Have you ever surveyed a site without accurate coordinate system parameters or with none at all? The new localization feature in Emlid Flow can help you calculate or adjust local coordinate system parameters and enable you to survey the area with high accuracy. In this article, we’ll explain what exactly localization is, how you can benefit from it, and how it works in Emlid Flow.
What is localization?
One of the starting points of any survey is to choose a suitable local coordinate system for the area you want to survey. In most cases, coordinate systems are optimized for that particular location. However, sometimes this just doesn’t work. You simply don’t have the necessary coordinate system parameters, or they are not accurate enough. This is where localization comes in: the only requirement for this is the availability and applicability of benchmarks or known points.
Localization, also known as site calibration, is the process of comparing sets of known and measured point coordinates in GNSS software to calculate or adjust the local coordinate system parameters. Known points must have local coordinates (measured in feet or meters), and measured points (as global coordinates in degrees).
During the calculation process, the software applies a series of transformations such as translation, rotation, scaling for horizontal adjustment, and inclined plane for vertical adjustment. The app then creates the best possible site reference frame, i.e. a coordinate system.