This thesis provides a discussion of rapid prototyping methods wich facilitates innovative solutions for engineering geodetic applications. The availability of low-cost components such as microcontrollers, sensors and actuators which enable rapid and cost-effective validation of theoretical approaches. It also explores additive manufacturing as a suitable technology for the production of precise functional components and outlines the process from design to manufacturing. The development process will be outlined and subsequently applied to other potential areas of engineering geodesy. The application of these methods and tools will be described in detail on the basis of three specific developments: Firstly, a horizontal installation of a motorised total station will be ensured by the Tripod Leveling Adapter (TLA) which uses the built-in inclinometer. An additional benefit of the TLA is that the adapter attaches to a standard tribarch an it can be incorporated into existing monitoring software. Secondly, the motorisation of a digital level in the vertical axis allows the automatic measurement of barcode leveling rods at standard measuring distances. An optional illumination unit ensures measurement even in insufficient lighting conditions. A temperature sensor can be added to the microcontroller of the illumination unit in order to measure and correct the influence of the temperature on the scale of the leveling rod. Thirdly, the use of a motorised prism which allows remote alignment displays another application of additive manufacturing for high precision requirements. The manufacturing accuracy of the construction is examined in terms of the tumbling error, which consists of the influence of the vertical and tilting axis. With the aid of subtractive post processing the error can be reduced to about 0.1 mm. The remote alignment of the prism is performed using an application which has been developed for commercially distributed smartphones.    «

This thesis provides a discussion of rapid prototyping methods wich facilitates innovative solutions for engineering geodetic applications. The availability of low-cost components such as microcontrollers, sensors and actuators which enable rapid and cost-effective validation of theoretical approaches. It also explores additive manufacturing as a suitable technology for the production of precise functional components and outlines the process from design to manufacturing. The development process...    »