Earthwork. Volume Measurement

Measure cut and fill volumes on site, in real time, without waiting for a surveyor.

Earthwork. Volume Measurement builds a digital terrain model from points you collect with the phone, import from a file, or type in by hand — up to 500 points connected by straight lines. Volumes are computed between two TIN surfaces, the existing ground and the finished ground, in a local coordinate system whose origin is the first base point.

Triangulated Irregular Networks (TIN) incorporate terrain break lines — ridges, valleys, summits — so the model follows the real shape of the ground.

NEW IN THIS RELEASE

- Earthwork Construction Plan — material volume analyses cell by cell over a grid. A statistical table shows cut and fill per column and per row, together with the totals.
- The grid can be drawn at any bearing, so it runs along the survey rather than along north. Horizontal and vertical intervals are set separately.
- DXF export — rebuild the surface directly in Civil 3D, AutoCAD or any vector CAD application.
- 3D view — rotate and zoom the surface to check the quality of your editing.
- AR mode — place the surface in front of you and walk around it.
- Metric and imperial units.

HOW IT WORKS

1. Collect the points, or import them in P,B,L,H format (point number, latitude, longitude, height). The first group is the base of the embankment — the existing ground. The second group is the material on top of it.
2. Edit the coordinates if needed. Geographic and Cartesian coordinates are recalculated from one another automatically, and the point groups are colour-coded in the table.
3. Press RESULTS and correct the surface by swapping the 3D edges of the triangulation. Turn contours on and off as you work: a sharp kink in a contour means an edge still needs correcting.
4. Delete the sliver edges along the surface boundary — they distort the final volume.
5. Check the result in the 3D view or in AR. It rarely comes out right on the first attempt.
6. Analyse the volume by grid cells, save the triangulation so you can return to it later, and export.

FEATURES

- Editing coordinates: P, Lat, Lon, H ⇆ P, X, Y, H
- Contour lines at a chosen interval
- Two-point label showing distance and slope between any two points
- Removing duplicate points
- Clipping points that fall outside the base surface
- Area calculation
- Cylindrical coordinates: azimuth (θ) and distance (r) to the previous point
- Export of points to CSV for Excel
- Export of the surface to DXF
- Export of the surface to AutoCAD as an SCR script — drag it from Explorer onto the AutoCAD workspace and the surface is drawn from 3DFaces
- Export of the survey to SVG and KML for viewing in Google Earth
- Inspect surfaces: ▽ +2.93 shows the live difference between the design elevation and the phone's current position
- Solar compass: orientation by the sun, immune to magnetic interference near power lines, metal structures and magnetic anomalies, and stable near the poles where a magnetic compass loses accuracy [1]
- Double tap shifts the centre of zoom

ACCURACY

Hold the phone vertically while surveying — the antenna's phase centre is at the top of the device.

Location services may fall back on Wi-Fi, mobile networks and sensors, which reduces accuracy. Turn this off under Settings > Location > Google Location Accuracy.

Receivers using the L5 band can pinpoint to within 30 cm (11.8 in). For high-precision work, connect an external RTK GNSS receiver over Bluetooth.

[1] Even with GPS disabled, an approximate position (1°) and time (~15 min) are enough to orient the screen: the top centre of the screen points north when the yellow asterisk lines up with the sun.

LEARN MORE
Quick start: https://youtube.com/shorts/qxjdqdtG9Y4
Quick start: https://stadiamark.almagest.name/HOW-IT-WORKS/
Stockpile survey and volume measurement: https://youtu.be/OCaNkEY8QLE
Importing survey points: https://youtu.be/rtU9BtJ9TGo
Editing survey data with edge swaps: https://youtube.com/shorts/1gBHrvs0R6Y

Recent changes:
Earthwork Construction Plan: volumes analysed cell by cell over a grid, with a table of cut and fill per column and per row. The grid can be drawn at any bearing so it follows the survey, with separate horizontal and vertical intervals.

DXF export — rebuild the surface in Civil 3D or AutoCAD.
3D view and AR mode for checking the quality of surface editing.
Metric and imperial units.
Sliver edges along the surface boundary can now be deleted.