A total station or a theodolite includes scanning functionality for optical surveying of an environment, in which the total station or the theodolite is configured such that direction-dependent active acquisition regions of the receiver are defined depending on the transmission direction of the transmitted radiation to adapt the receiver surface mechanically and/or electronically to a varying imaging position of the received radiation on the overall detector surface.

A total station or a theodolite includes scanning functionality for optical surveying of an environment, in which the total station or the theodolite is configured such that direction-dependent active acquisition regions of the receiver are defined depending on the transmission direction of the transmitted radiation to adapt the receiver surface mechanically and/or electronically to a varying imaging position of the received radiation on the overall detector surface.

A target reflector search device. This device comprises an emitting unit for emitting an emission fan, a motorized device for moving the emission fan over a spatial region, and a receiving unit for reflected portions of the emission fan within a fan-shaped acquisition region, and a locating unit for determining a location of the reflection. An optoelectronic detector of the receiving unit is formed as a position-resolving optoelectronic detector having a linear arrangement of a plurality of pixels, each formed as an SPAD array, and the receiving unit comprises an optical system having an imaging fixed-focus optical unit, wherein the optical system and the optoelectronic detector are arranged and configured in such a way that portions of the optical radiation reflected from a point in the acquisition region are expanded on the sensitivity surface of the optoelectronic detector in such a way that blurry imaging takes place.

A target reflector search device. This device comprises an emitting unit for emitting an emission fan, a motorized device for moving the emission fan over a spatial region, and a receiving unit for reflected portions of the emission fan within a fan-shaped acquisition region, and a locating unit for determining a location of the reflection. An optoelectronic detector of the receiving unit is formed as a position-resolving optoelectronic detector having a linear arrangement of a plurality of pixels, each formed as an SPAD array, and the receiving unit comprises an optical system having an imaging fixed-focus optical unit, wherein the optical system and the optoelectronic detector are arranged and configured in such a way that portions of the optical radiation reflected from a point in the acquisition region are expanded on the sensitivity surface of the optoelectronic detector in such a way that blurry imaging takes place.

A method for ascertaining a suitable deployment of a mobile measuring device within measurement surroundings, wherein first and second measurement surroundings containing first and second object features are automatically optically captured at the first deployment and tracked using a visual inertial system (VIS) and within the scope of changing the deployment. The first and second measurement surroundings are compared, wherein the comparison is based on searching for corresponding first and second object features visible in a certain number and quality in the first and second measurement surroundings, wherein this certain number and quality of corresponding features is a criterion that a registration of the first and second point cloud is possible.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 coordinates.