Geodetic Network Geometry versus Reliability Measures in Examples of the Trilateration Network

Abstract

The article describes selected case studies of the trilateration network design. The analyzed case studies may be of interest to the geodetic community but may also be potentially interesting for educational purposes. The reference system of the trilateration network in all analyzed variants defined two fixed points. The aim of this article is to assess the impact of network geometry on reliability measures. To investigate this impact, seven criteria for assessing network geometry were defined. Four criteria relate to the shape of the network, whereas the other three describe the location of two fixed points (reference system) relative to the other network points. The subject of the research were correlations between the values of the adopted criteria for assessing the network geometry and the values of reliability measures that were obtained in individual analyzed variants of the network. Based on these studies, appropriate conclusions were formulated regarding the impact of the network geometry on the values of reliability measures in relation to the tested network examples.