Abstract: An indoor surveying apparatus comprises a light source, a color imaging system, a memory storing calibration coefficients, and a computing device for determining coordinates of 3D intersection points of the emitted light with objects using calibration coefficients and images captured by the imaging system. A method of using the surveying apparatus comprises the steps of capturing first image of a scene illuminated by the light source, capturing second image of the scene without the illumination by the light source, comparing the two images to identify locations of the 3D intersection points in the first image, using the set of calibration coefficients and the locations of the 3D intersection points in the first image to compute 3D coordinates of the intersection points, whereby surveying information collected by the apparatus comprises the coordinates of 3D intersection points and the color photographic images captured from known poses relative to the 3D intersection points.

Abstract: An indoor surveying apparatus comprises a 2D range finder, means for automatically aligning 2D range finder data and computing a 2D map of the environment, a calibrated optical imaging system for capturing images of environment, and means for establishing positions and extents of walls, doors, and windows and for drawing floor plans using the computed 2D map and calibrated images where 2D range finder data is missing. It is further contemplated that the imaging system can also be part of the range finder, that the range finder can be a scanning laser range finder, that the imaging system can include a panoramic lens with 180 degree field of view, that the apparatus can further include an IMU, an electronic compass, a panoramic rotator, and means for measuring positions of points on the floor using the image data.