UNIVERSAL PROGRAM FOR CLOSURE AND ADJUSTMENT OF CONTROL SURVEY NETS

THIS PROPOSAL ADDRESSES A RESEARCH PROGRAM ON THE OPTIMAL METHOD FOR PRODUCING, CLOSING, AND ADJUSTING CONTROL SURVEY NETS. WE WILL INCORPORATE THE RECENT ADVANCES IN HARDWARE, SOFTWARE, AND THEIR INTERFACES AMONG SYSTEMS. WITHIN THIS ISSUE, WE WILL ADDRESS THE CURRENT AND FUTURE PRACTICES USED FOR SURVEYING DATA MANAGEMENT. THIS INVOLVES STRUCTURING THE MEASUREMENT, STORAGE, REDUCTION, AND OUTPUT OF THE DATA INTO AN EASILY MANAGED SYSTEM, SUITABLE FOR SMALL AND LARGE ENGINEERING FIRMS. THE PROJECT HAS TWO MAIN GOALS. ONE IS TO INVESTIGATE THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A DISTANCE MEASURING DEVICE THAT CORRECTS FOR SYSTEMATIC ERRORS CAUSED BY HUMIDITY AND AIR TURBULENCE. THIS DEVICE IS THE SUBJECT OF PHASE II AND III RESEARCH. THE SECOND GOAL IS TO INVESTIGATE AND IMPLEMENT A UNIVERSAL CLOSURE ALGORITHM THAT EFFICIENTLY USES REDUNDANT DATA BY PROPERLY APPLYING WEIGHTING FACTORS IN PROPORTION TO EXPECTED ERRORS. WE WILL DEVELOP A NONLINEAR MODEL FOR THE ERRORS THAT INCLUDES THE GEOMETRY OF THE NET, THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE INSTRUMENTS, AND THE PHYSICS OF THE MEASUREMENT. WE WILL BASE AND TEST OUR MODEL USING FIELD DATA. FROM OVER FIFTEEN YEARS OF EXPERIENCE AND THROUGH ASSOCIATION WITH OTHER PROFESSIONAL SURVEYORS, WE RECOGNIZE A GREAT NEED FOR SUCH A PROGRAM.