Abstract: A measuring device comprising a targeting unit and a scanning module. The scanning module has a field of view with a central line in the field of view. The measuring device has a pivoting axis around which an upper part of the measuring device can be pivoted or rotated. The central line deviates by at most 45 degree from orthogonality with respect to the pivoting axis.

Abstract: The invention relates generally to a metrology system and coordinate measuring devices to be used within the framework of a smart factory environment, which has a defined arrangement of different metrology devices, configured such that coordinate measuring data generated by different metrology devices are referencable to a common coordinate system.

Abstract: The invention relates to an airborne laser scanner configured to be arranged on an aircraft for surveying a target along a flight path, wherein the airborne laser scanner comprises an emitter configured for emitting a plurality of consecutive laser pulses towards the ground surface, at least one optical element configured for deflecting the laser pulses along pulse paths towards the target, a motor configured for moving the optical element to cause a periodically repeating movement of the pulse paths, a receiver configured for receiving the laser pulses backscattered from the target, and a computer configured for controlling the emitter, the motor, and the receiver, determining directions of the pulse paths, and triggering the emitter to emit the laser pulses.

Abstract: A GNSS antenna system for receiving GNSS signals in the L1 and L2/L5 frequency band, and to an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) comprising the GNSS antenna system.

Abstract: The invention relates to a laser tracker-based surveying system having a measurement aid which comprises an inertial measurement unit (IMU). The surveying system is designed to determine coordinates of points of a surface which are sampled by means of the measurement aid.

Abstract: A spherically mounted retroreflector comprising an optic inlay, the optic inlay comprising a retroreflector having a vertex and an axis of symmetry, and a carrier having an at least partly spherical outer surface and a cavity, wherein the optic inlay is arranged in the cavity, and wherein the at least partly spherical outer surface has a sphere center, which sphere center coincides with the vertex, wherein the optic inlay is connected to the carrier. The optic inlay comprises a coupling portion, and the spherically mounted retroreflector comprises a coupling element arranged between the optic inlay and the carrier.

Abstract: A target of a geodetic system based on global and local identification references. The target comprises a light emitter (LE) for emitting n predetermined modulated light patterns (MLPs) permanently assigned to one of m (m>n) global identification reference (GIR). The target transmits or receives data based on the assigned GIR. The geodetic system further comprises a geodetic surveying instrument comprising an optical sensor (OS) receives the MLPs and digitizes them using a fast sampling analogue-to-digital converter (ADC). A computing system selects one of the targets or receives a selection of the at least one target assigned to a selected GIR. One of n local identification references (LIRs) is temporarily assigned to the selected GIR. The light emitter of the selected target is directed to emit an MLP corresponding with the assigned LIR. Thus, by detection of the assigned LIR, the selected target is identified.

Abstract: The present invention relates to three-dimensional reality capturing of an environment, wherein data of various kinds of measurement devices are fused to generate a three-dimensional model of the environment. In particular, the invention relates to a computer-implemented method for registration and visualization of a 3D model provided by various types of reality capture devices and/or by various surveying tasks.

Abstract: A method for image-based point measurement includes moving a surveying system along a path through a surrounding and capturing a series of images of the surrounding. A subset of images are defined as frames and a subset of frames are defined as key-frames. Textures are identified in first and second frames and are tracked in successive frames to generate first and second frame feature lists. A structure from motion algorithm is used to calculate camera poses for the images based on the first and second frame feature lists. Corresponding image points in images of the series of images are identified using feature recognition in at least a plurality of images. Three-dimensional coordinates of the selected image point are determined using forward intersection with the poses of the subset of images in which corresponding image points are identified. The three-dimensional coordinates of the selected image point are presented to the user.

Abstract: A method for colourising a three-dimensional point cloud including surveying a point cloud with a surveying instrument. Each point of the point cloud may be characterised by coordinates within an instrument coordinate system having an instrument center. The method may include capturing a first image of the setting with a first camera. Each pixel value of the first image is assigned coordinates within a first camera coordinate system having a first projection center as origin and a first parallax shift relative to the instrument center. The method may include transforming the point cloud from the instrument coordinate system into the first camera coordinate system, resulting in a first transformed point cloud, detecting one or more uncovered points within the first transformed point cloud which are openly visible from the first projection center, and for each uncovered point, assigning a pixel value having corresponding coordinates in the first camera coordinate system.

Abstract: A method for surveying an environment by a movable surveying instrument configured to be carried by a human with a progressional capturing of 2D-images by at least one camera and applying a visual simultaneous location and mapping algorithm (VSLAM) or a visual inertial simultaneous location and mapping algorithm (VISLAM) with a progressional deriving of a sparse evolving point cloud of at least part of the environment, and a progressional deriving of a trajectory of movement. The method comprises a progressional matching of the sparse evolving point cloud with a known CAD-geometry, with a minimizing of a function configured to model a distance between the sparse point cloud and the known CAD-geometry and deriving a spatial localization and orientation of the surveying instrument. At least one surveying measurement value of the environment by a spatial measurement unit is combined with the sparse point cloud or the plan information.

Abstract: A six DOF measurement aid module for determining 3D coordinates of points to be measured of an object surface, comprising a laser tracker for determining the position and orientation of the six DOF measurement aid module. The six DOF measurement aid module has a body comprising an object coupling device with an object interface, configured to couple, via the object interface, alternatively both a handle to the body with a fixed pose and the body to a mobile platform with a fixed pose, a sensor attachment coupling device with a sensor interface-configured to couple alternatively both a sensor attachment effecting non-contact measurement and a sensor attachment effecting tactile measurement to the body with a fixed pose via the sensor interface, and visual markings, which are arranged in a defined spatial relationship in a manner forming a pattern in a marking region on the body.

Abstract: Three-dimensional (3D) point cloud generation using a stationary laser scanner and a mobile scanner. The method includes scanning a first part of a surrounding with the stationary laser scanner, obtaining a first 3D point cloud, scanning a second part of the surrounding with the mobile scanner, obtaining a second 3D point cloud, whereby there is an overlap region of the first part and the second part, and aligning the second 3D point cloud to the first 3D point cloud to form a combined 3D point cloud. The positional accuracy of points of the second 3D point cloud is increased by automatically referencing second scanner data of the overlap region, generated by the mobile scanner, to first scanner data of the overlap region, generated by the stationary laser scanner. Therewith, deformations of the second 3D point cloud and its alignment with the first 3D point cloud are corrected.

Abstract: A reality capture device configured to perform a measuring process for generating a digital representation of an environment comprising a body defining a first axis, and an imaging unit with one or more 2D cameras configured to provide 2D image data of the environment. The device comprises a ToF camera arrangement configured for capturing 3D point-cloud data of the environment and comprising at least two time-of-flight cameras, wherein each time-of-flight camera comprises a sensor array and one or more laser emitters, the sensor array of each of the time-of-flight cameras having an optical axis and being configured to receive reflections of light pulses emitted by the one or more laser emitters of the respective time-of-flight camera, the time-of-flight cameras being arranged around the first axis so that each sensor array has one or two other sensor arrays as a neighbouring sensor array.

Abstract: A system is configured for confirming a mobile cooperative target being automatically tracked and measured by a total station or theodolite in order to automatically control a machine operation of a construction site machine. The system includes at least one total station or theodolite with a UWBST anchor-module having an anchor-ID, and a cooperative target associated with a UWBST tag-module having a tag-identifier (tag-ID) and being used for automatically controlling a machine operation of the construction site machine. The system can include a machine control unit associated with the construction site machine configured for controlling machine operations based on tracking and continuously measuring cooperative targets carried out by the total station or theodolite, and an ultra-wide band (UWB) distance meter associated with the UWBST anchor-module configured for measuring a distance (UWB-distance) between the UWBST anchor-module and the UWBST tag-module.

Abstract: A surveying instrument for executing a relocation functionality, which determines first coordinates of a stationary target point associated with the start signal, in response to a start signal, a first actuator and a second actuator are controlled such that the stationary target point remains within a detection area of a tracking unit of the surveying instrument, determines second coordinates of the stationary target point, receives an end signal, wherein the second coordinates of the stationary target point are associated with the end signal, and based at least in part on the first and second coordinates of the stationary target point, and determines a relative pose of the surveying instrument with respect to a first setup location and a second setup location, wherein the first setup location is associated with the first coordinates and the second setup location is associated with the second coordinate.

Abstract: Measurement method where a code projection which is dependent on a three-dimensional position of a code carrier relative to a sensor arrangement is generated on a sensor arrangement, and at least part of the code projection is captured. An angular position of the code carrier with reference to the defined axis of rotation is ascertained and a current measurement position of the measurement component relative to a base is determined, wherein, a position value for at least one further degree of freedom of the code carrier relative to the sensor arrangement is ascertained on the basis of the code projection and is taken into account to determine the current measurement position, and a relative position of the connecting element with respect to the holder and/or the deformation thereof is determined from the position value in the form of a change in shape or size.

Abstract: A multiple-pulses-in-air (MPiA) laser scanning system, wherein the MPiA problem is addressed in that an MPiA assignment of return pulses to send pulses of a laser scanner is based on range tracking and range probing at intermittent points in time. Each range probing comprises a time-of-flight arrangement which is constructed to be free of the MPiA problem. The invention further relates to an MPiA laser scanning system, wherein an MPiA ambiguity within a time series of return pulses, is converted into 3D point cloud space, which provides additional information from the spatial neighborhood of the points in question to enable MPiA disambiguation.

Abstract: A reality capture device for generating a digital three-dimensional representation of an environment enables an object within an infrastructure to be surveyed or detected. The reality capture device is compact and easy to use, allowing for fast and reliable capture. The reality capture device can be carried and moved by a mobile carrier, particularly a person, robot or vehicle, and can be moved during a measuring process for generating a digital representation of an environment. The mobile reality capture device includes a localization unit for providing a simultaneous localization and mapping functionality, a laser scanner, and a camera unit. The mobile reality capture device is configured to be carried by a user through the room. The room is surveyed during the movement of the mobile reality capture device. The data from the laser scanner and the camera unit are referenced to each other by means of the localization unit.

Abstract: A handheld device for the image-based measurement of a remote object, comprising a housing having a front side and a rear side, a first and second camera, which are arranged having a stereo base on the rear side, for recording images of the object, an analysis unit having an algorithm for the stereophotogrammetric analysis of the images of the cameras and a display unit, which is arranged on the front side, for displaying images of the object and results of the stereophotogrammetric analysis, wherein the housing has a longitudinal axis, the stereo base is aligned diagonally relative to the longitudinal axis, and the analysis unit is designed for the purpose of taking into consideration the relative alignment of the stereo base during the stereophotogrammetric analysis.