Land surveyors once used tape measures and transits to measure distances and positions. Since the 1980s, electronic distance measurement, or EDM, devices have allowed for much more efficient and accurate measurements. These work with a wave of energy that's shot between the EDM instrument and a reflector. The time the beam takes to return is then calculated as distance. Today, such calculations can be done using sophisticated GPS systems.

The Global Positioning System runs on the network of satellites to precisely pinpoint the device's location on Earth at at any time. GPS uses the principle of trilateration, utilizing the location of several satellites to pinpoint a precise location. A receiver can determine the latitude, longitude, and elevation of a point using four or more satellites; there are always a total of 24 Global Positioning System satellites currently used. First created by the U.S. https://www.cvhomemag.com/design-defined-industrial-style/ of Defense as a navigational assist in 1994, today it is found in many devices, tracking from cell phones and delivery vehicles to the movement of the tectonic plates of Earth's crust.

Land surveyors use Global Position Systems to notice the precise coordinates of spatial locations. Exact measurement of the positions is among the fundamental elements of land surveying. The advantage of is that it's a lot more accurate than hand-measuring these locations. There's some degree of error in all land surveying measurements, because of human errors, environmental characteristics like variations in magnetic fields, temperature, and gravity, and instrument errors. GPS permits much more precise measurements than previously available to land surveyors using measuring tape and an angle sight.

Another benefit of the usage of its use as a land surveyor is that the coordinates can be located precisely, while other ways of land surveying rely on measurements from other known locations, like the edge of the property line, the corner of a house, or another landmark. These locations could change over time, such as in case a house is torn down or another obstacle is made between your structure and the measured point; a good surveyor's stake may be removed prior to the land is re-surveyed. The coordinate of confirmed location on Earth, however, remains the same. Therefore, using GPS as a land surveyor produces measurements which will be accurate regardless of what happens to the encompassing land.


Although Global Position System receivers enable very precise measurements, there is still a qualification of error involved. A receiver on a tripod will record the location slightly differently each and every time; when many measurements are taken, these data points will form a cluster round the actual location. Better-quality receivers, of course, reduce this amount of error. Survey-grade receivers, rather than those designed for non-surveying uses, may produce a band of measurements clustered within just one centimeter of the specific location. Today's receivers are steadily gaining in use, but might not be as accurate because the surveyor want, especially in areas that are heavily wooded or which have other large obstructions. However, the technology is rapidly advancing and gaining a foothold in the available equipment for land surveyors. Since 1994, the accuracy available when working with GPS units has improved steadily.