Metrica – an application for collecting and navigating geodetic control network points. Part I: Motivation, assumptions, and issues

Abstract The result of surveys largely depends on the accuracy and measurement technique of the control network. This research work presents the application Metrica, dedicated for collection and navigation of geodetic control network points. The main goal of this study is to present the motivation, methodology, and issues with analysis of the database of vertical control points. Such analysis covers south part of Poland territory for the update of the existing set of points of the vertical control network on an ongoing basis. The application has been developed with the use of a test database of points. The status of the points was checked by means of a multi-stage analysis. The prepared database of points was verified taking into account the criteria defined by the authors. In order to optimise the scoring analysis process, two groups of criteria were distinguished: independent of each other and those whose analysis was justified only under the condition of prior verification of other criteria. Based on the analysis of the collected data, the main conclusion was the ongoing need to update the data on the matrix points. It was found that information on points is often incomplete and inaccurate, especially in terms of their horizontal position, which often prevents efficient localisation of points. One of the most significant findings was that only 55.6% of the points available in the database were identified in the field. It should be noted that despite the analysis of the state of the matrix carried out in 2019 on behalf of the GUGiK, there are still many points about which information is not fully up-to-date. It is now possible to extend the application with new attributes and validation rules and conduct updates for several types of geodetic networks. Due to the extensive character of the discussed subject, the study has been divided into two parts. The continuation of this study is the second research work, which presents the development of a mobile application for the update of the geodetic control network. It will present in detail the procedures and IT application development processes.