Hexagon has filed a patent for a method of surveying an environment using a movable surveying instrument. The method involves capturing 2D images with a camera and applying a visual simultaneous location and mapping algorithm (VSLAM) or a visual inertial simultaneous location and mapping algorithm (VISLAM) to create a sparse evolving point cloud of the environment. The method also includes matching the point cloud with a previously derived 3D geometry and combining surveying measurement values with the point cloud or 3D geometry. The patent covers various surveying instruments, such as laser scanners, theodolites, and GNSS surveying antennas, and can be used by humans, robots, drones, vehicles, or transport dollies. GlobalData’s report on Hexagon gives a 360-degree view of the company including its patenting strategy. Buy the report here.
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Method for surveying an environment using a movable surveying instrument
A recently filed patent (Publication Number: US20230316567A1) describes a method for surveying an environment using a movable surveying instrument. The instrument can be configured as a Laser-Scanner, a Theodolite, a GNSS-Surveying antenna, a Mobile-Mapping-System, a surveying pole unit, or a Surveying-Field-Controller, and can be carried by a human, a robot, a drone, a vehicle, or a transport dolly.
The method involves capturing two-dimensional (2D) images using at least one camera on the surveying instrument and applying a visual simultaneous location and mapping algorithm (VSLAM) or a visual inertial simultaneous location and mapping algorithm (VISLAM). This allows for the creation of a sparse evolving point cloud of the environment and the derivation of the instrument's trajectory of movement with respect to the point cloud.
The method also includes matching the sparse evolving point cloud with a previously derived three-dimensional (3D) geometry of the environment, which is derived from a previously captured 3D measurement. This matching is done by minimizing a function that models the distance between the point cloud and the 3D geometry. The result of this matching provides the spatial localization and orientation of the surveying instrument in relation to the previously derived 3D geometry.
In addition to the above steps, the method can also involve deriving surveying measurement values of the environment using a spatial measurement unit of the surveying instrument. These measurements can be combined with the sparse point cloud or the previously derived 3D geometry.
The patent also describes a movable surveying instrument that includes at least one visual camera, a 3D point cloud evaluation unit, a 3D geometry access unit, a matching unit, and a localization unit. The camera constantly captures a series of images of the environment, and the point cloud evaluation unit derives an evolving point cloud based on these images using VSLAM or VISLAM. The matching unit constantly matches the evolving point cloud with the previously derived 3D geometry, and the localization unit continuously provides the localization and orientation of the surveying instrument based on the matching result.
Overall, this patent presents a method and a movable surveying instrument that utilize visual simultaneous localization and mapping algorithms to survey an environment and provide accurate spatial localization and orientation information. The method can be applied in various scenarios and with different types of surveying instruments, making it versatile and adaptable to different surveying needs.
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