EDMI

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.
Electronic measurement of distance is being carried out either by using an electrooptical (light wave) device coupled with reflector (also called Laser Range Pole) or by a
pair of electromagnetic (microwaves) instruments.
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 analyse.
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.
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.
Principle of working of 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
= wavelength;
V= velocity of light through the atmosphere, m/s;
f = Modulating frequency, Hz (cycles per second).

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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
inter-visibility 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
(

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Thus, the distance (D) between the stations is

[

where n is the integral number of wavelength, in the double path.

The ambiguity of n is resolved commonly in EDM instruments by employing multiplefrequency 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.
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 (Vo = 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 0 C,
760 mm Hg pressure and 0.03 percent carbon-di-oxide) as given by Barell and Sears
Equation
[

in which is the wavelength of the carrier beam of light in micrometers.

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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 C
e = vapor pressure, mmHg.
For microwave , the refractive index ( nr ) of the atmosphere is,
(

Where p = atmospheric pressure, mmHg

E = Vapor pressure, mmHg
t = temperature, C
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.
Q: An electro-optical instrument utilizing infra-red light with a wavelength of 0.860 mm
has a modulation frequency at 252.6 MHz. At the time of measurement the temperature
was 25 C and atmospheric pressure was 751 mm Hg. Calculate the modulated
wavelength of the light under the given atmospheric conditions?
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

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Thus the modulated wavelength () in given atmosphere is given by

(

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 cr , 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.

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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:

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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 c1 , then the total distance is D+ c1 and the increments
are d 1 + c 1 , d2 + c 1 , .., dn + c 1 . Thus,
(

(
(

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

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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.