Fundamentally your drawing is correct. To imagine the problem a bit more intuitively, the vectors u1, u2 and u3 should reverse their sign and originate at the origin ("D"... the laser total station.) But as you said, that has no real effect on the math.
I've got other items on my plate...
I can't thank you enough for your continued interest.
Unfortunately the angles between the u and v vectors are unknown (unless a way to determine them from a combination of the u vectors and the v magnitudes can be found.) Remember we only know the magnitude of the v vectors and not the...
Thank you for your quick response!
I think there may be one clarification necessary, although it may be my lack of understanding that is driving the confusion.
When you set up your "difference vectors" you establish that v1 = a - b, v2 = b - c, and v3 = a - c. While that certainly can be...
I have a unique problem that I'm struggling with with regards to surveying.
Because my surveying equipment is much more accurate at measuring angles than distances I'd like to find an analytic solution using only the angular measurements.
Let the surveyor sit at the origin of the...