Surveying
Surveying determines positions for maps, boundaries, and construction.
Surveying is the technique, profession, art, and science of determining the terrestrial positions of points based on the distances and angles between them. These points are usually on the surface of the Earth and are used to establish maps and boundaries for ownership, locations, construction, or other purposes required by government or civil law. A professional in land surveying is called a land surveyor.
- field
- Land surveying
- known_for
- Determining terrestrial positions, establishing maps and boundaries, supporting construction and legal land ownership
- defining_organization
- International Federation of Surveyors
Lore & Background
Surveying has occurred since humans built the first large structures. In ancient Egypt, a rope stretcher used simple geometry to re-establish boundaries after the annual floods of the Nile River. The almost perfect squareness and north–south orientation of the Great Pyramid of Giza, built c. The groma instrument may have originated in Mesopotamia (early 1st millennium BC). The prehistoric monument at Stonehenge (c. In the 18th century, modern techniques and instruments for surveying began to be used. It named and mapped Mount Everest and the other Himalayan peaks. During the late 1950s Geodimeter introduced electronic distance measurement (EDM) equipment. In the 1970s the first instruments combining angle and distance measurement appeared, becoming known as total stations. The first satellite positioning system was the US Navy TRANSIT system.
Reader's Guide
Surveying has been an element in the development of the human environment since the beginning of recorded history. It is used in the planning and execution of most forms of construction, as well as in transportation, communications, mapping, and the definition of legal boundaries for land ownership. It is an important tool for research in many other scientific disciplines. The International Federation of Surveyors defines the surveyor as a professional who determines, measures and represents land, three-dimensional objects, point-fields and trajectories; assembles and interprets land and geographically related information; uses that information for planning and efficient administration of land, sea and structures; and conducts research into these practices. Surveyors work with elements of geodesy, geometry, trigonometry, regression analysis, physics, engineering, metrology, programming languages, and the law. Their equipment includes total stations, robotic total stations, theodolites, GNSS receivers, retroreflectors, 3D scanners, lidar sensors, radios, inclinometers, handheld tablets, optical and digital levels, subsurface locators, drones, GIS, and surveying software.
Did You Know?
- The first satellite positioning system was the US Navy TRANSIT system.
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