Applications of GPS

Abstract

The determination of national grid coordinates and the connection of survey control stations to the Ordnance Survey triangulation network has always been a big headache to the land surveyor. Using conventional instrumentation long lines have to be observed and measured, probably traversing through several intermediate stations prior to reaching the survey area. A considerable amount of preplanning and luck was required to ensure that a suitable accuracy was achieved, before spending umpteen computer processing hours getting the network to fit the existing control. Therefore, not surprisingly since its recent widespread availability, the Global Positioning System (GPS) has had a significant impact on geodetic survey, enabling the time and cost of transferring national grid coordinates to be dramatically reduced.