Large-Scale Metrology – An Update

Developments in large-scale engineering metrology since the 1978 report of Puttock are reviewed. Advances in optical technology and fast, low-cost computation have led to wide-spread use of laser trackers and digital photogrammetry for general-purpose coordinate metrology. Techniques for high-accuracy straightness measurement, precision leveling, and absolute distance metrology are described, together with approaches to compensation for the effects of atmospheric refraction. Methods for uncertainty evaluation are discussed and several illustrative examples are presented.