{ "model": { "rank": 6059, "code": "thing-q181517", "model_id": "vr.tr.theodolite", "name": "theodolite", "purpose": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a theodolite, assess its readiness for angular surveying, and decide whether to set it up, use it, check it or refer it for adjustment.", "family": "Thing Registry", "category": "Physical world and living systems", "status": "research-draft", "kind": "thing", "plane": "PHY", "domain": "PHY.OBJ", "industry": "", "version": "", "url": "/models/thing/q181517/", "tier": 2, "score": 63, "payload": { "layer": "wikidata", "aliases": [ "Suspension theodolite", "Ramsden theodolite", "construction theodolite" ], "aliasCount": 3, "merged": 3, "knownIn": 63, "facets": null, "markers": [], "lexicalClass": "", "senseRank": null, "alsoRegisteredAs": "vr.tr.theodolite", "source": { "dataset": "wikidata", "item": "Q181517", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q181517", "license": "CC0 1.0" } }, "research": { "vercy": "1.0-draft", "publication": { "status": "research-draft", "adjudicationStatus": "unreviewed", "publishableCanonical": false, "generatedAt": "2026-09-07T11:17:26Z", "providers": [ "Codex", "Grok" ], "missingProviders": [], "pass": 2, "cost": { "grok": { "usd": 0.04290074, "turns": 2, "seconds": 156.2, "error": null }, "codex": { "seconds": 74, "error": "Reading additional input from stdin...\nOpenAI Codex v0.153.3\n--------\nworkdir: R:\\02_PROJECTS\\02_Meta_Models_Platforms\\Ver.cy\\current\\thing-registry-backlog\nmodel: gpt-6-astra\nprovider: openai\napproval: never\nsandbox: read-only\nreasoning effort: none\nreasoning summaries: none\nsession id: 01a07b93-fc1e-7053-9f49-6d49393fb974\n--------\nuser\nYou are drafting a Vercy meta-model for one registered thing. Answer as JSON only, no prose around it.\n\nThing: theodolite\nRegistry id: vr.tr.theodolite\nPlane / domain: PHY / PHY.OBJ\nRegistry definition: (none recorded)\nNames folded into this entry: (none)\n\nA V" } } }, "metaModel": { "id": "THING-Q181517", "registryId": "vr.tr.theodolite", "name": "theodolite", "version": "0.1.0-research.1", "entryKind": "thing", "family": "Thing Registry", "domain": [ "PHY.OBJ" ], "status": "research-draft" }, "canonicalUrl": "https://ver.cy/models/thing/q181517/", "model": { "registry_id": "vr.tr.theodolite", "name": "theodolite", "purpose": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a theodolite, assess its readiness for angular surveying, and decide whether to set it up, use it, check it or refer it for adjustment.", "definition": "A geodetic and surveying instrument that measures horizontal directions and vertical angles from a station by rotating a telescope about a vertical axis and a mutually perpendicular trunnion (horizontal) axis, with a horizontal circle, a vertical circle, and their reading systems as essential components.", "scope_statement": "This model owns the identity, angular observation capabilities, setup state, alignment evidence and operating constraints of an individual theodolite, including its interfaces to supports, targets and observation records.", "in_scope": [ "Instrument identity and configuration as a horizontal and vertical angle measuring device", "Telescope, angular axes, circles or encoders, and reading controls", "Centering, leveling, mounting and reference orientation at an occupied station", "Angular performance claims and evidence from checks or calibration", "Readiness, observation workflow and instrument-specific handling constraints" ], "out_of_scope": [ "Survey network design, coordinate adjustment and project acceptance criteria", "Survey stations, control monuments and target objects as independent things", "Tripods, external tribrachs and accessories beyond their compatibility and attachment state", "Electronic distance measurement and integrated total-station functions", "Terrain, parcels and structures being surveyed" ], "distinguishing_features": [ "Can the instrument sight a target through a telescope and measure both horizontal and vertical angular position, rather than only establish a level line of sight?", "Does its configuration support rotation about a standing axis and telescope elevation about a second axis, with identifiable angular reading systems?", "Does it measure angles without an integrated electronic distance measurement function that would place the complete instrument under a total-station model?", "Does a projected laser, if present, support an angular surveying instrument rather than make the device primarily a laser level?", "Can it occupy and orient at a survey station, rather than measure an angle between two sights as a handheld sextant does?" ], "characteristics": [ { "name": "Instrument identification", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Manufacturer, model, serial identifier and documented variant; unknown where unverified", "why_it_matters": "Connects the physical instrument to the correct specifications, procedures and service records." }, { "name": "Angular reading technology", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Optical circle reading, electronic reading, other documented arrangement or unknown", "why_it_matters": "Determines how observations are obtained and which power or illumination dependencies apply." }, { "name": "Horizontal angular reading", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Degrees, gon or another documented angular unit, with circle direction and orientation reference", "why_it_matters": "A circle reading can only support an interpreted direction or angle when its convention and reference are known." }, { "name": "Vertical angular reading", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Degrees, gon or another documented angular unit; record whether zenith angle, elevation angle or another convention", "why_it_matters": "Prevents confusing numerically similar readings that use different vertical origins." }, { "name": "Angular resolution", "kind": "measurement", "unit_or_values": "Smallest readable or displayed increment in an identified angular unit", "why_it_matters": "Describes reading granularity without treating it as demonstrated accuracy." }, { "name": "Angular performance evidence", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Links to specifications, calibration results or repeatability checks with methods, dates and conditions", "why_it_matters": "Supports a defensible comparison between instrument capability and the intended observation task." }, { "name": "Station centering condition", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Unchecked, checked within stated tolerance, outside stated tolerance or indeterminate", "why_it_matters": "Displacement from the intended station can affect observed directions." }, { "name": "Leveling condition", "kind": "state", "unit_or_values": "Unchecked, checked within stated tolerance, outside stated tolerance or indeterminate", "why_it_matters": "Establishes whether the standing axis is sufficiently vertical for the intended observations." }, { "name": "Compensation configuration", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Absent, present with documented axes and working range, disabled or unknown", "why_it_matters": "Determines which tilt effects the instrument can address and when compensation cannot be relied upon." }, { "name": "Observation face", "kind": "category", "unit_or_values": "Face I, face II or manufacturer-equivalent designation, with convention recorded", "why_it_matters": "Allows paired observations and face-dependent checks to be interpreted correctly." }, { "name": "Mounting interface", "kind": "relation", "unit_or_values": "Compatible support or tribrach, attachment method and verified connection state", "why_it_matters": "Determines whether the instrument can be installed securely and centered as intended." } ], "affordances": [ "Identify the instrument variant and retrieve its applicable operating and checking procedures.", "Mount, center, level and orient it at a survey station using compatible equipment.", "Sight targets and record horizontal and vertical readings with units, conventions and observation face.", "Repeat or pair observations to evaluate consistency and applicable instrumental errors.", "Compare setup and performance evidence with task requirements to accept observations or require further checks.", "Secure it for transport or route it for authorized adjustment when condition or check results warrant." ] }, "sources": [ { "id": "iso-9849-2017", "title": "ISO 9849:2017 Optics and optical instruments - Geodetic and surveying instruments - Vocabulary", "url": "https://www.iso.org/obp/ui/en/?_escaped_fragment_=iso:std:65084:en", "what_it_supports": "Specialist definition; named kinds (compass, electronic, gyro, suspension theodolite); distinction from total station and tachymeter.", "url_status": "blocked" }, { "id": "wikidata-q181517", "title": "theodolite (Q181517)", "url": "https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q181517", "what_it_supports": "Wikidata item, aliases (Transit), and cross-identifiers (BnF, Freebase, Google Product Taxonomy).", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "wikipedia-theodolite", "title": "Theodolite", "url": "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodolite", "what_it_supports": "Operating geometry; transit vs non-transit; collimation, index and trunnion-axis errors; gyrotheodolite and pibal use; typical angular resolution.", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "fig-iso-tc172-sc6", "title": "FIG Standards Network: ISO/TC 172 SC6 Survey Instrument Standards", "url": "https://fig.net/organisation/networks/standards_network/survey_instruments.asp", "what_it_supports": "Governing ISO field-test and accessory standards for theodolites (ISO 17123-3, ISO 12858, ISO 9849).", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "lemmens-gim-2016", "title": "Evolution from theodolite to today's total station", "url": "https://repository.tudelft.nl/file/File_c8e3a039-2b52-47c7-b8ef-1b20531496e5", "what_it_supports": "Practice distinction: total station as theodolite plus integrated EDM; historical optical models (e.g. Wild T3).", "url_status": "live" }, { "id": "zeiske-fig-iso", "title": "Current Status of the ISO Standardization of Accuracy Determination Procedures for Surveying Instruments", "url": "https://fig.net/resources/proceedings/fig_proceedings/korea/abstracts/pdf/ws_com5_3/zeiske-abs.pdf", "what_it_supports": "ISO 17123 as successor field-test series; older ISO 8322-4 theodolite accuracy-in-use procedure.", "url_status": "live" } ], "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "instrument-identity-and-boundary", "name": "Instrument identity and boundary", "description": "Establishes which angular surveying instrument is present and which capabilities belong to its configuration.", "rationale": "Similar-looking levels and total stations require different models and operating assumptions.", "layers": [ { "id": "identification-and-configuration", "name": "Identification and configuration", "description": "Connects the physical instrument to a documented variant and reading arrangement.", "findings": [ { "id": "documented-instrument-variant", "name": "Documented instrument variant", "description": "Record identification evidence and distinguish observed features from capabilities established by documentation.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which markings, serial identifier and manual establish the instrument's manufacturer, model and variant?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "documented-instrument-variant-q01" }, { "text": "How are its horizontal and vertical angular readings obtained?", "kind": "definition", "id": "documented-instrument-variant-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "neighbouring-instrument-boundaries", "name": "Neighbouring instrument boundaries", "description": "Separates theodolite functions from adjacent instruments and attached accessories.", "findings": [ { "id": "angular-instrument-boundary", "name": "Angular instrument boundary", "description": "Record the evidence for treating this object as a theodolite and the ownership of additional functions.", "questions": [ { "text": "What confirms that it measures both horizontal and vertical angles rather than serving primarily as a level?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "angular-instrument-boundary-q01" }, { "text": "Is distance measurement integrated into the instrument or supplied by a separate attachment, and which model owns that capability?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "angular-instrument-boundary-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "sighting-and-angular-readout", "name": "Sighting and angular readout", "description": "Describes how a target becomes an interpretable angular observation.", "rationale": "A displayed or optical circle value is insufficient without reliable sighting and explicit reading conventions.", "layers": [ { "id": "telescope-and-target-acquisition", "name": "Telescope and target acquisition", "description": "Captures the condition and usability of the sighting path.", "findings": [ { "id": "usable-line-of-sight", "name": "Usable line of sight", "description": "Record whether the reticle and target can be focused and a stable pointing can be established.", "questions": [ { "text": "Can the operator focus the reticle and target so that no relative movement is apparent when the eye position changes?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "usable-line-of-sight-q01" }, { "text": "Do optical condition, target visibility or movement controls prevent a repeatable pointing?", "kind": "action", "id": "usable-line-of-sight-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "circle-conventions-and-resolution", "name": "Circle conventions and resolution", "description": "Makes angular values interpretable across modes, faces and records.", "findings": [ { "id": "interpretable-angular-reading", "name": "Interpretable angular reading", "description": "Record units, origins, direction conventions and reading increments for each angular channel.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which units, horizontal increase direction and vertical zero convention apply to the current readings?", "kind": "definition", "id": "interpretable-angular-reading-q01" }, { "text": "What is the smallest readable increment, and what separate evidence establishes angular performance?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "interpretable-angular-reading-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "station-setup-and-orientation", "name": "Station setup and orientation", "description": "Captures the instrument's physical and directional relationship to the occupied survey station.", "rationale": "A functioning theodolite can produce unsuitable observations when its station setup or orientation is wrong.", "layers": [ { "id": "support-centering-and-leveling", "name": "Support, centering and leveling", "description": "Records whether the mounted instrument maintains the required position and axis orientation.", "findings": [ { "id": "verified-station-occupation", "name": "Verified station occupation", "description": "Link the instrument to the occupied mark and record mounting, centering and leveling checks.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which station mark is occupied, and how was centering checked against the task's tolerance?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "verified-station-occupation-q01" }, { "text": "After final leveling and instrument rotation, do centering, level indications and support stability remain acceptable?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "verified-station-occupation-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "reference-direction", "name": "Reference direction", "description": "Establishes how horizontal circle readings relate to a selected reference.", "findings": [ { "id": "traceable-orientation-setting", "name": "Traceable orientation setting", "description": "Record the backsight or other orientation reference and the circle setting associated with it.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which target or reference establishes orientation, and what circle value was assigned or observed?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "traceable-orientation-setting-q01" }, { "text": "What check is required after a suspected movement, reset or interruption before the orientation is reused?", "kind": "action", "id": "traceable-orientation-setting-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "alignment-and-performance-evidence", "name": "Alignment and performance evidence", "description": "Relates axis alignment, index checks and performance records to the intended angular work.", "rationale": "Nominal specifications alone do not establish the present condition of an individual instrument.", "layers": [ { "id": "axis-and-index-checks", "name": "Axis and index checks", "description": "Captures applicable checks of sighting alignment, vertical indexing and tilt-related functions.", "findings": [ { "id": "alignment-check-results", "name": "Alignment check results", "description": "Record completed checks, their methods and limits without assuming every variant supports the same procedure.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which documented checks apply to collimation, telescope-axis alignment and vertical index for this variant, and what did they show?", "kind": "measurement", "id": "alignment-check-results-q01" }, { "text": "If compensation is fitted, what evidence confirms its current operation and applicable working range?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "alignment-check-results-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "fitness-for-angular-task", "name": "Fitness for angular task", "description": "Compares the instrument's supported performance with requirements supplied by the survey task.", "findings": [ { "id": "supported-use-decision", "name": "Supported use decision", "description": "Record whether current evidence supports use and identify unresolved limitations.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which calibration or field-check records apply to this instrument, and do later impacts, repairs or anomalous results undermine them?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "supported-use-decision-q01" }, { "text": "Does the available evidence meet the intended task's angular requirements, or is another check, adjustment or instrument required?", "kind": "action", "id": "supported-use-decision-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observation-and-handling-controls", "name": "Observation and handling controls", "description": "Defines conditions for taking traceable readings and preserving instrument condition between uses.", "rationale": "Observation sequence and handling affect whether angular results remain interpretable and the instrument remains ready.", "layers": [ { "id": "observation-sequence-and-record", "name": "Observation sequence and record", "description": "Connects readings to targets, faces and repetition sequences.", "findings": [ { "id": "traceable-observation-set", "name": "Traceable observation set", "description": "Preserve enough context to compare repeated readings and identify observations requiring rejection or repetition.", "questions": [ { "text": "For each reading, which station, target, face, circle setting and observation sequence apply?", "kind": "provenance", "id": "traceable-observation-set-q01" }, { "text": "What disagreement between repeats or paired faces requires re-observation under the selected procedure?", "kind": "action", "id": "traceable-observation-set-q02" } ] } ] }, { "id": "operating-limits-and-transport", "name": "Operating limits and transport", "description": "Records variant-specific dependencies, exposure limits and securing instructions.", "findings": [ { "id": "permitted-operation-and-securing", "name": "Permitted operation and securing", "description": "Determine whether current conditions permit observation and how the instrument must be secured afterward.", "questions": [ { "text": "Which documented power, temperature, moisture and sighting constraints apply, and are they satisfied?", "kind": "boundary", "id": "permitted-operation-and-securing-q01" }, { "text": "What manufacturer procedure governs removal, packing and movement restraint, and what events require checks before reuse?", "kind": "action", "id": "permitted-operation-and-securing-q02" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "evidence-and-external-alignment", "name": "Evidence and external alignment", "description": "What the world already says about this thing, gathered so the model can be checked against it.", "rationale": "A model that cannot be lined up against existing standards, identifiers and practice cannot be adopted by anyone who already uses them.", "layers": [ { "id": "reported-evidence", "name": "Reported evidence", "description": "Findings from the breadth pass, kept separate from the structural claims.", "findings": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds", "name": "Kinds and varieties", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "optical theodolite (vernier or glass-circle micrometer)", "electronic (digital) theodolite", "transit theodolite", "compass theodolite", "gyrotheodolite (gyro-azimuth theodolite / survey gyroscope)", "suspension theodolite (hanging, nadir, mining)", "astronomical theodolite (transit instrument)", "pilot-balloon (pibal) theodolite" ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-kinds-q01", "text": "Which of these kinds and varieties hold for the sense of theodolite this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-identifiers", "name": "Identifiers and schemes", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "scheme": "Wikidata", "value_or_pattern": "Q181517", "note": "Item for the instrument class; English alias Transit." }, { "scheme": "ISO 9849 term", "value_or_pattern": "3.1.19", "note": "Defined term theodolite (synonym transit) in the geodetic-instrument vocabulary." }, { "scheme": "Google Product Taxonomy", "value_or_pattern": "4340", "note": "Hardware > Tools > Measuring Tools & Sensors > Theodolites." }, { "scheme": "BnF", "value_or_pattern": "126539419", "note": "Subject heading Théodolites." }, { "scheme": "Freebase", "value_or_pattern": "/m/01kzpc", "note": "Legacy knowledge-graph identifier recorded on Wikidata." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-identifiers-q01", "text": "Which of these identifiers and schemes hold for the sense of theodolite this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation", "name": "Standards and regulation", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "ISO 9849:2017 (ISO/TC 172/SC 6) - vocabulary for geodetic and surveying instruments, including theodolite and its subtypes.", "ISO 17123-3:2001 (ISO/TC 172/SC 6) - field procedures for testing theodolites (precision / maximum permissible error).", "ISO 17123-1:2014 (ISO/TC 172/SC 6) - theory of those field procedures.", "ISO 12858-2 and ISO 12858-3 (ISO/TC 172/SC 6) - tripods and tribrachs used with theodolites (forced centring).", "ISO 8322-4 (ISO; older building-construction series) - procedures for determining accuracy in use of theodolites; largely superseded in surveying practice by ISO 17123." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-standards-and-regulation-q01", "text": "Which of these standards and regulation hold for the sense of theodolite this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-real-world-use", "name": "Real-world use", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Occupied on a tripod or pillar over a survey mark to observe horizontal directions and vertical (or zenith) angles in control traverses and triangulation.", "Construction layout, column and structural-steel alignment, and plumb checks where only angles are required.", "Gyrotheodolite azimuth transfer in mines and tunnels where star sights or GNSS are unavailable (e.g. connecting shafts under a river).", "Suspension/hanging setups for nadir observations in underground surveys.", "Tracking ceiling or pilot balloons (pibal) to estimate winds aloft from timed azimuth and elevation, historically in meteorology and wartime.", "First-order geodetic triangulation with high-resolution optical instruments (e.g. Wild T3 at ~0.2″) before electronic total stations became standard." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-real-world-use-q01", "text": "Which of these real-world use hold for the sense of theodolite this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-measurements", "name": "Typical measurements", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "quantity": "horizontal direction (circle reading)", "typical_range": "0-360 (sexagesimal) or 0-400 (centesimal)", "unit": "degree or gon" }, { "quantity": "vertical angle or zenith distance", "typical_range": "full circle 0-360, or altitude about −90 to +90; index check uses 90°/270° (100/300 gon) with the sight axis horizontal", "unit": "degree or gon" }, { "quantity": "angular precision (pointing and reading, DIN/ISO class as quoted by makers)", "typical_range": "about 1-20 for ordinary surveying and construction theodolites; ~0.2 for first-order optical instruments such as Wild T3; some older transits to 30", "unit": "arcsecond" }, { "quantity": "collimation error (adjustment tolerance)", "typical_range": "≤10 high-precision; ≤20 moderate; ≤60 low-precision", "unit": "arcsecond" }, { "quantity": "telescope magnification", "typical_range": "about 20-32", "unit": "×" }, { "quantity": "instrument mass (field models, unpacked)", "typical_range": "about 2-9", "unit": "kg" }, { "quantity": "plate-level sensitivity", "typical_range": "about 8' to 45″ per 2 mm run, depending on grade", "unit": "arcsecond or arcminute per 2 mm" } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-measurements-q01", "text": "Which of these typical measurements hold for the sense of theodolite this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards", "name": "Failure modes and hazards", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "Collimation error: line of sight not perpendicular to the trunnion axis, biasing horizontal angles especially on steep sights; reduced by observing face-left and face-right.", "Trunnion-axis (horizontal-axis) error: axes not mutually perpendicular; same two-face procedure is used to cancel it.", "Vertical-circle index error: 90°/270° (100/300 gon) not recovered when the sight axis is horizontal; contaminates single-face vertical angles.", "Circle eccentricity and graduation error: residual if only one vernier or one circle position is read.", "Parallax from poor objective/eyepiece focus; vertical axis not plumbed; instrument not centred over the mark.", "Unmeasured or poorly measured instrument height above the station mark, which corrupts reductions even when angles are good.", "Gyrotheodolite cannot be moved while spinning and is unreliable within about 15° of the geographic poles, where the meridian is poorly defined by Earth rotation.", "Tripod or pillar instability, thermal soak of circles and levels, and dust or rain on unsealed older instruments degrade observations and can damage glass circles." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-failure-modes-and-hazards-q01", "text": "Which of these failure modes and hazards hold for the sense of theodolite this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-regional-variation", "name": "Regional variation", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ "In North American field speech, transit often names a simpler engineer's instrument; ISO 9849 treats theodolite and transit as the same term.", "European cadastral and engineering practice commonly uses 400-gon circles; Anglo-American practice uses sexagesimal degrees, minutes and seconds (Wikipedia's index-error check is stated in both 90° and 100 gon).", "Suspension theodolites for nadir/mining work are a named ISO kind and historically more associated with underground surveying practice than with ordinary topographic kits.", "Trade usage sometimes calls a total station a theodolite; ISO keeps total station (electronic tacheometer) as a separate term because of the integrated EDM." ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-regional-variation-q01", "text": "Which of these regional variation hold for the sense of theodolite this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] }, { "id": "evidence-neighbours", "name": "Neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart", "description": "Reported by the breadth pass; each item needs checking against its source before it becomes normative.", "evidence": [ { "name": "total station (electronic tacheometer)", "difference": "A theodolite measures angles only; a total station adds opto-electronic distance measurement, onboard computation and data storage. Presence of an integrated EDM is the test." }, { "name": "optical or automatic level", "difference": "A level is constrained to a horizontal line of sight for height difference; it has no vertical circle for measuring vertical angles." }, { "name": "tachymeter / tacheometer (without calling it a total station)", "difference": "ISO treats a tachymeter as an instrument designed to obtain both angles and distances (stadia or EDM); a plain theodolite may allow optical distance work but is defined by its angle circles." }, { "name": "engineer's transit (North American usage)", "difference": "Functionally a theodolite that can transit the telescope; in trade it often meant a less precise, more open instrument without optical-micrometer or enclosed glass circles. Check stated angular resolution and whether the telescope can rotate a full vertical circle." }, { "name": "alidade / plane table", "difference": "An alidade gives a drawn direction on a mapping board, not circle readings of horizontal and vertical angles from a levelled, centred instrument." }, { "name": "astronomical transit instrument", "difference": "A meridian-fixed telescope for star transits; ISO notes that a theodolite used in astronomical work is often so named, but a dedicated transit instrument is not a free-horizon surveying theodolite." } ], "questions": [ { "id": "evidence-neighbours-q01", "text": "Which of these neighbouring kinds and how to tell them apart hold for the sense of theodolite this model covers, and on what evidence?", "kind": "provenance" } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "openQuestions": [ "Does the registry already contain a world model covering theodolites that this entry should reference?", "How should the registry classify historical variants and theodolites fitted with detachable electronic distance measurement equipment?", "Which manufacturer manuals and applicable testing procedures should anchor alignment checks and performance terminology across optical and electronic variants?", "Which acceptance limits must come from the individual survey task, and which can be established from instrument-specific documentation?", "What evidence and authority are required before an agent may perform user adjustments rather than refer the instrument for service?" ], "statistics": { "bundles": 6, "layers": 11, "findings": 18, "questions": 28 } }, "draft": { "generator": "vr.draft.v3", "status": "draft-generated", "researched": false, "archetype": "device, machine or tool", "method": "Written from the archetype playbook - what this kind of thing needs beyond identity and provenance - and from the structure that recurred across 6,333 models already researched by two engines. Applied to this entry by rule. No source was read for this thing and no claim here is researched. This entry carries no facets of its own, so they were inferred from its domain - a guess about a whole domain applied to one thing.", "facetsInferred": true, "nextPass": "A researcher replaces this draft with a sourced specification. Treat every sentence below as a proposal to argue with.", "purpose": "Give an agent a durable, checkable way to recognise a theodolite, record what state it is in, and decide what may be done with it.", "whatItIs": "Enable an AI agent to recognise a theodolite, assess its readiness for angular surveying, and decide whether to set it up, use it, check it or refer it for adjustment.", "characteristics": { "substance": "material", "origin": "manufactured", "agency": "inert", "mobility": "varies" }, "whatYouCanDoWithIt": [ "observed and measured" ], "distinguishingFeatures": [ "Names folded into this entry, which a task may need to split apart again: Suspension theodolite, Ramsden theodolite, construction theodolite.", "3 finer distinctions are held as aliases rather than separate entries, because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it.", "Described in 63 Wikipedia languages, which is a measure of how widely the thing is known, not of how important it is." ], "openQuestionsForResearch": [ "Which of the bundles below does a real task actually need, and which are ceremony?", "What does this thing have that the facets do not capture at all?", "Which neighbouring kind is most often confused with a theodolite, and on what evidence are they told apart?" ], "whatItIsMadeOf": "matter you can touch", "physicalCharacter": [ "Mobility varies between examples.", "Does nothing on its own; everything it does, something else did to it.", "These come from the domain this entry sits in rather than from the entry itself, so treat them as a first guess about the whole domain applied to one thing." ], "whatCanBeDoneWithIt": [ "observe it, measure it, record its state" ], "howItIsRecognised": [ "Recognised by form, by the arrangement of its controls, and by markings - a plate, a model number, a certification mark. Form alone rarely separates two models that do very different things." ], "relatedModels": [ { "relation": "covers", "note": "Finer kinds folded into this entry because telling them apart needs a task that asks for it. Each is a model waiting to be split out when one does.", "targets": [ "Suspension theodolite", "Ramsden theodolite", "construction theodolite" ] } ], "standing": "Described in 63 Wikipedia languages, which measures how widely it is written about rather than how important or how common it is. 3 finer distinctions are held inside this entry as names rather than as separate models.", "structure": { "bundles": [ { "id": "identity-and-classification", "name": "Identity, naming and classification", "description": "How an agent tells one theodolite from another, and a theodolite from things that resemble it.", "rationale": "Recognition comes before every other claim. Without stable identity nothing else in the model can be trusted to be about the same thing twice.", "layers": [ { "id": "naming-and-identifiers", "name": "Names and identifiers", "description": "The names this thing goes by and the identifiers that survive translation and time.", "findings": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases", "name": "Preferred name, aliases and local names", "description": "Which name to use, which names mean the same thing, and which merely sound similar.", "questions": [ { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the name of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the name of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "preferred-name-and-aliases-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the name of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers", "name": "Stable identifiers and external keys", "description": "Identifiers that keep pointing at this kind of thing across systems and languages.", "questions": [ { "id": "stable-identifiers-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an identifier for a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an identifier for a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stable-identifiers-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an identifier for a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "classification-and-granularity", "name": "Classification and granularity", "description": "Where a theodolite sits among kinds, and how finely a task needs to cut it.", "findings": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents", "name": "Kind, parents and neighbouring kinds", "description": "The classes this thing belongs to and the ones it is next to.", "questions": [ { "id": "kind-and-parents-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the kind of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the kind of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "kind-and-parents-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the kind of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features", "name": "Distinguishing features", "description": "What separates a theodolite from the things most often confused with it.", "questions": [ { "id": "distinguishing-features-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes what distinguishes a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about what distinguishes a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "distinguishing-features-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once what distinguishes a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "form-and-composition", "name": "Form, composition and condition", "description": "What a theodolite is made of, what shape and size it takes, and what state it is in.", "rationale": "A physical thing can be measured, and a model that cannot record its measurements cannot support any decision that depends on them.", "layers": [ { "id": "form-and-dimensions", "name": "Form and dimensions", "description": "Shape, size, mass and the ranges these take across examples.", "findings": [ { "id": "measurable-dimensions", "name": "Measurable dimensions and their units", "description": "The quantities worth recording and the units they are recorded in.", "questions": [ { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the dimensions of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the dimensions of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "measurable-dimensions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the dimensions of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "material-and-composition", "name": "Material and composition", "description": "Materials, parts and how they are put together.", "findings": [ { "id": "parts-and-materials", "name": "Parts and materials", "description": "What a theodolite is built from and which parts are replaceable.", "questions": [ { "id": "parts-and-materials-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the composition of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "parts-and-materials-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the composition of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "parts-and-materials-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the composition of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "condition-and-integrity", "name": "Condition and integrity", "description": "Wear, damage, health and the difference between working and broken.", "findings": [ { "id": "condition-assessment", "name": "Condition, damage and health", "description": "How the condition of a theodolite is judged and by whom.", "questions": [ { "id": "condition-assessment-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the condition of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "condition-assessment-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the condition of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "condition-assessment-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the condition of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "place-and-movement", "name": "Place and movement", "description": "Where a theodolite is, how it got there and where it may go (varies).", "rationale": "A thing that can move needs its position recorded with a time, or every later claim about it is about a place it has left.", "layers": [ { "id": "location-and-placement", "name": "Location and placement", "description": "Position, containment and the reference frame the position is given in.", "findings": [ { "id": "position-and-frame", "name": "Position, container and reference frame", "description": "Where a theodolite is, and what that position is measured against.", "questions": [ { "id": "position-and-frame-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the location of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "position-and-frame-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the location of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "position-and-frame-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the location of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "movement-and-transfer", "name": "Movement and transfer", "description": "How a theodolite is carried, installed or relocated.", "findings": [ { "id": "movement-events", "name": "Movement events and constraints", "description": "What counts as a movement, what records it and what limits it.", "questions": [ { "id": "movement-events-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the movement of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "movement-events-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the movement of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "movement-events-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the movement of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "state-and-lifecycle", "name": "State and lifecycle", "description": "The states a theodolite passes through and the events that move it between them.", "rationale": "Most decisions about a thing depend on what state it is in now, which is a claim with a time on it, not a property.", "layers": [ { "id": "lifecycle-stages", "name": "Lifecycle stages", "description": "From coming into existence to ceasing to be one of these.", "findings": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions", "name": "Stages and transitions", "description": "The stages worth naming and what moves a theodolite between them.", "questions": [ { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the lifecycle of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the lifecycle of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "stages-and-transitions-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the lifecycle of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "observations-and-status", "name": "Observations and current status", "description": "What is observed about a theodolite, how often and by whom.", "findings": [ { "id": "observation-record", "name": "Observation record", "description": "How an observation of a theodolite is recorded so that it can be superseded rather than overwritten.", "questions": [ { "id": "observation-record-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes an observation of a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about an observation of a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "observation-record-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once an observation of a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "function-and-principle", "name": "Function and operating principle", "description": "What theodolite is for and how it achieves it.", "rationale": "Two devices with the same name can work on different principles, and the principle is what predicts failure and constrains use.", "layers": [ { "id": "intended-function", "name": "Intended function", "description": "The job it does, and the jobs it is used for anyway.", "findings": [ { "id": "function-record", "name": "Function, principle and variants", "description": "What it does, how, and which variants do it differently.", "questions": [ { "id": "function-record-q01", "text": "What function does theodolite perform, on what operating principle, and which variants differ in that principle?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "function-record-q02", "text": "What use falls outside the intended function but happens in practice?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] }, { "id": "capacity-and-rating", "name": "Capacity and rating", "description": "The numbers that say what it can do and where it stops.", "findings": [ { "id": "ratings", "name": "Ratings and their conditions", "description": "Rated capacity, power, throughput and the conditions each assumes.", "questions": [ { "id": "ratings-q01", "text": "What ratings characterise theodolite, in what units, and under what stated conditions?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "id": "ratings-q02", "text": "What happens beyond the rating - degradation, refusal, damage - and how is that detected?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "operation-and-state", "name": "Operation, controls and state", "description": "How theodolite is operated and what state it is in right now.", "rationale": "An agent acting on a device needs its current state and the controls that change it, not just its specification.", "layers": [ { "id": "controls-and-modes", "name": "Controls and modes", "description": "What can be set, what that changes, and what is interlocked.", "findings": [ { "id": "control-surface", "name": "Control surface and interlocks", "description": "The settings available and the conditions that block them.", "questions": [ { "id": "control-surface-q01", "text": "What controls and modes does theodolite have, and what does each change?", "kind": "definition" }, { "id": "control-surface-q02", "text": "Which actions are interlocked or forbidden in which state, and what must be true before acting?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "condition-and-maintenance", "name": "Condition and maintenance", "description": "Wear, service intervals, consumables and the line between working and broken.", "findings": [ { "id": "service-record", "name": "Condition, service and consumables", "description": "What is consumed, what is serviced, and how condition is judged.", "questions": [ { "id": "service-record-q01", "text": "What consumables and service does theodolite need, at what interval, and on whose authority?", "kind": "measurement" }, { "id": "service-record-q02", "text": "What evidence separates a unit that is working from one that is out of service?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "kind-model-unit", "name": "Kind, model and unit", "description": "Whether a claim about theodolite is about the kind, a product line, or one physical unit.", "rationale": "This is the boundary most often got wrong for made things, and getting it wrong mixes a catalogue entry with the machine in the yard.", "layers": [ { "id": "level-of-reference", "name": "Level of reference", "description": "The three levels and what belongs at each.", "findings": [ { "id": "level-rules", "name": "What belongs to kind, model and unit", "description": "Which properties are shared by all of them and which are not.", "questions": [ { "id": "level-rules-q01", "text": "Which facts about theodolite hold for every one of them, which for a model, and which only for one unit?", "kind": "boundary" }, { "id": "level-rules-q02", "text": "What identifies an individual unit, and what should an agent do when it has only the kind?", "kind": "action" } ] } ] }, { "id": "standards-and-conformity", "name": "Standards and conformity", "description": "The standards a working example must meet and who attests it.", "findings": [ { "id": "conformity", "name": "Standards, marks and attestation", "description": "Which standard applies, who certifies, and what the mark means.", "questions": [ { "id": "conformity-q01", "text": "Which standards govern theodolite, issued by whom, and what does conformity actually assert?", "kind": "provenance" }, { "id": "conformity-q02", "text": "What may an agent conclude from a certification mark, and what may it not?", "kind": "boundary" } ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "provenance-and-evidence", "name": "Provenance, evidence and time", "description": "Where every claim about a theodolite came from and when it held.", "rationale": "A claim without a source and a time cannot be superseded, only overwritten, and an agent that overwrites loses the ability to explain itself.", "layers": [ { "id": "source-and-authority", "name": "Source and authority", "description": "Who said it, on what evidence, and how strongly.", "findings": [ { "id": "claim-provenance", "name": "Claim provenance and confidence", "description": "The authority behind each claim about a theodolite and how confident it is.", "questions": [ { "id": "claim-provenance-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes a claim about a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about a claim about a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "claim-provenance-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once a claim about a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] }, { "id": "time-and-versions", "name": "Time, versions and supersession", "description": "When a claim was true, when it was learnt, and what replaced it.", "findings": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession", "name": "Validity period and supersession", "description": "How an old claim about a theodolite is retired without being erased.", "questions": [ { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q01", "text": "What identifies and describes the validity of a claim about a theodolite, and in what units or vocabulary?", "kind": "definition", "answer_data": [ "identifiers", "types and classes", "values with units", "explicit unknowns" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q02", "text": "Who or what asserted this about the validity of a claim about a theodolite, by which method, and when was it true?", "kind": "provenance", "answer_data": [ "authority", "method", "evidence", "event time", "knowledge time" ] }, { "id": "validity-and-supersession-q03", "text": "What may an agent decide or do once the validity of a claim about a theodolite is known, and what must it refuse?", "kind": "action", "answer_data": [ "permitted actions", "preconditions", "refusals", "escalation" ] } ] } ] } ] } ] }, "statistics": { "bundles": 8, "layers": 17, "findings": 19, "questions": 51 } } } }