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

The Global Positioning System runs on the network of satellites to precisely pinpoint the device's location on the planet at any moment. GPS uses the principle of trilateration, using the location of several satellites to pinpoint a precise location. A receiver can determine the latitude, longitude, and elevation of a spot using four or even more satellites; there are always a total of 24 Global Positioning System satellites currently used. First developed by the U.S. Department of Defense as a navigational aid in 1994, today it really is found in many devices, tracking everything from mobile phones and delivery vehicles to the movement of the tectonic plates of Earth's crust.

Land surveyors use Global Position Systems to note the precise coordinates of spatial locations. Exact measurement of the positions is probably the fundamental elements of land surveying. The advantage of is that it's a lot more accurate than hand-measuring these locations. There is some extent 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 open to land surveyors using measuring tape and an angle sight.

Another benefit of the use 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, such as the edge of the property line, the corner of a house, or another landmark. These locations could change as time passes, such as if a house is torn down or another obstacle is made between your structure and the measured point; a good surveyor's stake could be removed before the land is re-surveyed. The coordinate of confirmed location on Earth, however, remains the same. Therefore, using https://surveyorsyorkshire.co.uk/best-utility-surveys-yorkshire/ as a land surveyor produces measurements which will be accurate whatever happens to the surrounding land.


Although Global Position System receivers enable very precise measurements, there's still a qualification of error involved. A receiver on a tripod will record the positioning slightly differently each 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 meant 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 as the surveyor want, especially in areas which 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 using GPS units has improved steadily.