Comparative Review of Molodensky-Badekas and Burša-Wolf Methods for Coordinate Transformation

© 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers. J. Badekas reinterpreted M. S. Molodensky's three-dimensional similarity transformation as a vector solution using a centroid. The solution has since been (mis)interpreted by some others with inconsistent reference to the methods of both Molodensky an...

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Main Authors: Abbey, Donald, Featherstone, Will
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: ASCE-AMER SOC CIVIL ENGINEERS 2020
Subjects:
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81642
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author Abbey, Donald
Featherstone, Will
author_facet Abbey, Donald
Featherstone, Will
author_sort Abbey, Donald
building Curtin Institutional Repository
collection Online Access
description © 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers. J. Badekas reinterpreted M. S. Molodensky's three-dimensional similarity transformation as a vector solution using a centroid. The solution has since been (mis)interpreted by some others with inconsistent reference to the methods of both Molodensky and Badekas, principally relating to the translation vector and the stochastic model. This appears to have led to incorrect claims that the Molodensky-Badekas method is superior to the Helmert similarity and Burša-Wolf methods. This paper reviews the development and description of the original Badekas method, reconfirming its equivalence to the Burša-Wolf method in the forward direction, and provides an alternative solution that suits the same-formula reversal common in commercial surveying software. It is also demonstrated that the Molodensky-Badekas method has no inherent superiority over the Burša-Wolf method, has an ambiguous functional model, and nominally underestimates its parameter statistics when these are compared directly with those from the Burša-Wolf method.
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spelling curtin-20.500.11937-816422020-12-01T04:43:25Z Comparative Review of Molodensky-Badekas and Burša-Wolf Methods for Coordinate Transformation Abbey, Donald Featherstone, Will Science & Technology Technology Engineering, Civil Engineering Similarity Conformal Geodetic Coordinate transformation DATUM SIMILARITY © 2020 American Society of Civil Engineers. J. Badekas reinterpreted M. S. Molodensky's three-dimensional similarity transformation as a vector solution using a centroid. The solution has since been (mis)interpreted by some others with inconsistent reference to the methods of both Molodensky and Badekas, principally relating to the translation vector and the stochastic model. This appears to have led to incorrect claims that the Molodensky-Badekas method is superior to the Helmert similarity and Burša-Wolf methods. This paper reviews the development and description of the original Badekas method, reconfirming its equivalence to the Burša-Wolf method in the forward direction, and provides an alternative solution that suits the same-formula reversal common in commercial surveying software. It is also demonstrated that the Molodensky-Badekas method has no inherent superiority over the Burša-Wolf method, has an ambiguous functional model, and nominally underestimates its parameter statistics when these are compared directly with those from the Burša-Wolf method. 2020 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81642 10.1061/(ASCE)SU.1943-5428.0000319 English ASCE-AMER SOC CIVIL ENGINEERS fulltext
spellingShingle Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Civil
Engineering
Similarity
Conformal
Geodetic
Coordinate transformation
DATUM
SIMILARITY
Abbey, Donald
Featherstone, Will
Comparative Review of Molodensky-Badekas and Burša-Wolf Methods for Coordinate Transformation
title Comparative Review of Molodensky-Badekas and Burša-Wolf Methods for Coordinate Transformation
title_full Comparative Review of Molodensky-Badekas and Burša-Wolf Methods for Coordinate Transformation
title_fullStr Comparative Review of Molodensky-Badekas and Burša-Wolf Methods for Coordinate Transformation
title_full_unstemmed Comparative Review of Molodensky-Badekas and Burša-Wolf Methods for Coordinate Transformation
title_short Comparative Review of Molodensky-Badekas and Burša-Wolf Methods for Coordinate Transformation
title_sort comparative review of molodensky-badekas and burša-wolf methods for coordinate transformation
topic Science & Technology
Technology
Engineering, Civil
Engineering
Similarity
Conformal
Geodetic
Coordinate transformation
DATUM
SIMILARITY
url http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/81642