58 
may say that several attempts to apply close- 
range photogrammetry to engineering prob- 
lems have met with only limited success and 
their widespread adoption has not occurred. 
Lacmann (1950) described many examples in 
his text book, several of which date from the 
early part of the 20th century. To this writer's 
knowledge, applications in the motor and 
chemical industries were eventually discon- 
tinued, despite the proven success of the 
photogrammetric methods (Farrand, 1965). 
This appears to have been because, very of- 
ten, the engineer chooses to use those 
methods and equipment with which he is 
familiar, unless the alternative offers distinct 
advantages. If photogrammetry is just as good 
as, but no better than, an established tech- 
nique, it is unlikely to be adopted because it 
requires expertise and equipment which are 
relatively unusual. However, there are cir- 
cumstances in which photogrammetry may 
be applied to advantage and this paper enu- 
merates some of them and indicates possible 
lines of development. 
RECENT ENGINEERING APPLICATIONS, WITH 
PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO WORK IN THE UNITED 
KiNGDOM 
In an attempt to limit the coverage of this 
paper, it was decided to review engineering 
applications of photogrammetry which have 
been published since January, 1972 or which 
are known to be in progress. The majority of 
examples which will be cited have originated 
in the United Kingdom but similar work has 
taken place in a number of other countries. 
January, 1972 was chosen as a suitable date 
because most work reported at the XIIth 
International Congress of Photogrammetry in 
Ottawa would have been prepared or pub- 
lished before that date. Readers in search of 
examples of earlier work could consult, for 
example, Bulletin de la Société Francaise de 
Photogrammétrie, 22, (1966) which contains 
articles on the application of close-range 
photogrammetry in the hydro-electric power 
industry; Journal of Japan Society for Photo- 
grammetry, Special Volume 2 (1966) which 
contains the papers given at the Commission 
V symposium ofthat year; and reviews by the 
author (Atkinson, 1968 and 1972b), both of 
which include sections on, and references to, 
close-range engineering photogrammetry. 
The period under review has seen further 
gradual development of non-topographic 
photogrammetry in the United Kingdom. 
Engineering applications form a substantial 
section of this development. Perusal of the 
Directory which was compiled and edited by 
Dowman (1974) confirms this impression. A 
PHOTOGRAMMETRIC ENGINEERING & REMOTE SENSING, 1976 
significant application in shipbuilding, 
which was described by Newton (1974), has 
now been joined by the establishment of a 
photogrammetric unit associated with the 
construction of oil rigs. Both aspects will be 
fully explained in another invited paper* to 
be given to the XIIIth International Congress. 
These developments have resulted from co- 
operation between the University of Newcas- 
tle upon Tyne and the British Ship Research 
Association in the first case, and between the 
University and Longdin and Browning (Sur- 
veys) Ltd. in the second. 
Because they are the subject of an invited 
paper**from the United Kingdom, it is ap- 
propriate to mention here the impact of co- 
herent optical methods on measurement 
problems in engineering. Developments 
have already been reported by Gates (1975) 
and Burch and Forno (1975) of methods 
which are being evolved at the National 
Physical Laboratory and, in the latter case, in 
collaboration with the Transport and Road 
Research Laboratory. Burch and Forno were 
specifically concerned with measurements of 
deflections of a large beam under load by 
using techniques which, hitherto, had not 
  
FiG.1 A scheme to double the carriageway of a 
road near Plymouth, Devon involved a section of 
excavation in rock. The southern extremity is 
shown in one of the survey photographs, together 
with adjoining property and a retaining wall and 
slope stabilisation measures. The determination 
of quantities for a further extensive retaining wall 
could be made from the results of a photogram- 
metric survey which was carried out by Univer- 
sity College London and Cartographical Serv- 
ices (Southampton) Ltd. for Devon County 
Council. 
Invited papers, Commission V, International Con- 
gress of Photogrammetry, 1976. 
* Close-range photogrammetry as an aid to mea- 
surement of marine structures, by I. Newton. 
** Three-dimensional location and measure- 
ment by coherent optical methods, by J.W.C. 
Gates.