subject: Surveying Techniques Used by a CT Engineering Company [print this page] Surveying Techniques Used by a CT Engineering Company
When the average person thinks about engineering, he or she nearly always associates it with mechanical engineering. Structural design of buildings, roadways, stormwater management systems, and homes, however, also involve engineering. Civil engineering, as this branch of the industry is called, pertains to the design, construction, and maintenance of physically and naturally built systems or structures, ranging from bridges and roads to canals and dams. Civil engineering in any such project is used to design grading, drainage, pavement, sewer service, water supplies, and land divisions.
Surveying is one technique used by a Connecticut engineering company for such projects. Surveying is the mathematical and research aspects behind determining boundaries or mapping out a part of land. A surveyor, when assessing a Connecticut property, determines its two- or three-dimensional points on the surface of the Earth and the angles between them. In addition, a surveyor will research your Connecticut property and gather information about historical boundaries.
Because manual techniques used for surveying make the process extensive, a surveyor for a Connecticut engineering company may use a laser scanning device to capture these points instead. A laser scanner captures these points quickly and accurately, and a second visit by the surveyor to verify data is not likely. Additionally, a laser scanner assists the surveyor with capturing hard-to-reach surfaces.
A computerized device, a laser scanner creates a three-dimension image, which is later used to produce two-dimensional engineering drawings. To create this image, the scanner sends out a beam of light in the direction of an object or surface and times it, from the moment it leaves to when it hits the object's surface to its return. This number becomes a three-dimensional coordinate on a graph. The laser scanner continues sending out thousands of beams and maps out each, creating a point cloud. Once all angles between points are calculated, the scanner produces a three-dimensional, computerized image.
The image, however, is not the final product of the survey just a reference point for following work. Civil and structural engineering often use this image and create two-dimensional drawings. The scanner traces each side and, much like a traditional engineering drawing, produces a drawing of each unique side, usually the top, front, and back.
