The digital planimeter is an enhanced version of the classic planimeter which represents an analog system on which petroleum engineer calculates the areas concerned on the same principle ( Figure 2).

What is digital planimeter?

An instrument used to measure the areas of maps or planes and flat surfaces in general. It is called a mechanical integrator and has a tracing point that performs double measurement of the perimeter of the relevant surfaces.

What are the types of planimeter?

The precise way in which they are constructed varies, with the main types of mechanical planimeter being polar, linear and Prytz or "hatchet" planimeters. The Swiss mathematician Jakob Amsler-Laffon built the first modern planimeter in 1854, the concept having been pioneered by Johann Martin Hermann in 1814.