OPTICAL DISTANCE MEASUREMENT (TACHEOMETRY)

ODM is a technique of measuring distances by optical means without necessarily holding a tape.
The general term for such measurements is tacheometry which means “speedy measurement”.

Distances both vertical and horizontal are measured by using the optical properties of the
telescope. This overcomes the laborious and time consuming procedures associated with taping.

There are many systems of tacheometry but in each system the theodolite measures a small
angle, the parallactic angle, to a short baseline defined on a staff held either horizontally or
vertically. The distance between theodolite and staff is then a function of the parallactic angle.
There are two possible alternatives
 The baseline can remain constant and measure only the parallactic angle.
 The parallactic angle can be constant and measure the baseline.

Systems of tacheometry
 Tangential system
 Stadia tacheometry
 Subtense bar tacheometry
 Optical wedge system

Summary
Parallactic angle Staff position Tacheometric system
Variable Vertical Tangential
Fixed Vertical Stadia
Variable Horizontal Subtense bar
Fixed Horizontal Optical wedge.

Stadia tacheometry
This is the simplest surviving form of ODM, it uses an ordinary theodolite or a level with a
leveling staff. The parallactic angle is kept fixed and is defined by short black lines called stadia
hairs, marked on the diaphragm of theodolite or level telescopes. The distance between the stadia
hairs is fixed and is called the stadia interval.

Image of staff
Stadia interval
Stadia hairs

Figure 1: stadia hairs

Principle
C

cc
A α b B S
e
f
D E

Figure 2: the principle of stadia hair tacheometry

The staff intercept, S, varies with distance D between the instrument and staff. c, e, are stadia
hairs each side of the main cross-hair b and they define the parallactic angle .

By similar triangles (ACE & Ace);

Where ce = i =stadia interval
Ab = f =focal length of the object lens
CE = S =staff intercept
AB = D =horizontal distance between instrument and staff

,
For a particular instrument, the ratio is a constant called the multiplying constant K
Hence
Equation 1 is basically correct for horizontal sights taken with any modern instrument. A more
detailed approach to stadia tacheometry with the line of sight horizontal is illustrated below:

d f
c c’

O P B S

e e’
E
D

Vertical axis of instrument Staff

In the figure above,

f is the focal length of the objective lens
d, the distance from the objective lens to the center of the instrument.
ce is the stadia interval, i,
D is the distance from the center of the instrument to the staff.
By similar triangles (PEC and Pe'c');
∗
, ′ ′

The horizontal distance D is given by:

The value (f+d) is called the additive constant, C. Thus for horizontal sights

NOTE
Most theodolites and levels are designed in such a way that K = 100. An annalactic lens is
placed at a fixed length from the objective lens in the telescope such that the additive constant C
= 0. This has an effect of simplifying the formula to D = 100S.

However not all observations can be taken with the telescope horizontal. In hilly terrain, inclined
sights cannot be avoided and more still the staff may be held either vertically or inclined (normal
to the line of sight). Therefore the basic formula should be modified to cover such instances.

Inclined sights with staff vertical.

A
A’
C S

B’
B
D V

 Q
T
hI H

A, C, B are the stadia readings made on the staff. A', C and B' are the readings which would be
got if the staff was normal to the line of collimation.

From equation (2), D = KS + C

In this case S would have been A'B', therefore
D = K(A'B') + C
But A'B' = ABcos = Scos (note AA'C = BB'C = 90)
D = KS cos + C
H = D cos = KS cos2 + C cos
Since the additive constant for modern instruments is zero,

Similarly, V = Dsin = KScossin + Csin

It should be noted that cossin=1/2sin2
1
2
2
1
2 4
2
The vertical component V is used in the calculation of reduced levels. Suppose the reduced level
of P is RLp and that of point Q is RLq and hI is the height of instrument above the ground. Let
also the reading of the main cross-hair (Qc) be M; then
5
Where V is positive for an angle of elevation and negative for an angle of depression.

Booking of tacheometric results

Insr Stn Staff Stadia Horiz. Vert. Horiz. Dist. ∆H Ht of Rem

Ht of Instr Stn observation angle angle S=U-L point arks
axis s
A 1 L M U   H = KS V =
1.56 cos2 1
/2KSsin2

Accuracy and sources of error in stadia tacheometry

1. Instrumental errors and

2. Field errors

Instrumental errors include: an incorrectly assumed value of K, errors arising from the
assumption that modern instruments are anallactic.
Errors arising from the assumptions above limit the overall accuracy of distance measurement by
stadia tacheometry to 1 in 1000.

Field errors include:

Wrong staff readings and hence staff intercept. For instance for each 1mm uncertainty in the staff
intercept there will be 100mm error in the horizontal distance. The accuracy of horizontal
distances decreases as the length of sight increases. Therefore distances measured by stadia
tacheometry should not exceed 100m and it is recommended that staff readings be kept above
1m to minimize the effects of refraction.

Non verticality of staff is another source of error. This error is proportional to the angle of
elevation/depression and the length of sight. Therefore as a precaution the inclination angle
should not exceed 10 and a circular target bubble should be fitted on the staff to ensure that it is
always vertical.
An error in reading the vertical circle. Since the inclination angle is limited to 10, provided the
normal observing procedure is followed, any error in the measured distance due to an error in the
vertical angle will be small compared to other sources. Usually it is sufficiently accurate to
measure vertical angles to 1.

Subtense bar tacheometry

It is known that one of the principal sources of error in vertical staff tacheometry is refraction of
the light rays from the staff. Holding the staff horizontally can minimize the error. The rays then
pass through uniform atmospheric conditions. This principle is applied in subtense tacheometry.

This method uses a horizontal bar of fixed length (2m), called a subtense bar, positioned at one
end of the line and a theodolite at the other. The bar has targets at each end which are precisely
2m apart. The bar is largely made of steel but the targets are connected to an invar wire in such a
way as to compensate for temperature changes.

The bar can be set horizontal using foot screws in conjunction with a leveling bubble attached to
the bar. In addition it can be set at right angles to the line of sight by means of a small sighting
device at its center.

Target
Sighting device
Leveling head

Tripod

Principle and procedure of subtense bar tacheometry

Consider measuring a distance between two points A and B.

Tripods are set at stations A and B, accurately centered and leveled using an optical plummet.
A T2 theodolite is set up at A and the subtense bar at B. The bar is set at right angles to the line
of sight.
The parallactic angle is measured precisely several times – 8 times for second class work and 16
times for first class work.
 C

T  H O b

A
D
B

 - parallactic angle
CD – subtense bar length; b = 2m
H - horizontal distance AB

From triangle TOC,

b
 2
tan 
2 H
b
b 
H  2 = cot
 2 2
tan
2
b  
Horizontal distance H = cot or H = cot since b = 2
2 2 2

NOTE
The magnitude of a subtense angle is usually 1 to 2 and MUST be measured with an accuracy
of 1 to obtain the required in distance. Therefore a 1 theodolite should be used to measure the
parallactic angle.

Accuracy of subtense bar measurements.

There are three major errors that affect the accuracy of subtense bar measurements.
1. An error in the length of the bar.
2. Incorrect setting of the bar at right angles to the line being measured.
3. Errors in the measured subtense angle.

1. Error in subtense bar length

b
2  
H but  is a very small angle; hence tan  in radians.
 2 2
tan
2
 b
H=

An error b in bar length will cause an error H in the measured distance.

b b b
Therefore H + H =  b = 
  

b
H = (since b/ = H)

b b
From equation (i), H =  
 H

H b

H b

The resulting proportional error in distance is equal to the proportional error in length of the
subtense bar. Therefore by using accurate subtense bars we can minimize the errors in the final
measured distance. Most bars are constructed with a proportional accuracy of 1 in 40000 hence
errors from this source are negligible.

2. Error in the alignment of the bar due to two causes:

 Failure to align the bar perpendicular to the line of sight.
 Failure to level the bar into the horizontal plane.
Given the usual care in the alignment (using the sighting telescope) and leveling (using tribrach
and foot screws) of the bar, errors arising from this source are also negligible.

3. Errors in measured subtense angle

b
H= ; differentiating with respect to ,

H  b H2
 2  H   2 .b
  b
H2
H =  
b

It can be deduced that:

 The effect of an error in the subtense angle on the measured distance increases as the
square of the measured distance i.e. an error of 1second in the angle  has four times the
effect at 80m than it has at 40m.

 The effect of subtense angle error on the measured distance is inversely proportional to
the length of the bar.
Since the subtense bar length is fixed at 2m, therefore errors in the measured distance can be
controlled by keeping  as small as possible and keeping distances short (limited to 40m).
Therefore the accuracy of the subtense measurement depends on the accuracy with which the
subtense angle is measured.

Methods of extending subtense distances

To measure distances beyond 40m using subtense tacheometry the following techniques can be
applied:
1. Putting the bar in the middle of the line and then measure from both ends.
2. Measuring the auxiliary base using a subtense bar

A S computed B
α β

X
b

Measure angles  and  using a theodolite and the base XB using a subtense bar. Then compute
distance S using the sine rule.
S XB XB
 S
sin[180  (   )] sin  sin  .sin[180  (   )]

XB
S
sin  .sin(   )

Applications of subtense tacheometry include: measuring traverse legs, measuring baselines

for small independent triangulations, fixing control points in aerial photogrammetry.

Subtense tacheometry is mostly useful where the ground is broken or there is steep change in
slope or where surface taping is difficult e.g. across motorways and rivers.

Self reducing tacheometers

These allow horizontal distances and differences in height between the instrument station and
target to be deduced directly from the instrument (without using formulae). Looking through the
telescope of a self-reducing tacheometer three curves are seen i.e. the base or zero curve, the
height curve and the distance curve.

Distance curve

E 0 height curve
I E
base curve
The distance curve replaces the upper stadia hair, the height curve replaces the middle stadia hair
and the base curve replaces the lower stadia hair.

Horizontal distance
To measure the horizontal distance H, the intercept E is obtained from the instrument and its
value multiplied by the constant K=100 i.e. H = 100E.

Height differences
Here the value of I obtained from the instrument is multiplied by a constant which is always
written on the height curve e.g. +0.001 in the figure above.