With the rapid advancements in technology over the last 50 years, the Surveyor’s toolkit has greatly expanded. Traditional methods of land measurement involved the use of theodolites to determine angles and tapes and chains to measure distances, and these techniques continue to be in use in some circumstances. The 1960’s and 70’s brought the use common use of infrared technology to measure long distances accurately, and quickly this technology was incorporated into theodolites resulting in “total station” instruments. Electronic distance measurements (EDM) originally required the use of a high quality prism to enable the reflection of the infrared beam back to the source to allow the distance to be calculated. Modern technology allows these beams to be bounced back of most hard objects without the use of a prism. More recent innovations has seen the production of robotic total stations. These enable the total station to automatically follow the path of a prism as a technician moves from one position to another, and a remote controller records the position of the prism. This technology, along with GPS, allows for much faster capture of data, allowing Birch Surveyors to provide better services for our clients.