A stereoplotter uses stereo photographs to determine elevations. It has been the primary method to plot contour lines on topographic maps since the 1930s. Although the specific devices have advanced technologically, they are all based on the apparent change in position of a feature in the two stereo photographs.
Stereoplotters have changed as technology has improved. The first stereoplotters where projection stereoplotters they used only the light rays and optics to adjust the image. The Kelsh Plotter is an example of the projection stereoplotters. The analog stereoplotters came next and were more sophisticated in that they used more sophisticated optics to view the image. The analytical stereoplotter is used today. It incorporates a computer which does the work of mathematically aligning the images so that they line up properly. The analytic stereoplotter also allows for storing the data and redrawing at any desired scale.