Modification of the Error Equation in Angular Theodolite Measurements

In this information era. automation of surveying operations becomes a must, simply because an excessive amount of information cannot always be handled manually. However, prior to automation, rigorous mathematical models should be formulated in such a way that all effective parameters are taken into consideration. This step is important, otherwise automation will always be defective. From this perspective, the authors examined the famous equation of the theoretical accuracy of theodolite angular measurement and reevaluated it by considering the effects of target type and observation distance length on the measuring process, beside that of the reading error, the pointing error and the initial setting error being taken care of in the original equation. A new mathematical model for estimating the theoretical angular error in theodolite works was then developed and tested. © 2003 (A.H. 1423) King Saud University