What's the difference between theodolite and total station?

Compared with theodolite, total station adds the functions of ranging and calculation on the basis of angle measurement. It can measure the distance with high precision. There are abundant measurement and calculation programs, which can meet the needs of various measurements by processing the collected original angular distance information. It has the function of high-precision angle measurement and lofting, and its own ranging function replaces the traditional tape measure, which greatly improves the accuracy. The high-end total station also has many functions, such as touch screen operation, color page interface, data mapping, coordinate back calculation and so on. In the development of surveying and mapping market, total station has gradually replaced theodolite and become the mainstream of surveying and mapping market. 1. theodolite: the instruments used to measure horizontal and vertical angles can only measure angles, and the distance measurement is only an estimate. Now it's mostly optics and electronics. In the actual survey process, especially in architectural survey, most users use GPS to fix points in the early stage, then set a certain angle with theodolite according to the mathematical relationship, and at the same time use tape measure to find the target point. However, there are some problems in this operation method. First, it is impossible to realize high-precision lofting, which is mainly limited to the problem of tape distance lofting. Secondly, there are too many people who need to participate, and someone needs to operate the instrument, pull the tape measure, set the pile and so on. This is more complicated. Finally, the operational efficiency is not high enough. Second, the total station, also known as the electronic total station, is a high-tech measuring instrument integrating light, machinery and electricity. It is a surveying and mapping instrument system integrating the functions of measuring water angle, vertical angle, distance (oblique distance and horizontal distance) and height difference. , you can measure distance, angle, coordinates, traverse survey, etc. Moreover, the current total station has a memory function, and it is very convenient to record and measure a distance, angle and coordinate by hand, and it will be directly displayed on the display screen.