Editing Surveying (section)

==History==
{{see also|History of geodesy|History of cadastre|History of cartography|Topographic map#History}}

===Ancient history===
[[File:Cc&j-fig23--plumb rule.png|upright=0.4|thumb|alt=refer to caption |A plumb rule from the book ''Cassells' Carpentry and Joinery'']]
Surveying has occurred since humans built the first large structures. In [[ancient Egypt]], a [[rope stretcher]] would use 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 {{Circa|2700 BC}}, affirm the Egyptians' command of surveying. The ''[[Groma surveying|groma]]'' instrument may have originated in [[Mesopotamia]] (early 1st millennium BC).<ref>{{citation|title=International Symposium on History of Machines and Mechanisms: Proceedings of HMM 2008|author=Hong-Sen Yan & Marco Ceccarelli|publisher=[[Springer Science+Business Media|Springer]]|year=2009|isbn=978-1-4020-9484-2|page=107}}</ref> The prehistoric monument at [[Stonehenge]] ({{Circa|2500 BC}}) was set out by prehistoric surveyors using peg and rope geometry.<ref>Johnson, Anthony, ''Solving Stonehenge: The New Key to an Ancient Enigma''. (Thames & Hudson, 2008) {{ISBN|978-0-500-05155-9}}</ref>

The mathematician [[Liu Hui]] described ways of measuring distant objects in his work ''[[Haidao Suanjing]]'' or ''The Sea Island Mathematical Manual'', published in 263 AD.

The Romans recognized land surveying as a profession. They established the basic measurements under which the Roman Empire was divided, such as a tax register of conquered lands (300 AD).<ref name="Lewis2001">{{cite book|last=Lewis|first=M. J. T.|title=Surveying Instruments of Greece and Rome|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=1Izau5_ihmsC|access-date=30 August 2012|date=23 April 2001|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=9780521792974}}</ref> Roman surveyors were known as ''[[Gromatici]]''.

In medieval Europe, [[beating the bounds]] maintained the boundaries of a village or parish. This was the practice of gathering a group of residents and walking around the parish or village to establish a communal memory of the boundaries. Young boys were included to ensure the memory lasted as long as possible.

In England, [[William the Conqueror]] commissioned the [[Domesday Book]] in 1086. It recorded the names of all the land owners, the area of land they owned, the quality of the land, and specific information of the area's content and inhabitants. It did not include maps showing exact locations.

===Modern era===
[[File:Table of Surveying, Cyclopaedia, Volume 2.jpg|thumb|left|alt=Printed image of surveying equipment. | Table of Surveying, 1728 ''[[Cyclopaedia, or an Universal Dictionary of Arts and Sciences|Cyclopaedia]]'']]

[[Abel Foullon]] described a [[plane table]] in 1551, but it is thought that the instrument was in use earlier as his description is of a developed instrument.

[[Gunter's chain]] was introduced in 1620 by English mathematician [[Edmund Gunter]]. It enabled plots of land to be accurately surveyed and plotted for legal and commercial purposes.

[[Leonard Digges (scientist)|Leonard Digges]] described a [[theodolite]] that measured horizontal angles in his book ''A geometric practice named Pantometria'' (1571). Joshua Habermel ([[Erasmus Habermehl]]) created a theodolite with a compass and tripod in 1576. Johnathon Sission was the first to incorporate a telescope on a theodolite in 1725.<ref name="turner">Turner, Gerard L'E. ''Nineteenth Century Scientific Instruments'', Sotheby Publications, 1983, {{ISBN|0-85667-170-3}}</ref>

In the 18th century, modern techniques and instruments for surveying began to be used. [[Jesse Ramsden]] introduced the first precision [[theodolite]] in 1787. It was an instrument for measuring [[angle]]s in the horizontal and vertical planes. He created his [[Ramsden theodolite|great theodolite]] using an accurate [[dividing engine]] of his own design. Ramsden's theodolite represented a great step forward in the instrument's accuracy. [[William Gascoigne (scientist)|William Gascoigne]] invented an instrument that used a [[telescope]] with an installed [[crosshair]] as a target device, in 1640. [[James Watt]] developed an optical meter for the measuring of distance in 1771; it measured the [[parallactic angle]] from which the distance to a point could be deduced.

Dutch mathematician [[Willebrord Snellius]] (a.k.a. Snel van Royen) introduced the modern systematic use of [[Triangulation (surveying)|triangulation]]. In 1615 he surveyed the distance from [[Alkmaar]] to [[Breda]], approximately {{convert|72|mi}}. He underestimated this distance by 3.5%. The survey was a chain of quadrangles containing 33 triangles in all. Snell showed how planar formulae could be corrected to allow for the [[curvature of the Earth]]. He also showed how to [[Free stationing|resect]], or calculate, the position of a point inside a triangle using the angles cast between the vertices at the unknown point. These could be measured more accurately than bearings of the vertices, which depended on a compass. His work established the idea of surveying a primary network of control points, and locating subsidiary points inside the primary network later. Between 1733 and 1740, [[Jacques Cassini]] and his son [[César-François Cassini de Thury|César]] undertook the first triangulation of France. They included a re-surveying of the [[meridian arc]], leading to the publication in 1745 of the first map of France constructed on rigorous principles. By this time triangulation methods were well established for local map-making.

[[File:1870 Index Chart to GTS India-1.jpg|thumb|alt=Map of triangulation network covering India.| A map of India showing the Great Trigonometrical Survey, produced in 1870]]

It was only towards the end of the 18th century that detailed triangulation network surveys mapped whole countries. In 1784, a team from General [[William Roy]]'s [[Ordnance Survey]] of Great Britain began the [[Principal Triangulation of Britain]]. The first Ramsden theodolite was built for this survey. The survey was finally completed in 1853. The [[Great Trigonometric Survey]] of India began in 1801. The Indian survey had an enormous scientific impact. It was responsible for one of the first accurate measurements of a section of an arc of longitude, and for measurements of the geodesic anomaly. It named and mapped [[Mount Everest]] and the other Himalayan peaks. Surveying became a professional occupation in high demand at the turn of the 19th century with the onset of the [[Industrial Revolution]]. The profession developed more accurate instruments to aid its work. Industrial infrastructure projects used surveyors to lay out [[canal]]s, roads and rail.

In the US, the [[Land Ordinance of 1785]] created the [[Public Land Survey System]]. It formed the basis for dividing the western territories into sections to allow the sale of land. The PLSS divided states into township grids which were further divided into sections and fractions of sections.<ref name=":0" />

[[Napoleon]] Bonaparte founded [[continental Europe]]'s first [[cadastre]] in 1808. This gathered data on the number of parcels of land, their value, land usage, and names. This system soon spread around Europe.
[[File:Camp of surverying party at Russel's Tank, Arizona, on eastern slope of Laja Range, 1,271 miles from Missouri River. (Boston Public Library) (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|A railroad surveying party at Russel's Tank, [[Arizona Territory|Arizona]], in the 1860s]]
[[Robert Richard Torrens|Robert Torrens]] introduced the [[Torrens system]] in South Australia in 1858. Torrens intended to simplify land transactions and provide reliable titles via a centralized register of land. The Torrens system was adopted in several other nations of the English-speaking world.
Surveying became increasingly important with the arrival of railroads in the 1800s. Surveying was necessary so that railroads could plan technologically and financially viable routes.

===20th century===
[[File:William Francis Ganong surveying Chiefs Mountain.jpg|thumb|[[William Francis Ganong]] surveying in 1903]]
At the beginning of the century, surveyors had improved the older chains and ropes, but they still faced the problem of accurate measurement of long distances. [[Trevor Wadley|Trevor Lloyd Wadley]] developed the [[Tellurometer]] during the 1950s. It measures long distances using two microwave transmitter/receivers.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Sturman|first1=Brian|last2=Wright|first2=Alan|title=The History of the Tellurometer|url=http://www.fig.net/pub/fig2008/papers/hs01/hs01_03_sturman_wright_2833.pdf|publisher=International Federation of Surveyors|access-date=20 July 2014}}</ref>
During the late 1950s [[Geodimeter]] introduced [[electronic distance measurement]] (EDM) equipment.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Cheves |first1=Marc |title=Geodimeter-The First Name in EDM |url=http://www.profsurv.com/magazine/article.aspx?i=394 |access-date=20 July 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140310225310/http://www.profsurv.com/magazine/article.aspx?i=394 |archive-date=10 March 2014 }}</ref> EDM units use a multi frequency phase shift of light waves to find a distance.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Mahun|first1=Jerry|title=Electronic Distance Measurement|url=http://jerrymahun.com/library/Distance/a.htm|website=Jerrymahun.com|access-date=20 July 2014|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140729013241/http://jerrymahun.com/library/Distance/a.htm|archive-date=29 July 2014}}</ref> These instruments eliminated the need for days or weeks of chain measurement by measuring between points kilometers apart in one go.

Advances in electronics allowed miniaturization of EDM. In the 1970s the first instruments combining angle and distance measurement appeared, becoming known as [[total station]]s. Manufacturers added more equipment by degrees, bringing improvements in accuracy and speed of measurement. Major advances include tilt compensators, data recorders and on-board calculation programs.

The first satellite positioning system was the [[US Navy]] [[Transit (satellite)|TRANSIT system]]. The first successful launch took place in 1960. The system's main purpose was to provide position information to [[Polaris missile]] submarines. Surveyors found they could use field receivers to determine the location of a point. Sparse satellite cover and large equipment made observations laborious and inaccurate. The main use was establishing benchmarks in remote locations.

The US Air Force launched the first prototype satellites of the [[Global Positioning System]] (GPS) in 1978. GPS used a larger constellation of satellites and improved signal transmission, thus improving accuracy. Early GPS observations required several hours of observations by a static receiver to reach survey accuracy requirements. Later improvements to both satellites and receivers allowed for [[Real Time Kinematic]] (RTK) surveying. RTK surveys provide high-accuracy measurements by using a fixed base station and a second roving antenna. The position of the roving antenna can be tracked.

===21st century===
The [[theodolite]], [[total station]] and [[Real Time Kinematic|RTK]] [[Global Positioning System|GPS]] survey remain the primary methods in use.

[[Remote sensing]] and satellite imagery continue to improve and become cheaper, allowing more commonplace use. Prominent new technologies include three-dimensional (3D) scanning and [[lidar]]-based topographical surveys. [[Unmanned aerial vehicle|UAV]] technology along with [[photogrammetry|photogrammetric]] image processing is also appearing.