International Journal on ISSN 2077-3528

“Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering” IJTPE Journal

(IJTPE) www.iotpe.com
Published by International Organization of IOTPE [email protected]

December 2022 Issue 53 Volume 14 Number 4 Pages 75-79

EVALUATION OF ACCURACY GPS AND AUTOMATIC LEVEL

INSTRUMENTS IN TOPOGRAPHIC SURVEYING
M.K. Sameer A.M. Hamid
Civil Department, Technical Institute of Anbar, Middle Technical University, Fallujah, Iraq
[email protected], [email protected]

Abstract- The goal of the research was to compare a Also, the cost saves 40% with GPS methods, it helps
GPS and an automatic level instrument in computing to reduce the number of staff and finding dependable
elevations which has been practiced in the district of the coordinates [6]. The getting of accurate position with
Technical Institute of Anbar. The result of this work is saving time and speed information and navigation all
shown that the convenient work by GPS system in these done by using GPS [7]. According to the study,
surveying. In addition to this, a lot of researches were geographic coordinates of points are confident in GPS
done about contour map creation and these studies while the elevation obtained through traditional surveying
depended on different data resources and methods. But is uncertain. Finally, this study tries to prove the accuracy
those studies did not compare the resulted data of the of GPS comparing with another method of measurement
mentioned instruments. The modern methods and to create contour map.
equipment used in the survey, such as the GPS receiver,
which have advantages and characteristics differ from 2. PROBLEM AND OBJECTIVE OF STUDY
that in traditional method like the automatic level device. The control points are the basis for any projection
Finally, the accuracy of the results also investigated in coordinates on the earth, when these points established in
line with the resolution of digital elevation model and the the field by using advanced instruments within higher
slope of the topography. The findings of the study show accuracy and record the references for those points in
the effect of the source data, resolution and ground anticipation of their loss. The instrument used to get up
control point distribution. the control points is a DGPS (differential Global
Positioning System), Total station, when visiting the
Keywords: Contour Map, DEM, GIS, GPS, TIN. Municipal Department, we found that there is a lack of
information and the unavailability of ground control
points due to the unavailability of the above-mentioned
1. INTRODUCTION
devices. This forced the researcher to request information
Position determination with saving time and higher from sources in the private sector because of their modern
accuracy is an important subject in surveying. The cost equipment that is not available in government
effectiveness of traditional leveling to provide good departments. In our study these important points are
accuracies is good, but this work only in small study almost non-existent.
areas [1]. After a few decades, in order to increase the The traditional method using the Automatic level
accuracy of a geoid calculation, many efforts were instrument in computing the elevation and GPS method
realized in developing technologies and procedures [2]. will greatly contribute to detect more clarity about the
Dependable information obtained when deals with this nature of the Earth's surface of the study area. Finally,
technique in short time. Currently, GPS represent the research goal is to create a digital elevation model from
most popular technology in topographic and Geodetic different information sources and prepare digital
surveying. topographic maps from various information sources,
The coordinates for points obtained by observing two which can be used in the future in many studies because
or three fixed stations in space, these coordinates this study provided information such as ground control
represented as a geographic system or in the UTM system points, the digital map, and the reliability of the work
as (X, Y and Z) [3]. Many applications in surveying tend with the global positioning system and leveling device.
to use the development techniques like GPS technique in
the evaluation of data collected in different fields of 3. CASE STUDY
survey [1]. There are three reasons effects of error in GPS The study area is a city located in eastern Iraq, on the
navigation and accuracy positioning: error of signal delay side of the Tigris River, about 160 kilometers (99 miles)
by troposphere, error of satellite orbits and ionosphere southeast of Baghdad. It’s placed on Iraq map at the
delay [4]. Assessment of GPS and the automatic leveling geographic coordinates Latitude: 32 29' 51'', Longitude:
device shows statistically well-matched results [5]. 45 49' 45'', As shown in following Figure 1.

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International Journal on “Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering” (IJTPE), Iss. 53, Vol. 14, No. 4, Dec. 2022

image (Quick Bird), spatial resolution (0.6-0.7 meter)

belong 2009, second type is spatial data which consists of
Coordinates and Elevations taken by GPS (Garmin 62S)
and elevations calculated by Automatic level instrument
(Leica brand).

5.2. Software Used

The software used is ARC GIS (Version 10.2), this
program consists of three applications: ARC MAP, ARC
Catalog and ARC toolbox, these applications facilitate
the process of creating contour lines and DEM
production. The second program is Microsoft office
(word and excel) which help us to create tables which
entered into the ARC GIS software.
Figure 1. Area of interest borders
6. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
Table 1. Coordinates of study area The main focus of this study is to prepare topographic
Point Easting (m) Northing (m) map and DEM creation and assess accuracy of them as
1 376387.08 3699583.94 shown in (Figure 2).
2 376229.19 3699719.96
3 375815.99 3699725.26 6.1. Work Flow
4 375618.38 3699542.97
5 376062.49 3699167.60
a) Capture points with their coordinates and elevations
by using a GPS receiver and automatic level instrument.
4. LITERATURE REVIEW b) The data prepared (elevations and coordinates)
1) Accuracies of Global Positioning system and Total entered into the ARC GIS software as an excel file to
Station (TS) were examined in GIS environment. This Creating a contour map according to elevations computed
case study showed that an inaccurate survey can result by level instrument and elevations collected by the GPS
cost estimates up to 27%. The evaluation of two methods receiver, contour interval entered is the same for both
with GPS and TS showed that RTK-GPS (Real Time devices.
Kinematic, Global Positioning System): It’s application c) With helps of the same excel file to create DEM
to correct common errors in surveying depending on (digital elevation model).
comparison the measurements of signal with d) Accuracy of the DEMs created from GPS and
measurements of references station, founded surveys are automatic level data is evaluated.
not only practical and fast, but also yield more accurate
topographic maps for design purposes [8].
2) Measurement the distances directly instead of
establish the measurement for long time in field with
comparing the precision of GPS and differential GPS
(DGPS), which explain the performance of DGPS over
GPS, the difference between GPS and DGPS when
horizontal and vertical accuracies are considered [9].
3) To monitor the construction of tower by using
GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite System) receivers
with a total station, two measurements of methods were
used, first one was depending on determining the position
Figure 2. Research methodology
of monitoring points by total station integrated with
GNSS receiver. The second one was to determine the
6.2. Data Collection
direction and distance to locate the monitoring points by
Data are collected by using a GPS receiver (Garmin
using two GNSS antenna and total station coupled with 62S). Through this process the points are selected
prism reflectors. The result is compared with traditional randomly in the study area, the coordinates and elevations
methods of measurements and showed this method is were taken for each point with specific times of
suitable for monitoring tall construction buildings [10]. observation. GPS is used to decrease distortions and to
increase the positional accuracy of these points [11].
5. DATA AND SOFTWARE The ellipse shape is as close as possible to represent
the earth's surface at the global level, so that the
5.1. Data Used difference between it and the geoid vary from place to
The types of data used in this research are divided place on the surface of the earth. When adopting a certain
into two types: first one called non-spatial data to Ellipsoid, there will be the smallest difference between it
describes the study area and to facilitate the process of and geoid, so each country tries to modify its reference or
DEM production, characteristics of this data are satellite reposition in order to achieve this goal. The reference

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International Journal on “Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering” (IJTPE), Iss. 53, Vol. 14, No. 4, Dec. 2022

resulted from that modification is called geodetic datum

or local datum, simply the global ellipsoid modified to be
suitable for a specific country in order to give the real
representation of the earth's surface.

6.3. Field Verification (Ground Truth)

The information that is related to the location called
Ground Truth. The image data necessary to link with real
features and materials on the ground. The preliminary
interpreted maps were taken to the ground for
verification. Doubtful areas were checked in the field and
modifications were done as per ground verification. GPS
points were stored in the form of latitudes and longitudes.
Various photographs of the study area, including
structures and LU/LC feature such as scrubland,
plantations, public-semipublic areas etc. were also
clicked. Figure 3. Contour map (AOI within elevations by GPS receiver)
After coming back from ground truth, all the GPS
points were transferred to computer using GARMIN In Figure 4 contour map is created depending on
software. After preparing DBF file of GPS points it was elevations computed in height of instrument method (H.I)
then converted to a point shapefile in ArcMap software. by using an automatic level instrument, the map was
After that, shapefile opened on the geodatabase. Then Created with same contour interval (1 meter). The next
Correction was done. step it is to create DEM file by converting the contour
map to TIN (Triangular Irregular Network).
6.4. Georeferencing
The process of assigning coordinates from map to
image satellite called Georeferencing. The image data
should be projected to accept plane and referenced to
suitable coordinate system. Rectification, means the map
and their projection are associated.

6.5. Contour Map

The elevations entered into Arc Map with their
coordinates in order to create a contour map with respect
to interval contour, the interval contour depends on many
elements such as nature of the earth's surface, the purpose
of the map, accuracy required on the map and the scale.
Simply the interval contour increased on the plane or flat
surface and decreased in the sinuous surface.

7. RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS

Figure 4. Contour map (AOI within elevations by automatic level)
7.1. Results
The creation of DEM depends on altitude and spatial
resolution. The measurement unit of digital image is a
pixel which represents the ground features on the image.
25 points were selected to check their elevations in the
study area. The contour lines which are linked elevations
and position of points that taken by GPS and automatic
level respectively are displayed in Figures 3 and 4.

7.2. Accuracy Assessment and Contour Map Creation

The dimension of point (X, Y) refers to the accuracy
of that point and called spatial [11]. For the evaluation of
DEM generated, the known points on the ground are used
as GCPs as well as elevations are used for this study.
Figure 3 explains how contour lines are created depends
on their heights from mean sea level were taken by GPS
receiver with contour interval one meter. The contour
interval takes into account the nature of earth’s surface,
Figure 5. TIN show elevations taken by GPS
purpose of map and scale used to produce maps.

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International Journal on “Technical and Physical Problems of Engineering” (IJTPE), Iss. 53, Vol. 14, No. 4, Dec. 2022

Table 2. Comparison results of two sets of data

Difference
R.L R.L. by
X Y between two
P by Automatic
(m) (m) methods of
GPS level
measurements
1 3699359 375901 48 47.995 0.005
2 3699350 375973 46 47.995 1.995
3 3699422 375973 44 47.513 3.513
4 3699491 376014 48 47.118 0.882
5 3699482 376262 46 48.073 2.073
6 3699555 376020 50 49.978 0.022
7 3699553 375972 47 49.838 2.838
8 3699600 376100 47 49.678 2.678
9 3699548 375909 47 49.278 2.278
10 3699465 376124 46 48.200 2.2
11 3699490 376166 47 48.310 1.31
12 3699494 376206 45 47.422 2.422
Figure 6. TIN show elevations of automatic level data
13 3699540 376040 48 48.123 0.123
14 3699493 375895 47 49.014 2.014
15 3699479 375842 49 46.915 2.085
16 3699531 375778 46 45.847 0.153
17 3699536 375702 48 46.185 1.815
18 3699660 376167 49 48.512 0.488
19 3699648 375782 46 45.867 0.133
20 3699637 375530 46 45.554 0.446
21 3699344 376098 48 47.231 0.769
22 3699559 376314 48 47.852 0.148
23 3699657 375960 46 45.378 0.622
24 3699271 376003 47 46.058 0.942
25 3699411 376166 48 47.902 0.098

7.3. Discussions
The result of this study is to show the ability and
effectiveness of GIS in creating contour map and then
produce a digital elevation model according to varied
sources of date and compare the accuracy of them.
Figure 7. Standard deviation and mean of GPS data The main discoveries of the research show that the
modern techniques of measurements and software made
the possibility of dealing with geographic data networks
and management system (GDBS) very efficiently. It can
be produced DEM by analysis of statistical data by using
mathematical tools, this contributes to a visual
interpretation of an image and get information of datasets
with high accuracy. Spatial data used can be processed
and storing to get the information by using GIS and RS
techniques under the term “Geodatabase” [12]. The
integrated of space technology applications with field
measurement which impact to result high accuracy [13].
The Accuracy of GPS receiver depends on some factors
such as time of signal transition, imperfect orbits, skills
of observer. All these factors should be taken into
account. By using Automatic level instrument to measure
the height difference between points, then compute their
elevations depending on the benchmark (it’s a point
Figure 8. Standard deviation and mean of automatic level data known position and location), error of measurement on
the rod and quality tools used in measurement (rode, level
Figures 7 and 8 show the standard deviation for data instrument, tape measurement) can be affected on results.
which represent data accuracy variation, consequently Data collected by each device (GPS and level instrument)
higher value means the data tends to be separated out of entered into the software (ARC GIS) for processing and
range and less reliable and vice versa. This conclusion create contour map. In this study the satellite image was
leads us to the preference of the results issued by global used to show the location of points on the earth and give
positioning system. Table 2 explains the results of more to give the work flexibility and reliability and to
reduced level by two devices. Elevations collected by obtain accurate results, in addition to the visual
GPS receiver which are getting it directly, and elevations interpretation of the image, which contributes to the
computed by an Automatic level instrument. delivery of the idea to users.

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