Automated Total Stations in Construction

Automatically detect the slightest ground movements by measuring and recording changes in angle, distance, and elevation

Get the Most Out of Your Automated Total Station with Inzwa Cloud:

Inzwa Cloud delivers a comprehensive, plug-and-play platform for managing sensors in construction and geotechnical projects. It supports a wide range of sensors and data loggers, offering 24/7 remote data access, intuitive visualizations, and alerts via SMS and email. The platform optimizes workflows with ready-to-use dashboards, automated reporting templates, and third-party device hosting options. Furthermore, users can design custom formulas for advanced, multi-device calculations, enabling precise and efficient groundwater monitoring.

What are Automated Total Stations?

An automated total station is a device that takes the place of a theodolite, a plumb bob, an electronic distance meter, a data collector, and a manual level. It precisely measures angles, distances, and elevations on construction or geotechnical sites. Automated Total Stations reduce the need for human intervention with automated tracking and data recording features and are more accurate than manual methods. They are essential for monitoring ground movements, ensuring accurate alignment during structural projects, and maintaining precision in geotechnical analysis.

The leading automated total station manufacturers deliver high-quality, reliable instruments that are used in construction, geotechnical, and surveying applications. The top three manufacturers are:

Trimble Inc.
Leica Geosystems
Topcon Positioning Systems

Other leading automated total station manufacturers are Sokkia, GeoMax, Hi-Target Surveying Instrument Co., South Surveying & Mapping Instrument Co., and Spectra Precision.

How Automated Total Stations are used in Construction:

Automated total stations are indispensable in construction for their precision in surveying, alignment, and monitoring tasks. They use a laser pointed at a prism mounted on a structure to measure angles, distances, and elevations, ensuring accurate positioning of structures and minimizing errors in layouts, such as misalignment or incorrect elevation levels. These instruments also play a vital role in detecting ground movement and structural shifts, preventing potential faults like foundation cracks, uneven settlements, or misaligned components. Commonly utilized in settings such as large-scale infrastructure projects, high-rise construction, railway construction, mining operations, and geotechnical monitoring, automated total stations enhance safety, efficiency, and accuracy throughout the project lifecycle.

What are the Main Types of Automated Total Stations?

Several types of extensometers are used in geotechnical monitoring, each suited for specific measurements and conditions. Contact extensometers are typically more traditional and hands-on, while non-contact extensometers are more advanced and interference-free.

There are several types of automated total stations. However, they all feature motorized tracking that allows them to perform surveying tasks faster and more accurately than manual or mechanical total stations.

The types of automated motorized total stations include:

Automated Motorized Total Station: Known for motorized horizontal and vertical rotation, it enhances precision and efficiency in routine surveying tasks.
Robotic Total Station: Allows single-operator remote control and automatic prism tracking, streamlining large-scale, dynamic projects.
Reflectorless Total Station: Eliminates the need for a physical prism, enabling distance measurements to hard-to-reach or inaccessible points.
Scanning Total Station: Integrates 3D laser scanning capabilities for high-speed, detailed data collection and advanced visualization.
Autolock Total Station: Features automated prism-locking technology for maintaining target accuracy in continuously changing environments.
Hybrid Total Station: Combines reflectorless capabilities with prism-based measurement, offering versatility across various surveying conditions.
GPS Total Station: GPS satellites are used to measure distances across long distances. They are best suited for large-scale projects where distances can be several miles or more.

Integrate with Any Sensor

Inzwa Cloud is device agnostic, so you can seamlessly integrate with all your geotechnical instrumentation – without the long configuration time and even longer learning curve of other vibration monitoring systems. Alternatively, Test your devices by creating a free account on our platform.

Construction Site Case Studies

Construction Vibration Monitoring While Pile Driving on Lake Michigan

“I could see clear rises in vibration levels with each pile being driven. PPV levels remained well below the parameters of the project, which gave us all peace of mind that the home’s structural integrity was not compromised. And the data is captured for future use, should it be needed.“