Investigation into the effect of materials and angle of incidence on reflectorless measurements

Becker, Keegan (2018) Investigation into the effect of materials and angle of incidence on reflectorless measurements. [USQ Project]


Abstract

This research project investigates the effectiveness and accuracy of reflectorless total station measurements in different test conditions, replicating situations which encountered within the field of the professional surveyor. The equipment used within this research includes the Trimble S7 RTS and Leica TP1200+ RTS.

This research will reveal potential measurement errors of different target materials and changing angle of incidence. This will allow understanding within the professional surveying community in regards to these potential errors to minimise the impact these will have in real life scenarios.

This project will assess different target materials representing common target construction material encountered daily in the field, as well as the impact of different angle of incidence. Conditions under investigation include angle of incidence of 0⁰, 22.5⁰, 45⁰, 60⁰, -60⁰, -45⁰ and -22.5⁰, along with materials of softwood, hardwood, aluminium, normal brick and rendered brick which were painted white.

The increase of the angle of incidence was shown to produce inaccurate results outside the range of the manufacturers’ suggested tolerance of +/- 2mm and therefore place limitations on the reliability of results obtained of angles of 45⁰ or greater. The negative angles of incidence are also not to be relied upon within the field as all negative test conditions produced results outside the stated manufacturer’s tolerance.

The materials under investigation played a role in increasing measurement errors, however did not provide systematic errors.

This potential for errors is important for the surveying professional to understand, as when there are occasions requiring precise measurements within the manufacturer’s specified tolerance it may not be appropriate to obtain these results through reflector‐less observations. Further research should be obtained to determine the likelihood of potential errors associated with REDM under different scenarios in order for the surveyor to obtain precise, reliable data.


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Item Type: USQ Project
Item Status: Live Archive
Faculty/School / Institute/Centre: Historic - Faculty of Health, Engineering and Sciences - School of Civil Engineering and Surveying (1 Jul 2013 - 31 Dec 2021)
Supervisors: Smith, Jessica
Qualification: Bachelor of Spatial Science (Honours) (Surveying)
Date Deposited: 30 Aug 2022 04:18
Last Modified: 27 Jun 2023 04:45
Uncontrolled Keywords: reflectorless measurements; effectiveness; accuracy
URI: https://sear.unisq.edu.au/id/eprint/40693

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