a technique for establishing the distance between any two points, or the relative position of two or more points, by using such points as vertices of a triangle or series of triangles, such that each triangle has a side of known or measurable length (base or base line) that permits the size of the angles of the triangle and the length of its other two sides to be established by observations taken either upon or from the two ends of the base line.
2.
the triangles thus formed and measured.
Origin
1810-20; < Medieval Latintriangulātiōn- (stem of triangulātiō) the making of triangles. See triangulate, -ion
Examples from the web for triangulation
The author referred to their computer simulation as causal triangulation.
Many digital whiteboards employ ultrasonic triangulation to do the same thing.
Students build an inclinometer, then use triangulation to measure the height of a tree.
When that happens, triangulation allows the system to locate the original bolt with precision.
The answer is a form of triangulation, tracking features such as points and edges from one frame to the next.
Using additional triangulation, this can pinpoint an object's position to within one centimetre.
His strategy of triangulation is dependent on events working out the way he hopes.
The satellite, in turn, used a triangulation function to determine where on the planet the signal was coming from.
To get an accurate representation of where an event occurs within space-time, triangulation is a good method.
Her support of the war and the flag-burning amendment are odious pieces of triangulation.
British Dictionary definitions for triangulation
triangulation
/traɪˌæŋɡjʊˈleɪʃən/
noun
1.
a method of surveying in which an area is divided into triangles, one side (the base line) and all angles of which are measured and the lengths of the other lines calculated trigonometrically
2.
the network of triangles so formed
3.
the fixing of an unknown point, as in navigation, by making it one vertex of a triangle, the other two being known
4.
(chess) a key manoeuvre in the endgame in which the king moves thrice in a triangular path to leave the opposing king with the move and at a disadvantage
1818, from Medieval Latin triangulationem (mid-12c., nominative triangulatio), noun of action from Latin *triangulare, from triangulum (see triangle).
triangulation in Science
triangulation
(trī-āng'gyə-lā'shən) A method of determining the relative positions of points in space by measuring the distances, and sometimes angles, between those points and other reference points whose positions are known. Triangulation often involves the use of trigonometry. It is commonly used in the navigation of aircraft and boats, and is the method used in the Global Positioning System , in which the reference points are satellites.