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Abstract
A low-cost motorisation of the Leica DNA03 digital level was designed to enable the automatic monitoring of deformations without compromising its manual use in levelling. The upgrade of the instrument and its electronic control system are described together with laboratory tests carried out to study the effects of ambient temperature on the level. A simple model for the correction of measurements as a function of the temperature is proposed. The detection of vertical movements with sub-millimetre accuracy was obtained in a simulated permanent monitoring system. The operational advantages of the instrument are shown in a field test. Despite the encouraging results, research is still needed to find a reliable model for the correction of the staff readings under changing temperature conditions.
The authors thank Engineers Alessandro Zerbetto and Antonio Gonelli for their valuable assistance during the numerous tests and Engineer Nicola Preda for his contribution to the realisation of the control software for the motorised level. The authors wish to acknowledge constructive comments and suggestions provided by the anonymous reviewers.
