SURVEYING SYSTEM AND MEASURING AID

Description

[0001] The invention relates to an auxiliary measuring instrument, a surveying system or surveying device and a position determination or marking method.

[0002] A wide variety of surveying systems for determining positions in the field of geodesy or on construction sites or in the construction industry are known. Examples of this are systems comprising a stationary surveying device with a direction finder and distance meter, such as a total station, and an auxiliary measuring instrument that marks a point to be measured or marked, such as a plumb line, as disclosed in EP 1130355 A2, EP 1645846 A1, DE 19602327 A1, DE 102010024014 A1 or EP 2405236 A1. Layout systems are also known which consist of a stationary laser emitter which uses a laser beam to generate a position reference which can be received by a laser receiver at the point to be marked. They therefore occur through the interaction of a stationary device which is known to be located and thus provides a position reference, with a receiving or marking device.Targetable measuring aids for surveying activities, whereby the position of individual terrain points such as land survey points or points on construction site objects, e.g. inside or outside buildings or in road construction, can be precisely determined with regard to position measurement or staking.

[0003] EP 2594895 A2 discloses a system for image-based determination of movements of an object having a marking pattern, in particular a pen, in three dimensions.

[0004] EP2801839 A1 relates to a hand-held measuring aid which, in the measuring position, is intended to be held one-handed in a pen-like manner, in conjunction with a measuring station for measuring the measuring aid in six degrees of freedom based on a camera image recording and evaluation of a recorded sample of the measuring aid.

[0005] The object of the present invention is to provide an improved surveying system or improved system device and improved surveying method.

[0006] This object is achieved by implementing the characterizing features of the independent claims. Features that further develop the invention in an alternative or advantageous manner are set out in the dependent claims and the description, including the

[0007] All embodiments of the invention illustrated or otherwise disclosed in this document can be combined with one another, unless expressly stated otherwise.

[0008] A first aspect of the invention relates to an object point surveying and / or staking system according to claim 1.

[0009] According to the invention, the body of the measuring aid of the claimed object point surveying and / or staking system carries on its surface an optical, orientation-coding, two-dimensional code that can be uniquely evaluated by image processing, so that an orientation of the attachment and thus (with knowledge of the defined and known relation) the orientation (roll, pitch and yaw angle) of the measuring aid can be determined.

[0010] The code is designed and distributed over the body surface in such a way that the orientation of the measuring aid instrument can be unambiguously determined based on a section of the body surface recorded in a camera image and thus the code.

[0011] Optionally, the code has at least a first and a second resolution level, wherein the first resolution level is configured for image acquisition and code evaluation at close range, and the second resolution level is configured for image acquisition and code evaluation at long range, and / or the first resolution level serves for coarse inclination and orientation determination, and the second resolution level serves for fine inclination and orientation determination. For example, the code has exactly three resolution levels.

[0012] Optionally, the body is a sphere.

[0013] In a further development, the code is arranged in two parts on the sphere's surface, with a first part serving to encode a first direction on the sphere's surface, in particular the longitude or longitude, and a second part serving to encode a second direction, in particular the latitude or longitude, in particular with the first and second parts having different colors, e.g., red and green. Color here also includes colors that lie outside the visible range, e.g., in the near-IR spectrum or the UV range.

[0014] Optionally, the measuring aid instrument has a target which is attached to the base body of the measuring aid instrument in a defined and known spatial relationship to the longitudinal axis and the reference point and whose position can be determined by the surveying device, so that by aiming the terrain point with the measuring aid instrument, a target position linked to the terrain point can be displayed.

[0015] Optionally, the target is integrated into the sphere attachment, e.g. by the sphere surface having a plurality of retroreflectors that can be targeted by the surveying device. As a further option, the measuring aid instrument has a light source with which the sphere surface can be illuminated, in particular wherein the light source is arranged inside the sphere attachment. As a further option, the light source can be controlled in such a way that by varying the illumination, e.g. changing the color and / or intensity (e.g. flashing), information can be transmitted, e.g. to the surveying device. In this way, for example, the current status of the surveying device, e.g. readiness for use or an ID, can be communicated by means of a light signal or instructions can be given to a user on the surveying device.

[0016] As an addition or alternative, the ball attachment has at least one outer layer of shatter-proof, in particular elastic, material and is arranged on the base body and dimensioned sufficiently large that the ball attachment minimizes or prevents damage to the measuring aid instrument in the event of an impact.

[0017] The invention relates to a ground-based, for example geodetic, object surveying and / or staking system as described above, with a surveying device, in particular a total station, having a distance and direction measuring functionality, in particular a stationary one, and with an auxiliary measuring instrument, wherein the surveying device has a camera by means of which a two-dimensional image of at least a section of the surface of the spherical attachment can be recorded and the system has a decoding instruction stored in a memory (a decoding algorithm or decoding information) for decoding the code and a controller with decoding functionality, which is designed to evaluate the camera image on the basis of the decoding information in such a way that an orientation of the auxiliary measuring instrument can be unambiguously determined.

[0018] In a further development of the surveying system, the control is designed in such a way that, as part of the decoding functionality of the image of the sphere in the camera image, a circle is fitted, the center of the sphere image is determined by means of the fitted circle and the code that is present in a surface section located around the center is decoded.

[0019] Optionally, the surveying device of the surveying system comprises: a base, a sighting unit, in particular a telescopic sight, which defines a target direction and is pivotable relative to the base about at least one axis, in particular two mutually orthogonal axes, for aiming at the target, at least one protractor and an angle measuring functionality for measuring the target direction, a rangefinder for measuring a distance to the target in the target direction, and a controller with single point determination functionality, during the execution of which, controlled by the controller, a position of a terrain point designated with the aid of the auxiliary measuring instrument within a terrain area is determined based on the measured target direction, the distance between the target and the surveying device and the inclination and orientation of the auxiliary measuring instrument determined using the ball attachment.

[0020] Optionally, the targeting unit has a beam source for generating a measuring radiation, preferably laser radiation, as well as an optic for emitting the measuring radiation as a free beam in the target direction and an electro-optical detector for detecting measuring radiation reflected from the target, from which the distance to the target can be determined, wherein when the single point determination functionality is carried out, the target of the measuring aid instrument is targeted by setting the target direction so that measuring radiation hits the target, and the distance between the target and the surveying device is determined by means of the measuring radiation.

[0021] As a further option, the surveying system has a drive for automatically changing the target direction and a target tracking functionality, so that when the target tracking functionality is activated, the target direction automatically follows a moving measuring aid, wherein the target tracking functionality is based on an evaluation of the camera image of the ball attachment, in particular wherein, as part of the target tracking functionality, images of the ball attachment are continuously recorded and the target direction is continuously changed such that the image of the ball is kept in the center of the images.

[0022] Optionally, the code can be designed in such a way that it can be interpreted unambiguously, regardless of the distance between the surveying device and the auxiliary measuring instrument (naturally within certain limits or up to a maximum distance). For example, the camera of the surveying device is then equipped with an autofocus function to automatically display the code in sharp focus, regardless of the distance.

[0023] The invention also relates to a method for determining the position and / or marking an object point according to claim 4.

[0024] Optionally, the method includes target tracking of the measuring aid instrument based on a sequence of images of the attached body taken by the surveying device, e.g. by determining a deviation of the position in the camera image of the sphere from an ideal position (e.g. center of the image) and continuously changing the orientation of the surveying device based on the deviations, i.e. tracking the target direction of the movement of the measuring aid instrument.

[0025] The present invention further includes a computer program product or a computer data signal embodied by an electromagnetic wave, with program code, for controlling or carrying out the inventive method for determining the position of a terrain point with an auxiliary measuring instrument with ball coding as described above, in particular when the program is executed in a control and evaluation unit of a surveying system according to the invention.

[0026] In a further aspect, the invention relates to a ground-based, in particular geodetic, surveying system as described above, for surveying and / or staking out terrain points with a, in particular stationary, surveying device having distance and direction measuring functionality, in particular a total station, and an auxiliary measuring instrument, wherein the surveying device has a base, a sighting unit defining a target direction and pivotable relative to the base about at least one axis, in particular two mutually orthogonal axes, in particular a telescopic sight, a rangefinder and a distance measuring functionality for measuring a distance to the target in the target direction and at least one protractor and an angle measuring functionality for measuring the target direction. The auxiliary measuring instrument has: a hand-held rod, one end of which is provided for physically contacting a terrain point and a,in particular, a target attached to the other end of the rod, which can be aimed at by the surveying device, wherein the target is attached to the rod at a defined distance from the contact end stored in a memory of the surveying system, so that by contacting the terrain point with the contact end, a target position linked to the terrain point can be provided.

[0027] Furthermore, the surveying system has a controller with evaluation functionality, wherein the target position can be determined within the scope of the evaluation functionality based on the target direction and distance between the target and the surveying device, and the controller has a spherical cap measuring functionality for determining the position of a terrain point, wherein when the spherical cap measuring functionality is executed, at least three non-coplanar target positions linked to the terrain point are determined based on the target direction and distance, wherein the non-coplanar target positions are provided, for example, by at least three different orientations or inclinations of the rod of the measuring aid instrument contacting the terrain point.Furthermore, within the scope of the spherical cap measurement functionality, a spherical cap including the associated sphere center is calculated based on the three target positions and the stored distance between the target and the contact end, and the sphere center is adopted as the position of the terrain point.

[0028] Alternatively, the target does not need to be mounted at a defined, known distance from the contact end, as the calotte calculation is based on at least four non-coplanar target positions instead of three. A known distance between the target and the terrain point can then optionally be used to increase the robustness of the calotte calculation or point determination, or to verify the calculation result.

[0029] Optionally, the target of the measuring aid is retroreflective, and the targeting unit comprises a beam source for generating measuring radiation and optics for the directed emission of the measuring radiation as a free beam in the target direction, as well as an electro-optical detector for detecting measuring radiation reflected from the target, so that the distance to the target used to determine the target position can be determined based on the detected measuring radiation. As a further option, the measuring aid has a user display, and the control is designed such that, as part of the calotte measurement functionality, a user is shown instructions on the user display regarding pivoting the measuring aid to generate the non-coplanar target positions, in particular with regard to an optimal, particularly homogeneous and / or large-area arrangement of the target positions.In one advanced training, the instructions are provided based on a camera image of the measuring instrument and its surroundings upon contacting the terrain point, with the camera image being recorded using a camera of the surveying device. Optionally, the camera image is used to determine a pivoting range that is unsuitable, in particular impossible, for targeting the contacting measuring instrument using the surveying device, and / or to determine an optimal pivoting range that is particularly well-suited for targeting the contacting measuring instrument using the surveying device. Alternatively or additionally, the instructions or user guidance are based on at least the first determined target position.

[0030] As a further option, the instructions are provided graphically, with a graphical display of a pivoting range and / or individual pivoting positions on the user display with regard to a pivoting movement to be performed by the contacting measuring instrument (e.g., recommended and / or unfavorable ranges or positions). For example, the graphic display is embedded in a camera image-based image (i.e., a camera image or a virtual image calculated from it) of the surroundings of the contacting measuring instrument. The camera image is recorded using a camera of the surveying device and / or shows the user's perspective of the measuring instrument and / or its location.

[0031] Optionally, the target positions are stored in a temporary memory of the surveying system and abandoned or deleted after the determination of the terrain point has been completed.

[0032] The invention optionally also relates to a method for determining the position of a terrain point by means of a surveying system with spherical cap measuring functionality as described above, wherein the method comprises the following steps: contacting the terrain point with the contact end of the auxiliary measuring instrument, pivoting the contacting auxiliary measuring instrument so that at least three different target positions linked to the terrain point are provided, determining the at least three target positions by means of the surveying device, calculating a spherical cap based on the at least three target positions and the known distance between the target and the contact end of the auxiliary measuring instrument with calculating the sphere center point belonging to the spherical cap, whereby the position of the terrain point is determined by the sphere center point, orthe steps: contacting the terrain point with the contact end of the measuring aid, pivoting the contacting measuring aid so that at least four different target positions linked to the terrain point are provided, determining the at least four target positions by means of the surveying device, calculating a calotte based on the at least four target positions with calculation of the sphere center belonging to the calotte, whereby the position of the terrain point is determined by the sphere center.

[0033] Optionally, the surveying device can automatically track the target and automatically determine the target position during panning.

[0034] As a further option, a warning is issued to a user if the determination of the target positions is inadequate or impossible due to the lack or insufficient targetability of the target by the surveying device.

[0035] In a further development of the method, the quality of the position of the terrain point is assessed automatically or by the user. If the quality is assessed as insufficient, target positions are determined again or additionally. Optionally, a quality measure is automatically generated for the assessment, which is based on an overdetermination of the calculated calotte (e.g., overdetermination due to the presence of more than three or four required position points or due to knowledge of the actual distance between the target and the contact point). As a further option, a terrain point-position-related graphical representation is generated for user-based assessment.

[0036] As a further option, the determination of target positions is automatically terminated as soon as a predefined termination criterion is met, in particular a maximum time period has elapsed, a required accuracy has been achieved and / or a minimum number of target positions has been determined.

[0037] Optionally, the determination of target positions and the calculation of the calotte run simultaneously in such a way that the calculation takes place as soon as a minimum number of target positions are available and further target positions are used to continuously update and / or refine the calculated calotte.

[0038] The present invention further includes a computer program product or a computer data signal embodied by an electromagnetic wave, with program code, for controlling or carrying out the inventive method for determining the position of a terrain point by means of spherical cap calculation or spherical cap measurement functionality, in particular when the program is executed in a control and evaluation unit of a surveying system according to the invention.

[0039] According to the invention, the body of the above-described auxiliary measuring instrument has an optical, orientation-encoding 2D code, which is designed such that the orientation and distance of the spherical attachment and thus of the auxiliary measuring instrument (from the surveying device) can be determined by evaluating a camera image of the 2D code and using decoding information stored, for example, in a memory of the surveying device. The distance, together with a measured direction to the auxiliary measuring instrument, determines the position of the auxiliary measuring instrument in space or relative to the surveying device, so that the overall position (orientation and position, 6-DoF) of the auxiliary measuring instrument can be determined based on the body. Furthermore, the auxiliary measuring instrument has a human-machine interface.

[0040] In addition, the measuring aid instrument is pen-like in shape and size, whereby a first end of the measuring aid instrument can be used to target an object point to be measured or staked out with one hand.

[0041] According to the invention, the measuring aid instrument can be held and guided with one hand, in particular for which purpose the base body has bulges and / or curvatures adapted to the human hand, in particular a gripping area for at least the thumb and index finger, and in particular also the middle finger, of a user, and / or the mass distribution of the measuring aid instrument is adjusted in such a way that its center of gravity satisfies ergonomic aspects.

[0042] Optionally, the measuring aid instrument has an inertial measuring unit (IMU) so that the position of the measuring aid instrument can be fully determined by a combination of measurement data from the inertial measuring unit and position data determined from the body.

[0043] As a further option, the first end is designed as a stylus with electronic and / or mechanical correction of the measurement offset based on the size of the stylus. The correction is preferably carried out by mounting the stylus in such a way that, to measure an object point, the stylus is deflected by exactly the radius of the stylus.

[0044] Optionally, the first end is designed as a self-triggering sensor tip, which automatically triggers a measurement upon contact. Optionally, the end is interchangeable, in that the base body has a holder (connecting piece) designed to accommodate different tool and / or sensor tips, in particular, the holder has a sensor that serves to automatically identify the respective tip. Optionally, the length of the tip is identified during the identification process, i.e., the measuring or marking point of the tip is automatically communicated to the measuring system.

[0045] As a further option, the tool and / or sensor tip is designed as a marking pen, in particular a felt-tip pen, pencil or chalk pen, and / or active tool tip, in particular a printer and / or sprayer and / or marking laser, in particular a line laser, and / or designed as a sensor tip, in particular a (touch) button and / or metal detector, cable finder (e.g. with a function for actively modulating a signal onto the cable) and / or laser distance meter.

[0046] Optionally, the human-machine interface comprises a touch-sensitive display and / or a scroll wheel and / or a microphone (for voice control) and / or a light source for visual user information and / or a button. Such a button is optionally designed as a separately shaped and / or separately arranged trigger button on the base body, wherein the trigger button is provided for triggering the position and orientation measurement of the auxiliary measuring instrument and / or the auxiliary measuring instrument has an active tool tip and / or sensor tip, and the trigger button is provided for triggering an action of the tool tip (e.g., marking) and / or a measurement with the sensor tip.

[0047] As a further option, the measuring aid instrument has a, in particular removable, measuring tape of variable length, in particular with a locking function, wherein the measuring tape is intended for circular constructions, in particular so that the circle centre lies on the longitudinal axis.

[0048] Optionally, the length of the measuring aid instrument is variable in a defined manner, in particular in that the base body has a holder for receiving rod-shaped extension pieces at one end thereof defined by the longitudinal axis, in particular wherein the holder has a sensor which serves for the automatic identification of the respective extension piece, and / or the base body is designed in a telescopic manner, so that its length can be varied, in particular continuously, wherein the respective length present can be measured by means of a position encoder of the measuring aid instrument or an integrated electronic distance meter which is arranged, for example, in an internal cavity.

[0049] As a further option, the measuring aid instrument has a communication interface, in particular IRDA or BLT interface, to communicate with the surveying device.

[0050] Optionally, the surveying device of the system comprises: a base, a sighting unit defining a target direction and pivotable relative to the base about at least one axis, in particular two mutually orthogonal axes, in particular a telescopic sight, in particular wherein the sighting unit has a beam source for generating a measuring radiation and an optic for the directed emission of the measuring radiation as a free beam, at least one protractor and an angle measuring functionality for measuring the target direction, and a controller with single point determination functionality, during the execution of which a position of an object point designated with the aid of the measuring aid instrument is determined within a terrain area under the control of the controller.The invention further relates to a method for determining the position and / or marking a terrain point, comprising the steps of targeting the object point with a pin-like measuring aid as described above, determining the position and orientation of the measuring aid while targeting the object point using a ground-based surveying device, in particular a total station, and determining the position and / or marking the object point (marking and / or surveying), starting from a known position of the surveying device, based on the determined position and orientation of the measuring aid. Optionally, the method includes continuously determining the position and orientation of the measuring aid (tracking), and upon reaching a predetermined position and orientation, the marking of the object point is automatically triggered, i.e., the point is automatically marked when the object point to be reached is passed over.

[0051] The present invention further includes a computer program product or a computer data signal embodied by an electromagnetic wave, with program code, for controlling or carrying out such a method for determining the position of a terrain point with the aid of such a pen-like measuring aid, in particular when the program is executed in a control and evaluation unit of a surveying system according to the invention.

[0052] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter relates to a laser receiver for detecting a laser beam or laser light representing a position reference for construction work purposes or in the construction site area, comprising a housing with a front surface and a rear surface, wherein the front surface has a line- or area-like laser detector for detecting the laser light, and the rear surface is designed such that the laser receiver can be displaced along a large object surface and following the course of the object surface. The object surface is preferably a building surface, or similar at least partially flat surfaces that are previously known, e.g., previously known from a building plan or other building / construction plan or model.

[0053] The laser receiver further comprises a marker, in particular a printer, wherein the marker is designed and arranged such that, when applied to the object surface, a physical mark can be applied to the object surface in a marking zone. Furthermore, the laser receiver has a controller designed such that, based on the position reference provided by the detected laser light, a mark can be applied automatically and precisely to a planned or intended position stored in an electronic memory by means of the marker as soon as the planned position enters the marking zone, e.g., when the laser receiver at least approximately reaches or passes over the planned location.

[0054] Optionally, the marker has a linear or planar marking area and / or is designed as an inkjet printer and / or for printing text and / or graphics onto the object surface. Such graphics include 2D and 3D barcodes or QR codes, which are used, for example, to uniquely identify measurement points. As a further option, the marker is suitable for printing on ceilings (printing direction "upward," against gravity) and / or is additionally designed for applying a seal to the marking, e.g., using a clear varnish or a protective film.

[0055] As a further option, the planned position is stored as part of a construction plan, such as a building plan.

[0056] As a further option, the laser receiver is designed for manual displacement, in particular by having a hand-held shape of the housing and / or a hand-held extension attached to the housing.

[0057] In a further development, the laser receiver has at least one position sensor for continuously determining the position and / or orientation of the laser receiver, in particular wherein the control is designed such that areas in which no position referencing is possible using the laser light can be bridged by means of position data from the position sensor and / or the position sensor is designed as a target that can be measured by a surveying device, in particular a retroreflector, and / or at least three illuminants arranged in a defined manner on the housing, which can be captured by a camera in an image, and / or inertial measuring unit, e.g. with acceleration sensors and rotation rate sensors, and / or optical or mechanical linear encoder.

[0058] Optionally, the rear surface has wheels and / or tracks for moving the laser receiver. As a further option, the laser receiver has a cleaning device for cleaning the object surface, in particular a device for spraying compressed air and / or solvent and / or a drive for independent movement.

[0059] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter also relates to a mobile construction site printer for automatically printing construction site markings on flat surfaces, in particular building surfaces, during construction work or similar large-scale construction work, e.g. during the construction or reconstruction of buildings or parts of buildings, for example also during construction and dismantling work in exhibition halls, or on other large-scale objects such as ships or aircraft. The printer has a printing zone, the printer is designed such that it can be manually moved by a user along the object surface and following the course of the object surface, wherein the movement along the object surface determines the translation in one direction and the rotation in two axes. The printer has at least one position sensor, e.g.a yaw angle sensor in combination with an inclination sensor, with which the position with respect to the two remaining translational degrees of freedom and the one remaining rotational degree of freedom of the printer can be continuously determined. Furthermore, the printer has a control system designed such that the (continuously determined) position of the printer can be continuously compared with a planned position on the object surface stored in an electronic memory, so that a construction site marking can be automatically and accurately printed on the object surface at the stored planned position without interruption during the movement as soon as the planned position enters the print zone, i.e., the printer at least approximately covers the planned position during the movement.

[0060] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter also relates to a mobile construction site printer for automatically printing construction site markings on object surfaces during construction work, wherein the printer has a printing zone, the printer is mobile and can be moved along an object surface, the printer has at least one position sensor so that the position and orientation of the printer relative to the object surface can be fully determined, and the printer has a controller which is designed such that the position and orientation of the printer can be continuously adjusted with regard to a planned position on the object surface stored in an electronic memory, so that a construction site marking can be automatically printed with precise positioning at the stored planned position on the object surface without interruption during the movement as soon as the planned position reaches the printing zone.

[0061] The above-described developments of the laser receiver according to the invention are also applicable to a respective mobile construction site printer according to the invention.

[0062] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter also relates to a method for physically marking a planned position, stored in an electronic memory, in particular as part of a building plan, on an object surface for construction purposes, comprising the steps of providing a position reference by means of free-beam laser light, moving a laser receiver having a marker, in particular a printer, on the object surface, detecting the laser light representing a position reference by means of the laser receiver, electronically controlled automatic, positionally accurate physical marking of the planned position retrieved from the memory on the object surface during the displacement based on the position reference provided by the detected laser light as soon as the laser receiver is moved at least approximately over the planned position.

[0063] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter also relates to a method for marking a planned position, stored in an electronic memory, in particular as part of a building plan, on an object surface for construction work purposes, comprising the steps of moving a mobile construction site printer along the object surface, wherein the position and optionally also the orientation or alignment of the printer is continuously determined, automatically continuously comparing the respective position with the planned position on the object surface stored in the electronic memory, automatically printing a marking with precise positioning at the planned position on the object surface during the movement as soon as the laser receiver at least approximately passes over the planned position, in particular wherein an interruption of the movement for printing is not necessary.

[0064] Optionally, in addition to the position marking, metadata stored in an electronic memory is retrieved within the scope of these processes and, by means of the marker or printer, a representation reproducing the metadata, in particular a text and / or a graphic, is applied to the object surface at the position marking.

[0065] Optionally, the object surface at the planned location can be cleaned using the laser receiver or mobile printer before marking. Another option is to apply a protective coating to the marking after marking, e.g., a protective varnish or film.

[0066] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter further includes a computer program product or a computer data signal embodied by an electromagnetic wave, with program code, for controlling or carrying out such a marking or printing method for applying a mark to an object surface.

[0067] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter relates to a method for measuring and / or marking points on an object based on planned positions for construction purposes, comprising the steps of setting up a stationary surveying device at a first known position in an environment of the object, wherein the surveying device comprises: a base, a sighting unit defining a target direction and pivotable relative to the base about at least one axis, in particular two mutually orthogonal axes, in particular a telescopic sight, a beam source, in particular a laser source, for generating radiation and an optic for emitting the radiation as a free beam in the target direction, wherein the free beam serves for measuring and / or marking object points, and in particular a rangefinder and a range-measuring functionality for measuring a target distance in the target direction,At least one protractor and an angle measuring function for measuring the target direction, and a control with single point determination functionality, as well as a memory in which entered or measured positions can be stored, in particular as part of a building or room plan.

[0068] The method further comprises the steps of retrieving a set of object points of the object to be measured and / or marked from the memory, measuring and / or marking object points of the set of object points from the first positioning which can be measured and / or marked from the first positioning using the free beam, based on the target direction, determining missing object points of the set of object points, moving the surveying device to a second, unknown position in the vicinity of the object, automatically determining the second position by the surveying device based on the knowledge of the first position, so that the second position is known, and measuring and / or marking missing object points from the second positioning using the free beam.

[0069] As an option, a positioning suggestion suitable for the second positioning is determined at least approximately by the control of the surveying device before the relocation, based on stored positions, and the positioning suggestion is displayed to a user on a display.

[0070] The criterion for calculating the positioning suggestion is optionally a calculated (theoretical) angle of incidence of the free jet on the object surface containing an object point yet to be measured. For such measurements or markings, a perpendicular angle of incidence is optimal. Therefore, a positioning is sought that enables perpendicular or at least as perpendicular an impact as possible, either for a specific object point or the most important one to be measured, or for a set of object points, for example, in the form of an optimum for the average of all angles of incidence of all object points in the set.

[0071] As a further option, information about a target direction to at least one of the non-markable positions is taken into account when determining the positioning suggestion.

[0072] Optionally, the positioning suggestion is displayed in graphic form, in particular embedded in a visualization of a building or room plan or embedded in a 2D or 3D panoramic image of the surroundings taken on site and / or as an augmented reality representation in a live video image of the surroundings, e.g. displayed on AR glasses.

[0073] In a further development of the method, the second positioning is automatically determined based on an environmental image created by the surveying device during the second positioning, in particular wherein the environmental image is created using a camera image of the surveying device and / or a laser scan performed using the free beam. Optionally, as part of the automatic determination of the second positioning, the environmental image of the second positioning is compared with an environmental image created during the first positioning, in particular wherein positions visible in both environmental images and marked from the first positioning serve as position references and / or are compared with a stored digital building or room plan.

[0074] Alternatively or additionally, the second positioning is determined automatically using a structure-from-motion algorithm based on measurement data from an inertial measurement unit of the surveying device and / or a sequence of camera images taken with the surveying device.

[0075] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter further includes a computer program product or a computer data signal embodied by an electromagnetic wave, with program code, for controlling or carrying out such a method for surveying and / or marking points on an object based on planned positions for construction purposes.

[0076] A further aspect not covered by the claimed subject matter also relates to a stationary surveying device for surveying and / or optically marking points on an object based on planned positions for construction work purposes, wherein the surveying device has: a base, a sighting unit defining a target direction and pivotable relative to the base about at least one axis, in particular two mutually orthogonal axes, in particular a telescopic sight, a beam source, in particular a laser source, for generating radiation, and an optic for emitting the radiation as a free beam in the target direction, in particular a rangefinder and a range measuring function for measuring a target distance in the target direction, and at least one protractor and an angle measuring function for measuring the target direction.Furthermore, the device has a controller with single point determination functionality and a memory in which entered or measured positions can be stored, in particular as part of a building or room plan, wherein the controller is designed to carry out the method described above for measuring and / or marking points on an object based on planned positions for construction work purposes.

[0077] The present invention is described in more detail below with reference to the embodiments and application processes shown schematically in the drawings.

[0078] Show in detail Fig. 1 shows an example of a surveying system with a measuring aid with spherical coding, Fig. 2a shows an example of an image evaluation process with regard to decoding, Fig. 3 shows an example of an embodiment of a coding, Fig. 4a shows an example of a surveying system with spherical cap measuring functionality, Fig. 5a shows examples of methods for position determination by creating a spherical cap, Fig. 6 shows an example of a survey using spherical cap measuring functionality, Fig. 7a shows a further development of the surveying system with spherical cap measuring functionality, Fig. 8a shows a first embodiment and application example of a pen-type measuring aid, Fig. 9a shows further embodiments of a pen-type measuring aid, Fig. 10 shows a first example of a laser receiver with marking functionality, Fig. 11 shows an example of a laser receiver or construction site printer with position sensor, Fig. 12 shows a further example of a Laser receiver or construction site printer with position sensor, and Fig.13a-cean example of a method for measuring and / or marking object points with displacement of the surveying device.

[0079] Figure 1shows a purely schematic example of a surveying system with an auxiliary measuring instrument with spherical coding. The system has an auxiliary measuring instrument 20, designed as a plumb line, which can be carried by a user. The instrument 20 has an elongated body 23 with a longitudinal axis 25a. The plumb line 20 or the longitudinal axis can be manually aligned by a user 29 to a terrain point 28 to be measured or staked out, so that the terrain point 28 can be targeted with the aid of the auxiliary measuring instrument 20. Such a terrain point 28 is located, for example, outdoors or inside a building. The distance D from a reference point 21 of the plumb line 20 to the terrain point 28 is known in advance and stored in a memory of the surveying system. As an alternative to the representation, auxiliary measuring instruments 20 are also known which operate without contact, e.g.using a laser distance meter, target the terrain point 28 and measure the now variable distance from the reference point 21 to the terrain point 28 and feed it into a memory or evaluation.

[0080] The surveying system further comprises a surveying device 30, e.g., a total station. The surveying device 30 comprises a base 33 and an attachment 32 pivotably mounted on the base 33 relative to the base 33 with respect to a vertical axis z. The attachment 33 comprises a sighting unit 34, which is rotatable with respect to a horizontal axis y. Thus, the orientation of the sighting unit 34, or the target direction, can be varied by rotation about the two axes z and y, with the respective orientation being measured by angle encoders.

[0081] The sighting unit 34 contains a light source, e.g. a laser, which generates measuring radiation which, with the aid of appropriate optics, is emitted as a measuring beam M, e.g. as a laser beam, directed at the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 or, more precisely, at a target 25 of the auxiliary measuring instrument. The target 25 is in a known spatial relationship to the reference point 21, in the example in that the center of the target 35 coincides with the reference point 21. Based on the measuring radiation, the distance E from the total station to the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 or to the reference point 21 is determined, e.g. with the aid of a travel time of measuring beam pulses and / or according to the interferometric principle. The emitted light is usually retroreflected by the target 25 so that it can be received by the surveying device 30 and detected by a detector.

[0082] Knowing the emission direction, the distance E, and the distance D, the position of the terrain point 28 relative to the surveying device 30 (or, more precisely, to a reference point of the surveying device 30) can be determined. If the position of the surveying device 30 is known with respect to an external coordinate system, the position of the terrain point 28 in this coordinate system can also be determined. In the case of a geodetic survey, the coordinate system is, for example, the UTM coordinate system.

[0083] In addition to the aforementioned variables, however, knowledge of the orientation and inclination of the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 (relative to the surveying device 30 or with respect to the coordinate system) is also necessary to unambiguously determine the position of the terrain point. This can be achieved by always positioning the plumb line 20 perpendicular to the terrain point 28, so that the orientation is known in advance. However, this predetermined position of the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 is not always possible, e.g., when the terrain point 28 is a house corner, or at least is difficult for the user 29 to maintain precisely, especially—but not exclusively—when a non-contact auxiliary measuring instrument 20 is present.

[0084] Therefore, the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 has an attachment 22, with the aid of which the orientation of the auxiliary measuring instrument 20, i.e., the pitch, roll, yaw, or azimuthal angles, can be determined. The attachment 22 has the shape of a sphere, which is arranged on the body 23 in a known spatial reference relationship to the longitudinal axis 25a. In this example, the center 26 of the sphere lies on the longitudinal axis 25a, whereby the longitudinal axis 25a can be regarded as the north-south axis of the sphere, thus defining an equator 27 of the sphere.

[0085] Distributed on the sphere's surface is an optical, two-dimensional code 24. An image of the sphere 22 or the code on its surface is recorded by a defined camera 31 of the measuring device 30 (the camera 31 can alternatively be displayed in Figure 1e.g., it can also be designed as an on-axis camera, i.e., without offset from the optical axis of the sighting unit 34). The code 24 is designed such that, by analyzing the camera image, the orientation of the ball 22 and thus of the surveying rod 20 relative to the camera 31 and thus relative to the surveying device 30 can be unambiguously determined. This means that the inclination of the longitudinal axis 25a and its orientation (rotational position of the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 about the longitudinal axis 25a) are unambiguously determined using a code (section) visible from the surveying device 30 by means of image analysis / processing.

[0086] The code 24 runs at least in a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal axis 25a and passing through the sphere's center 26 around the surface, so that code 24 is visible from any side view and thus the orientation can be determined unambiguously. In the example, the code 24 is even distributed over the entire sphere's surface and designed in such a way that this position can be determined in any position (apart from, for example, obscurations by the base body) of the auxiliary measuring instrument 20. Alternatively, for example, an upper and lower region of the sphere are code-free, or the sphere 22 is cut off at the top and bottom (i.e., both "polar caps" of the sphere 22 are not printed with a code or are not present at all), assuming that extreme inclinations of the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 or the longitudinal axis 25a, e.g., by more than 60° relative to the vertical z, assuming that in the plane specified for the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 ordo not occur in the application intended for the surveying system and therefore do not need to be determinable.

[0087] As an option (not shown), the rod 20 additionally has a light for illuminating the attachment 22, so that the attachment 22, or more precisely the code 24, is sufficiently clearly visible in the camera image even in poor external lighting conditions. For this purpose, the sphere 22 is designed, for example, as a translucent hollow body with a light source inside, so that the sphere's surface is illuminated from within.

[0088] As a further option, the ball attachment 22 also serves as a protective body to absorb an impact of the measuring instrument 20. For this purpose, the ball 22 is, for example, as shown in Figure 1As shown, it is positioned at the upper end of the rod 20 and is of such a large diameter that if the plumb line 20 falls from its upright position, the pole 20 and the ball 22 will hit the ground. The ball 22 is made of, for example, an elastic or other shatterproof material or at least has a protective layer of such material. The remaining parts of the auxiliary measuring instrument 20 are thus protected from such mechanical damage by the ball 22.

[0089] As an additional option, the target 25 is integrated into the attachment 22. For example, retroreflective elements are distributed over the surface of the sphere (e.g. in the form of a retroreflective film or layer or individual retroreflectors distributed in segments similar to a soccer ball), which fulfill the function of the retroreflector 25. As a further alternative, direction and distance determination are carried out, for example, image-based, in that the sphere attachment 22 or the code 24 serves not only to determine orientation, but also to determine position and thus as the target 25. For this purpose, for example, the distance is determined based on the size of the sphere 22 and / or the code in the image in comparison with the known actual size, and the direction is determined based on the position of the sphere 22 and / or the code in the image.The code is either the same code that also encodes the orientation, thus fulfilling a dual function, or an additional code that serves purely for position encoding.

[0090] The Figures 2a-2d shows an example of an image evaluation process for a camera image 35 captured by the surveying device camera. Figure 35 shows part of the measuring instrument, including the ball attachment 22 (see Figure 2a ).

[0091] In the image, a circular geometry 36 is now adapted ("fitted") as closely as possible to the depicted circular shape of the sphere 22 using a known algorithm, as shown in Figure 2b indicated.

[0092] In Figure 2c It is shown how the center Z of the illustrated attachment sphere 22 is determined based on the known center of the circular geometry 36.

[0093] For the actual code evaluation or decoding, an area or section 37 of the image 35 or the imaged surface of the sphere 22 is used, which is located in the center Z or represents a central section of the sphere surface image (see Figure 2d ).

[0094] In other words, the silhouette of the sphere is determined in the image and a region of interest (RoI) is identified at its center of gravity, which is used for decoding and thus for determining the orientation. The advantage of limiting the code to a section 37 located in the center Z of the image is that the influence of distortions of the three-dimensional sphere surface in the two-dimensional camera image 35 is kept as small as possible, in particular to the extent that it is negligible and does not have to be taken into account during decoding. This means that the section 37 is selected such that, on the one hand, sufficient code is visible / available in the section 37 to unambiguously determine the position of the sphere relative to the camera or the total station, and on the other hand, the image analysis does not have to differ from the analysis of a code arranged on a plane that is perpendicular to the recording direction orparallel to the image plane.

[0095] Optionally, the position of the center Z in the image or its deviation from a target position, e.g., the center of the image, can be determined. Based on this offset, the targeting direction of the surveying device is then adjusted so that the center Z coincides with the target position. This enables precise alignment of the targeting direction or, in the case of a moving measuring instrument, target tracking.

[0096] Figure 3 shows a purely schematic example of a code, based on which in an excerpt 37 (cf. Figure 2d ) the orientation of the ball attachment and thus of the measuring instrument can be determined unambiguously. In the example, the code is two-part in that it has first code elements 38a-38c, which serve for the unambiguous coding of a first direction, e.g. the longitude (relative to the equator 27 from Figure 1). Furthermore, second code elements 39a-39c are present, which uniquely encode the width as the second direction. Thus, by decoding both code parts 38, 39, the "location" on the sphere can be seen in section 37 and thus the orientation of the sphere relative to the image (section) is determined.

[0097] In the example, the code is such that just one element 38a, 38b or 38c or 39a, 39b, 39c alone essentially uniquely encodes the length or width. The illustrated presence of three code elements 38a-c, 39a-c serves to provide different resolution levels, so that similar resolutions can be determined from different camera-to-sphere distances, thus ensuring the same accuracy of orientation determination across all measurement distances. For example, one element 38a and 39a with a comparatively coarse structure is used for long distances, one element 38b and 39b with a medium resolution is used for medium distances, and one element 38c and 39c with a fine structure is used for short distances or close-range measurements. This makes such a code also suitable for use with surveying equipment with zoom-free cameras.

[0098] Alternatively or additionally, such code division with finer and coarser code elements serves to increase the robustness of the measurement by providing redundancy and / or to provide coarse (medium) and fine resolution. For example, in a first step, a coarse, unique length is determined using code strip 38a, which is then refined in a second step using code strip 38b and / or 38c. For this purpose, code strips 38b and / or 38c do not need to be uniquely coded.

[0099] The code elements 38, 39 for encoding two different directions can be distinguished by different geometries, as indicated in the example. Alternatively or additionally, they can be distinguished by different colors, e.g., by designing the length coding 38 in green and the width coding 39 in red. Such different colors also facilitate, for example, an overlapping arrangement of code elements (in contrast to the illustration), so that the limited space of the sphere's surface can be occupied more densely.

[0100] Figure 4ashows a schematic example of a surveying system 60 which has a calotte measuring functionality. The surveying system 60 has a surveying device 61, designed for example as a total station, and an auxiliary measuring instrument 66 which can be optically targeted by the surveying device 60 and designed for example as a plumb line with a retroreflector. The surveying device 61 has a base 64 and an upper part 65 arranged on the base 64, which is rotatable about an axis z relative to the base 64. The upper part 65 in turn has a defined tilt axis y, about which a sighting unit 63 can be pivoted. The sighting unit 63 is designed for example as a telescopic sight. The sighting device 63 defines a sighting direction x, which can be varied by pivoting about the two axes z, y. To determine the respective sighting direction y, the surveying device has at least one protractor, for example to determine the rotational position about the axes y and z.

[0101] The auxiliary measuring instrument 66 of the surveying system 60 has a target 68, which can be targeted by the surveying device 61 using the targeting device 63, and to which a distance E (in the target direction x) can also be measured using a rangefinder of the surveying device 61. In the example, a measuring beam 62 is emitted by the surveying device 61 in the target direction x, retroreflected by the target 68, the reflected measuring beam 62 is detected by the surveying device 61, and the distance E is determined, for example, using the Fizeau principle, time-of-flight measurement, or interferometrically. From the prior art, for example, alternative image-based target positioning methods are known in which the target 68 has specific features with the aid of which the distance and orientation of the target 68 can be measured using an image of the target 68 which is recorded with a camera of the surveying device 61 (ie the camera together with a corresponding image-evaluating algorithm forms the rangefinder).Further alternatives include stereometry or range images. Knowing the distance E and the target direction x, the position of target 68 relative to the surveying device 61 can be determined, and if the absolute position of the surveying device 61 is known, the absolute position of target 68 can also be determined.

[0102] The target position, in turn, is used to determine the position of a terrain point 67, which is to be measured, for example, as part of geodetic surveys or during construction work. In order to be able to clearly determine the position of terrain point 67 from the target position, the target 68 must be in a clear relative position to the terrain point 67.

[0103] This is achieved in surveying systems 60 or surveying methods known from the prior art in that the target 68 attached to the auxiliary measuring instrument 66 is located at a defined, known distance from the end of the auxiliary measuring instrument 66, which contacts the terrain point 67 and thus also at a known distance from the terrain point 67. Furthermore, the auxiliary measuring instrument 66 is set up perpendicular to the terrain point 67 so that the target 68 is located vertically above the terrain point 67. This clearly links the target position and the terrain point position. The disadvantage of this method is that a perpendicular alignment is not easy to maintain and is not even always possible, e.g. because the terrain point 67 is an inner or outer corner of a building.

[0104] This disadvantage is overcome by the fact that the measuring system 60 has a calotte measuring functionality, as can be seen from the lower part of the Figure 4aas explained in more detail below. The measuring aid 66 is positioned with its contact end 69 on the terrain point 67. Without breaking the contact, i.e., the contact end 69 remains fixed on the terrain point 67, the measuring aid 66 and thus the target 68 attached to its other end are now pivoted. The target 68 thus assumes different target positions 70, which are all linked to the terrain point 67 due to the rigid connection to the terrain point 67.

[0105] As in Figure 4a as well as in Figure 4bAs illustrated, the pivoting movement 72 with the fixed distance R between target 68 and point 67 allows the target 68 to assume various target positions 70, which are non-coplanar to one another and are all located on a surface of a sphere or spherical surface section or calotte 71, the center of which is the desired terrain point 67. Thus, the desired position of the terrain point 67 can be determined from knowledge of the calotte 71.

[0106] For this purpose, either at least four or at least three of the different target positions 70 are determined by means of the measuring device 61, based on which the spherical cap 71 is calculated, e.g., using a best-fit algorithm to minimize the squared distances of the target positions 70 to the spherical surface. The generation of the target positions 70 is carried out either manually or automatically in the sense that an optionally available, in principle known, automatic target tracking of the measuring device 61 is used within the scope of the spherical cap measuring functionality to automatically change the target direction x following the pivoting of the target 68 and thereby continuously determine target positions or spherical cap points 70. The continuous determination of target positions is carried out, for example, at a previously defined measuring rate, e.g., every tenth, half or every second or - possibly dynamically - adapted to a, e.g.,based on at least two measured target positions and their time interval, measured speed of the pivoting movement.

[0107] In principle, three target positions 70 are already sufficient for calculating the calotte 71 if the distance R between target 68 and terrain point 67, i.e. the sphere radius R, is known, i.e., for example, if this distance or the height of the plumb line 66 is stored in a memory of an evaluation unit of the surveying system. Using four instead of just three target positions 70, the calotte or the sphere center 67 can be clearly calculated even without knowledge of the distance or sphere radius R. In such a case, a stored distance R is optionally used to increase the robustness of the position determination or for verification, for example, by comparing a sphere radius R determined from the at least four target positions 70 with the stored distance in order to determine the extent of any deviations.

[0108] Such a deviation magnitude is used as a further option as a measure for assessing the quality of the spherical cap or position calculation. The smaller the deviation, the better the quality. Alternatively or additionally, another type of overdetermination of the spherical cap is used to provide a quality measure. If more than the three or four minimum target positions 70 are available, with which the spherical cap 71 or the center point 67 is calculated, the accuracy or quality of the calculated spherical cap 71 is determined based on the "excess" target positions.

[0109] The assessment of quality, for example based on a quality measure, is carried out automatically and / or by a user, as further explained in the following figures.

[0110] The Figure 5ashows a first example of a method for determining positions by creating a calotte. In step 73, the contact end of the measuring aid is brought into physical contact with the terrain point. Subsequently, in step 74, the calotte measurement functionality is started. The measuring aid is pivoted around the terrain point, thus bringing the target into various target positions, all of which are the same distance from the terrain point. These target positions (calotte points) are determined using the surveying device (step 75).

[0111] As soon as at least four (or at least three when using the defined target height or pole length) spherical cap points have been created, the radius and center point are calculated using the best-fit method (step 76). By further moving the target and determining the target position, further spherical cap points are generated (step 77). Based on these further target positions, the radius and sphere center point are updated or refined and, in the example, shown on a display of the surveying system, e.g., in the form of a graphic (step 78). Thus, in this variant, the determination of target positions and the calculation of the spherical cap take place simultaneously: as soon as the minimum number of, for example, four target positions is available, a spherical cap is calculated and this is continuously recalculated or refined based on the continuously supplied target positions. Optionally, the preliminary spherical cap or the preliminary sphere data can be transferred from a user display of the system, e.g.,graphically displayed so that the user receives information about the measurement result during the dome measurement process and can evaluate it if necessary and, for example, influence, adjust or cancel the measurement process.

[0112] The surveying system then assesses the accuracy or quality of the calculated spherical cap in step 79a, e.g., based on a quality measure as mentioned above. If the accuracy falls below a specified limit, i.e., sufficient quality is present, the coordinates of the sphere center or terrain point are permanently saved in step 80, and the spherical cap measurement is terminated (step 81). Otherwise, the generation of target positions continues. The spherical cap points or target positions used to calculate the spherical caps and thus the terrain point position are retained for the process, e.g., only in temporary memory and are not permanently saved. Instead, they are deleted after the final determination of the terrain point.

[0113] The Figure 5b represents a variation of the procedure according to Figure 5aIn contrast to the previous step, the user checks the calotte or the sphere center and, if applicable, the sphere radius in a step 79b and decides whether the terrain point position is accurate or sharp enough or whether a further or repeated target position determination is carried out in order to improve or recalculate the sphere center.

[0114] In further contrast to Figure 5aThe spherical cap or the sphere center is calculated in a step 78b only after the determination of target positions has been completed in a step 76b. A time period and / or number of measured values, for example, is used as a criterion for deciding when to end the target position acquisition. For example, it is specified that a certain minimum measurement quality is to be achieved, or that a minimum number of ten target positions is to be determined, or that the measurement is to be terminated after two minutes. The spherical cap is then calculated based on these ten positions or the positions determined within the two minutes.

[0115] Figure 6shows an example of how advantageously a terrain point 67 can be measured using the spherical cap measurement functionality, which cannot be measured with conventional surveying systems or can only be measured with great difficulty. In the example, the terrain point 67 is a location on a building 82 at the roof-wall interface. A vertical positioning of the surveying rod 66 is not possible there, but contact with its contact end and rotational movement with the building point as a fixed point is possible, as shown. In this way, the three or four target positions necessary for calculating a spherical cap 71 can be generated, based on which the center of the sphere is calculated, thereby determining the desired position of the terrain point 67.

[0116] The Figures 7a-c illustrate a further development of the measuring system 60. In the example, a control of the system 60 is designed such that on a display 86 of the auxiliary measuring instrument 66 (see Figure 7a) the user 88 is shown instructions, such as graphically as shown, for pivoting the auxiliary measuring rod 66. This means that the system 60 guides the user 88 with regard to the provision of the positions of the target 68. The guidance or instruction is provided, for example, in such a way that an optimal arrangement or distribution of the target positions for the calotte calculation is achieved. For example, the user 88 is instructed to pivot the auxiliary measuring instrument 66 in such a way that the target positions are distributed as homogeneously, evenly, or over as large an area as possible.

[0117] In the example, to provide graphical user guidance, an image 85 of the measuring aid 66 set up at the terrain point 67, including the user 88 and a section of the (measurement) environment, is recorded using a total station camera 83, which has a field of view 83a that is at least roughly aligned in the sighting direction x. Based on this image 85 recorded by the surveying device 61, individual target positions to be aimed for or a target position range are automatically or manually defined. These are graphically marked in the image, or a pivoting movement is graphically marked in the image 85, which leads to the target positions to be provided (arrow 87). The guidance image 85 prepared in this way is then transmitted wirelessly (indicated by the symbols 84) to the display 86 of the marking rod 66, where it is displayed to the user 88 on the display 86.

[0118] Since the camera image 85 is advantageously recorded from the perspective of the surveying device 61, it can be used to estimate the target positions suitable for optimal calculation of a calotte. Thus, instead of a generalized guide, a guide specifically tailored to the specific measurement situation and spatial / local conditions can be created and made available to the user 88.

[0119] In Figure 7bSuch determination of a suitable target position area 89 is shown schematically. From its location, the surveying device 61 uses its camera 83 to take an image of the measurement location around the terrain point 67, which image includes at least the corresponding part of the building 82 and the user 88 including the auxiliary measuring instrument 66. Based on this camera image, the control system of the surveying system determines an area 89 within which the user 88 should pivot the target 68. Areas that are not visible or targetable by the surveying device 61, e.g. because they are obscured by the building 82, are thus deliberately omitted. The advantage of the surveying device perspective as the basis for instructing the user 88 is that it can be reliably assessed from there which spatial areas or positions of the auxiliary measuring instrument are suitable for the calotte measurement and which are not.

[0120] Figure 7crepresents an example of the graphical instructional representation on a user display 86. In an image 85, the user's perspective of the measuring environment with terrain point 67, corner of the house 82 and measuring rod 66 is artificially recreated using an image from the surveying camera. In this image 85, an area 87a is also displayed, within which the user should swivel the measuring aid 66. As an option not shown, a constantly updated display shows which parts of the area 87a the user has already covered, so that the user is continuously informed which section of the area 87a is not yet covered. As a further option, as shown, next to the image 85 imitating the user's view, another image 85a is displayed (as a picture in a picture), which, for example, shows the view of the surveying device or its camera. This image also optionally contains user-guiding information, e.g.as shown, the display of an area 87b which is unsuitable for target position determination, e.g. due to a visual obstruction, and into which the user should therefore not move the target.

[0121] Alternatively or in addition to camera image-based guidance, the guidance is based on the first or first previously measured target positions. This means that at least one target position is determined, and based on this, the system controller, for example, calculates which further target positions are to be assumed. As a further option, the display 86 is used to issue a warning to the user 88 if the target positions provided by the user cannot be determined or can only be determined insufficiently, or are not suitable or poorly suited for the calotte calculation. Such a visual or acoustic warning allows the user 88 to correct the panning.

[0122] Figure 8ashows a first embodiment of a pen-like measuring aid 40. The measuring aid 40 is similar in size and shape to a pen; it has an elongated base body 42, one end of which is designed as a tip 43. This tip 43 is intended for designating a point 28 that is to be measured or marked out with the aid of the measuring aid 40. The end 43 is designed in the example as a contact tip, with which a respective point 28 is designated by touch. Alternatively, such a point 28 is designated contactlessly, e.g., by the visible light of a laser distance meter emerging from the end 43, with which the point 28 can be marked point by point and measures the distance between the measuring aid 40 or a measuring aid reference point and the point 28. As a further option, the contact for designating the point 28 is not arranged on the longitudinal axis 48, but rather spaced from it at a defined angle, e.g.at right angles, so that the tip or end 43 is L-shaped. Such a configuration can be advantageous for certain surveying tasks, e.g., to contact and measure a point on the inner edge of a pipe, channel, or hole.

[0123] In the illustrated case, the distance between the reference point and the point 28 to be measured or staked out is known in advance due to the fixed length L of the base body 42 or the auxiliary measuring instrument 40 and does not need to be measured separately to determine the position of point 28. In any case, the position and orientation of the auxiliary measuring instrument 40 are measured while point 28 is being marked by a surveying device stationed at a distance, so that the absolute position of point 28 can be determined based on a known, absolute position of the surveying device, the position and orientation of the auxiliary measuring instrument 40, and the length L or the distance between the auxiliary measuring instrument 40 and point 28.

[0124] In the example, a ball attachment 41 is provided at the "upper" end of the measuring pin 40 as a measuring aid for determining the position and orientation of the measuring aid 40. This ball attachment 41 has a code on its surface, which can be evaluated in a camera image (taken with the measuring device) in such a way that the orientation of the ball 41 relative to the image or the camera (or the measuring device) can be determined. Based on the imaged size of the ball 41 and / or the code and / or another code, the distance between the camera and the ball 41 is also determined, from which, together with a measured or known recording direction (and, if applicable, the position of the ball or the center of the ball in the image), the position of the ball can be determined (see also the description of Figure 1 ).

[0125] The measuring aid 40 thus has at least one body by means of which the orientation and / or position of the measuring aid 40 can be determined in conjunction with an external surveying device with which the measuring aid 40 forms a surveying system. Optionally, the pin 40 has a supporting inertial measuring unit (IMU) to make the position determination more robust or to bridge blind spots in which position determination using the sphere 41 is not possible due to an interruption in the line of sight. Such an IMU can also be used in combination with position tracking using the position-indicating body 41, i.e., when the pin 40 changes position, the IMU data is compared with the position data obtained with the surveying device using the body 41.

[0126] As an alternative to the illustrated spherical body 41, which enables both position and orientation determination, a measuring aid pin 40 according to the invention has a body which enables position determination with the measuring device and the orientation is determined by means of pin-internal sensors.

[0127] The measuring aid pen 40 also has a human-machine interface, which in the example has a display 44, a scroll wheel 47, and a button 45. The display is used to show user information and is optionally touch-sensitive to enable user input. Alternatively or additionally, the scroll wheel 47 serves for user input. The button 45, which is arranged separately on the base body 42 and also highlighted in size, also serves for user input or control, primarily for triggering the position determination of point 28. Once the user has placed the pen 40 on point 28 in a manner suitable for a survey, they use the button to trigger a command to the control system of the surveying system, thus performing the position determination.

[0128] The measuring aid 40 or the measuring system is optionally designed to guide the user during a measuring task, e.g., by indicating the next steps or by a system controller providing instructions via the display 44 based on a continuously determined position and orientation of the pen 40 and thus of the user. As a further optional feature, the measuring aid 40 in the example has a ruler 46, with which lengths can be measured manually at the measuring point. This ruler is designed to be foldable in the example (indicated graphically by the arrow 46a).

[0129] Figure 8bshows an example of measuring an object point 28 with the aid of the auxiliary measuring pen 40. The pen 40 is ergonomically designed, e.g. by means of a gripping area for at least the thumb and index finger, and in particular also the middle finger, of a user, that it can be used one-handed by the user 29, like a conventional pen. For example, in order to measure a point of an object 49 in a terrain, e.g. outdoors or inside a building, a surveying device 30, e.g. a total station, is positioned in a known manner so that the device 30 can be aligned with the auxiliary measuring instrument 40. The surveying device has a camera 31 that can be pivoted about two axes y, z.

[0130] The camera, which is aimed at the measuring aid 40, or more precisely at its ball attachment 41, records at least one image of the ball attachment 41 when the measuring aid 40 designates the terrain point 28—in the example, when the user 29 guides the pen 40 with his hand to the point 28 so that the pen tip touches the object point 28. The position and orientation of the pen 40 are determined by analyzing the camera image of the ball attachment 41. Based on the known position and orientation of the surveying device 30, the position of point 28 is determined by knowing the distance or position of the measuring aid 40 and its orientation, as well as the length of the measuring pen 40 (or the distance between an internal reference point of the pen 40 and the object point 28).

[0131] Here, the tip 43 is optionally designed as a button which, upon contact or touching the terrain point 28, automatically triggers the position determination or the recording of a camera image of the ball attachment 41, wherein a corresponding command is issued from the measuring aid instrument 40 to a control of the surveying device 30, for example by means of a Bluetooth connection.

[0132] Alternatively or additionally, the probe automatically triggers a measurement upon contact. Another option is to automatically trigger a measurement or a work process as soon as the pin 40 has reached a desired position.

[0133] Instead of such a measurement, a desired position on the object 49 is alternatively marked using the pen, for example, by designing the pen tip as a pen marker, e.g., in the manner of a felt-tip pen or chalk. Thus, the measuring pen 40 can also be used for staking out points.

[0134] The handy design of the measuring aid 40 in the form of a pen, which is easy to use with one hand (for which purpose, for example, the center of gravity of the pen 40 is positioned so as to enable at least largely fatigue-free and safe handling with one hand), offers the advantage of being much less laborious to handle than conventional measuring aids of this type. In addition, it can also be used to mark terrain points which, for example, are not accessible with state-of-the-art plumb lines, either because the plumb line cannot be positioned vertically on the point as required or because the plumb line is too long. With the present measuring aid pen 40, however, contact can be made in any orientation due to the determination of all six of its degrees of freedom, and due to its handy, comparatively small size, even hidden points can be measured / marked out.This also enables measurements in the near field or in tight spaces such as corners, boxes, wall recesses, bay windows, in furniture, etc.

[0135] Figure 8cshows a cross-section of another embodiment of a measuring pin 40. The pin 40 has a body 41 at its upper end, designed as a polyhedron in the example. The body 41 carries a code which, as described above, enables image-based position determination of the pin 40 using an external camera. Inside the body 41 there is a circuit board 43d, which in the example carries an inertial measuring unit (IMU) 43f. The IMU 43f serves to support the position determination, e.g. to make the position determination more robust or to bridge blind spots in which position determination based on the optical code is not possible, e.g. due to an interruption of the line of sight to the camera. The circuit board 43d also carries a communication module, e.g. in the form of an IRDA module. In addition, there are four light sources (LEDs) 43e inside (two at the top and two at the bottom of the plate 43d), whereby the body 41 is designed as a light source.The lighting can be varied, for example, to indicate the current operating state of the pen 40 using different colors.

[0136] In addition to a battery 43b, the pen 40 has a probe ball 43a at its lower end 43. In the example, the ball is laterally deflectable, allowing lateral probing of objects. If such a probe ball 43a is present, the pen 40 is optionally additionally equipped with electronic and / or mechanical correction of the ball's extension, so that the size of the ball is automatically corrected when determining point 28. In the example, the deflection of the probe ball 43a is measured by means of magnets 43g coupled to the probe ball 43a, which are detected by a Hall element 43h. Alternatively, a piezo element is used to determine the deflection.

[0137] Figure 8dshows a further embodiment of a pin 40 with a probe ball 43a. The probe ball 43a is arranged via a ball joint 43i in a receptacle 44j in the lower end 43 of the pin 40 such that when measuring a point on an object 49, the ball 43a is deflected exactly by the radius R of the ball. Thus, a correction of the extension R of the ball 43a is performed by recording a measured value of an object point precisely when the deflection due to the scanning of the object 49 corresponds to the radius R of the ball. This is ensured by the mechanical arrangement of the probe ball 43a.

[0138] Figure 9ashows a further embodiment of a pen-like measuring aid 40. In the example, the measuring aid 40 has an interchangeable tip 43. This can be mounted on and removed again from the base body 42 of the pen 40 by means of a holder 50. This advantageously allows different ends or tips 43 to be used, so that the range of functions of the measuring aid 40 can be expanded compared to a fixed tip. For example, a pure marking tip such as a felt-tip pen tip can be exchanged for a sensor tip or a tool tip can be mounted. Of course, embodiments with more than one tip or more than one tool or sensor are also possible as an option, which can be interchangeable or permanently mounted.

[0139] The Figures 9b-9d show three examples of possible top models. Figure 9bshows a tip designed as a line laser 52. Thus, using the pen 40, laser lines can be displayed, for example, on a building wall during construction work.

[0140] Figure 9c shows another example of a tool tip. In this example, it is designed as a spray tip 54, so that the pen 40 can be used to apply paint from a tank 55 to a building wall, for example, to mark layout geometries.

[0141] Figure 9d shows a metal detector 53 as an example of a sensor tip, so that metals can be detected with the measuring aid instrument 40.

[0142] The Figure 9a The button 45 shown is optionally provided in the case of an active tip, such as one of the tips 52, 53, or 54, to trigger the respective function of the tip. For example, pressing the button 45 triggers a spraying process with the spray tip 54 or activates the metal detector 53.

[0143] As further, in Figure 9a In the option shown, the holder 50 has a means 51 with which the respectively attached tip can be automatically identified. For example, these are electrical contacts 51 as shown, which have a corresponding counterpart on the tip 43 which identifies the respective tip 43, e.g. an ID chip. As a further example, the identification takes place optically by means of, for example, an optical code such as a barcode, which is attached to the respective tip in the holder area and can be read via an optics 51. As part of the identification, the size / length of the tip is transmitted so that the actual pin length is automatically taken into account when determining the measurement results.

[0144] As a further option, not shown, the holder 50 is provided to accommodate extension pieces. Thus, interchangeable extension pieces can be mounted between the base body 42 and the tip 43, so that the length of the pin 40 can be varied. In this way, for example, the length of the pin 40 can be adapted to different measuring tasks, e.g., it can be increased in order to reach points in a relatively deep depression. As an alternative to such mountable extension pieces, the length of the instrument 40 or its body 42 can be made variable by designing the base body 42 as a type of telescopic rod. The tip 43 can thus then be extended and retracted, particularly advantageously in a continuously variable manner. This can be done, for example, by the user turning the wheel 47a.

[0145] Figure 9eshows a further example of a tip. This tip 56 has a measuring tape 57 which is fastened so that it can be wound up in a receiving container 59 attached to the tip 56. The receiving container 59 is either permanently attached to the tip 56 or - particularly in the case of a non-replaceable pen tip - removably mounted on the tip 56. The length of the measuring tape 57 is therefore variable, and the container 59 has a locking mechanism (not shown) with which a selected length of the measuring tape 57 can be determined. The measuring tape 57 is used, for example, to manually measure or measure distances from a point 28 contacted with the tip to an adjacent point. Alternatively or additionally, the end of the measuring tape 57 has, as shown, a marking means or a holder for such a marking means, so that, for example, a pencil 58a can be connected to the measuring tape 57 and thus to the tip 56, as shown. If the measuring tape 57 is locked, for exampleFor example, the user can draw a circle or arc 58, for example on a building wall, with the circle centre lying on the longitudinal axis 48 (see . Figure 4a ). Such a circular marking is used, for example, to mark a circular area in which a specific construction activity is to be carried out.

[0146] Figure 10shows a first example of a laser receiver 1, which is designed to apply a physical, permanent marking 5 to a building surface 12. The laser receiver 1 has a housing 7 with a front surface 9 and a rear surface (not shown). The front surface 9 has a line detector 6, with which laser light 3 can be detected. The laser light 3 is emitted by a construction laser 11, e.g., a rotating laser, and represents a position reference in a known manner, e.g., in the form of a reference plane 13 as shown. From the point of incidence of the laser light 3 on the detector 6, a position of the receiver 1 relative to the position reference is deduced by means of a control of the laser receiver 1 (not shown). In the example, the vertical position of the receiver 1 can thus be determined (at least as long as the detector 6 moves within the range of the reference light 13).As an alternative to the representation, the detector is designed as a planar surface, so that an orientation (rotation) of the receiver around the axis perpendicular to the building surface 12 can also be inferred.

[0147] The laser receiver 1 further comprises a hand-held extension 8 in the form of a handle. In addition, the rear surface of the housing 7 is flat in such a way that a user 2 can move the housing 7 or the laser receiver 1 along the building surface 12 by manually gripping the handle 8, with the receiver 1 strictly following the contour of the building surface 12. In other words, the receiver 1 is designed such that it can be manually guided over large areas while closely fitting the building surface 12. As an alternative to the embodiment shown, the housing 7 itself is designed to be hand-held, e.g., by means of appropriate ergonomic bulges, and does not have a handle. Such a less bulky embodiment is particularly advantageous for smaller-scale marking tasks, whereas the embodiment shown with the handle 8 offers particular advantages for larger-scale applications.

[0148] The laser receiver 1 further comprises a marker (not shown), which is designed, for example, as an inkjet printer or laser marker, so that, when applied to the building surface 12, printing or burning can take place thereon. In the case of a printer, it is either a single-color printer or a multi-color printer, whereby special inks or media such as fluorescent ink or clear varnish can optionally be used to preserve / seal an applied marking. Advantageously, the printer is designed to be able to print on ceilings, i.e., against gravity. The marker can be designed as an alternative to mechanical marking, e.g., as a punch.

[0149] In addition, the laser receiver 1 has a memory (not shown) in which a planned position, e.g. as part of a building plan, is stored in a retrievable manner. Such a planned position is, for example, a spot on the building surface 12 where a hole is to be drilled or another installation measure is to be carried out. The memory can also be a volatile memory for only temporarily making the position data available. In this case, for example, a wireless data transmission (via WiFi or Bluetooth, etc.) of the position data takes place in real time from an external device (on the construction site or outsourced, e.g. in a cloud), where the position data is stored in a permanent memory. Data transmission from an external device is optionally also used, for example, to output further information or control commands to the printer, e.g. regarding the selection of the printing ink to be used.

[0150] This planned position is then physically and permanently marked on the building surface 12 with the aid of the laser receiver 1 (in contrast, for example, to a marking using light, which is not physical and ceases when the light source is removed (where "permanent" also includes the fact that the marking 5 disappears after a certain period of time, e.g., by being applied with a UV-sensitive paint that fades over time). For this purpose, the control of the laser receiver 1 is designed such that it is sufficient to move the receiver 1 or the housing 7 or the marker only approximately over the planned location. The user 1 therefore moves the receiver 1 using the handle 8 over the building surface 12 without having to know exactly where on the surface 12 a marking is to be made.This task is performed by the control system, which retrieves the planned position and continuously compares the position of the laser receiver 1 given on the basis of the position reference with the planned position in order to give a command to the marker to print a mark 5 at the planned position when the planned position is reached or exceeded.

[0151] In other words, the user 2 sweeps over a certain area with a random or at least not precisely targeted movement 10, within which the planned location is located somewhere. As soon as the planned location is "randomly" crossed during the movement 10, or as soon as the planned location is within a marking zone or pressure range of the laser receiver 1 (i.e., "reachable" for the marker), the controller triggers the marking process based on the position reference provided by the laser beam. In the present example, it is expedient to use a visible laser beam 3, so that the user 2 only needs to move the receiver 1 along the laser line 13 visible on the building surface 12.

[0152] In the example, the laser receiver 1 is also designed to print additional information on the building surface 12 in addition to the (position) marking 5, e.g. a text 4 describing the marking 5 and / or additional graphics, so that, for example, work instructions related to the marking 5 are available directly at the assembly site.

[0153] Since, for example, light 3 generally only provides a horizontal position reference, but for precise positioning, at least position information in the vertical direction must also be available, a second reference plane is spanned in the vertical direction by a second reference light, so that the planned position can be marked based on the intersection point of the two reference planes. Alternatively or additionally, the laser receiver 1 has one or more position sensors (see the following figures) with which further degrees of freedom can be determined, thus enabling automatic, precise positioning.

[0154] Figure 11 shows an example of a laser receiver or construction site printer that includes a position sensor. The rear surface 16 of the housing is shown, featuring a linear printing area 15 and two position sensors 17.

[0155] Print line 15, e.g., a row of inkjet nozzles, enables full-area printing. Furthermore, in contrast to a point-based printing area, a larger print width Y is available, so that, for example, to apply a point-shaped marking, it is sufficient to sweep over the intended location anywhere along the width Y to mark it. This means that the "tolerance" of at least partially undirected or untargeted manual movement is increased. In practical terms, a trade-off must be made between the largest possible print area and the manageability and / or manufacturing costs of the printer.

[0156] In the example, the position sensors 17 are designed as optical or mechanical displacement sensors (such as those found in computer mice), whereby a relative displacement of the laser receiver (and possibly also the extent of a rotational movement) along the building surface can be measured. Using such a dead reckoning-type displacement measurement, the horizontal position of the printer or laser receiver, for example, can be continuously determined starting from a known location. For example, the building edge 14 serves as such a defined starting point in the horizontal direction (see Figure 10 ), so that the user 2 places the receiver 1 on this edge 14 and from there sweeps over the wall 12 in the plane 13.

[0157] In the example, the rear surface also features four contact elements or guide elements 19 at the corners, designed as rollers or balls. This simplifies precise movement of the housing along the contours of a building surface. Alternatively or in addition to the rollers or balls 19, the housing also features rollers.

[0158] Since a vertical displacement can also be measured with such a position sensor 17, the position data from the position sensor 17 is optionally used to increase the robustness of position referencing using the position reference laser light. For example, this can be used to bridge areas where position referencing using the laser light is not possible, e.g., because the laser beam does not reach the affected building area in every area due to an obstacle. Shadowed areas can therefore still be marked with precise positioning.

[0159] Figure 12shows an alternative design of a position sensor. The front side 6 of the receiver or printer housing is shown. In addition to the laser detector row 6, the front side has three lighting means 18, e.g. designed as LEDs, which are arranged in a defined manner on the front side. These LEDs are recorded as light points by an external camera, such as those used in prior art surveying devices. Since the arrangement of the LEDs is known to the surveying device, the spatial orientation of the housing can be deduced from the image of the LEDs in a manner known per se. As an option, the position sensor is designed in such a way that position referencing by means of laser light or the presence of a laser detector can be dispensed with, i.e. in an alternative embodiment to the one shown, all necessary position and / or orientation information is consistently determined and provided by the position sensor.

[0160] In the example case that the receiver is guided strictly on the surface of the building, which for marking a horizontal surface can be ensured, for example, by a gimbal suspension (i.e. it is mechanically ensured that the printer is consistently aligned vertically), the movement is restricted to the surface plane, i.e. it is known or predetermined except for two translational and one rotational variables. In such a case, one position sensor is sufficient which determines the movement with respect to these three degrees of freedom or, in the case of position referencing in the vertical direction using the detected laser light, only with respect to one translational (horizontal) degree of freedom and one rotational degree of freedom (rotation of the housing in the surface plane). The plane / surface normal can be determined, for example, via the trajectory of the printer movement on the surface.For example, the position sensor then has an inclination sensor and a yaw angle sensor.

[0161] If such a restriction or partial predetermination of the movement does not exist because the construction site printer is not moved (closely) along the building surface, the position sensor(s) are preferably designed for 6-DoF determination. For example, the number and arrangement of the illuminants 18 are selected such that the position and orientation of the receiver or printer can be determined with respect to all six degrees of freedom (using an external measuring device). Here, too, position referencing using laser light or the presence of a laser detector is omitted as an alternative option.

[0162] As an alternative to a hand-held marker, this one has a drive and is designed as an autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle (ground-based, UGV, or airborne, UAV). In such embodiments, 6-DoF determination is particularly advantageous, as it eliminates the need for strict guidance of the device along the building surface. For example, the distance to the surface or the orientation around all three rotation axes can be varied—at least within certain limits.

[0163] The Figures 13a-13cillustrate a method for marking points on an object based on planned positions for construction work purposes. Shown is a stationary surveying device 90 which has a base 91 and a sighting unit 92 arranged on the base 91. The sighting unit 92 is rotatable relative to the base 91 about two axes z and y and is designed to emit a laser beam as a free beam 94 in a sighting direction x onto the object, which in the example is an interior space. The respective sighting direction is measured, for example, using two protractors for the respective axes z, y. The measuring and marking device 90 is used for metrological recording and for marking points 95a-95d in three-dimensional space. With the measuring and marking device, distant lines, in particular distances, areas and areas formed by multiple areas can be measured.

[0164] Object points or their corresponding positions can be determined in polar coordinates from the measured values ​​provided for the two solid angles by the z and y axes and the distance reported by a laser distance meter of the surveying device 90 in a controller of the device 90 with single-point evaluation functionality and stored at least temporarily. A distance can be calculated from two spatial points 95a, 95b in a known manner, and an area can be calculated from three spatial points 95a, 95b, 95c. In this way, a space formed by several surfaces or walls can be recorded, measured, and saved as a spatial model.

[0165] Using the surveying device 90, marking points can be projected onto a surface, e.g., one of the walls shown, with any desired repeatability within the measurement resolution. The optically visible laser beam 94 creates a visible illuminated point when it hits the surface. A permanent mark can then be applied at this location manually or using a self-marking laser receiver or construction site printer shown above.

[0166] The position or coordinates of the required marking points are stored in a device memory or are calculated by the control system. For this purpose, the required position data is entered or recorded, for example, manually or via an interface. This data can be, for example, distances to be measured or angles from specific reference lines or points on the surface or in the room. To move to a stored or calculated position or to an object point to be marked, the targeting direction x is changed manually or automatically until the deviation from the target alignment calculated from the data is zero, whereby the distance to the surface measured by measuring beam 94 is also taken into account if necessary. In the example, the control system is able to perform calculations using the measured spatial points 95a-95d and create a three-dimensional image of the surrounding space.

[0167] Instead of a laser beam 94, the marking beam can also consist of another optically visible light beam or the like. It is also possible for the marking beam to become visible only upon impact with an object through surface reactions. The measuring beam itself does not have to be optically visible. Rather, the distance of a spatial point 95a-95d can be measured in any desired manner, with the spatial point 95a-95d being targeted via an additional optical device.

[0168] The object points 95a-95d to be marked for construction work purposes are, for example, a series of drill holes in the walls, ceiling, or floor. These drill holes therefore represent the desired marking points 95a-95d. The (target) positions of the desired drill holes are stored in the memory of the surveying device 90 and can be retrieved. The actual dimensions of the room required to order the system are provided, for example, by surveying with the surveying device 90 itself during or in direct preparation for the marking work, but can alternatively also be provided based on a digital building plan or building model and / or a previous survey taken some time ago.

[0169] For this purpose, the measuring device 90 is positioned as close as possible to the center of the space to be measured so that all points to be measured or marked can be reached with the laser beam 94. It must also be ensured throughout the entire measuring and marking process that the measuring and marking device 90 does not change its position P1 in the space, i.e., the reference location P1.

[0170] However, this ideal situation is not always present or achievable, e.g. because not all required measurement or marking points can be targeted from a single positioning point, whereby the positioning may be poorly selected by the user or, depending on the measuring environment, no positioning can be found at all that meets these conditions. For example, as in Figure 13ashown from the first position P1, the point 95d cannot be measured or marked because the obstacle, the column 96, is in the target direction x and thus covers the measuring beam 94.

[0171] Therefore, after the points 95a-95c accessible from the first position P1 have been measured or marked, it is determined whether and which object points have not yet been measured or marked. In the example, for example, it is determined that point 95d is not yet marked or cannot be marked from the first position P1 (see Figure 13a ). It is necessary to relocate the surveying device 90 in order to mark the missing object point 95d. In preparation for this, a first environmental image is created in the first positioning step P1 using a camera of the surveying device 90, i.e., a camera image of at least part of the room is recorded. Alternatively, such an environmental image can also be created, for example, using a laser scan.

[0172] Now the measuring device 90 is switched from the first positioning P1 to a second positioning P2 (see Figure 13b ). In order to carry out a further environmental image from the second positioning point P2 despite the changed reference location and without having to carry out the complex manual position referencing known from the prior art, a further environmental image is automatically created from the second positioning point P2, for example a second camera image is recorded. In this second camera image, the already recorded points 95a-95c are automatically recognized by the control system using known image evaluation methods based on the first camera image. Since their positions are known and stored in the memory, they can be used for automatic measurement from the second positioning point P2, as shown in Figure 13b As indicated, the coordinates of the second positioning P2 can be deduced. The second positioning is thus determined based on the known first positioning P1.

[0173] From the now known positioning P2, as in Figure 13cshown, which marks the still missing building point 95d that can be targeted from the second positioning P2. The automatic self-determination of the new positioning P2 by the surveying device 90 therefore advantageously enables a simple method with which hidden object points can be measured or marked. Alternatively or in addition to the above-mentioned determination of the second positioning P2 based on a comparison with the first camera image recorded from the first positioning, in order to determine the second positioning P2, the second environmental image is compared with a stored digital building or room plan, which, for example, was created as mentioned above using measurements from the first positioning P1. Alternatively or additionally, the second positioning is determined using known structure-from-motion algorithms based on data from an IMU and / or camera data.

[0174] Optionally, as a guide for the user, the control of the surveying device 90 outputs a suggestion for the second positioning P2 on a display before moving the surveying device 90. Thus, the control determines, for example, based on the known positioning P1 or based on a building or room plan and the stored position of the still missing object point 95d or the target direction x related to it, which positioning or positioning area in space is suitable or optimally suited for measuring or marking the missing object point(s), e.g. with regard to the distance to an object point or several / all missing object points.

[0175] For example, a location is considered optimal if the angle of incidence of the laser beam 94 impinges on the points to be measured or marked with as little cross-section distortion as possible. Flat beam impingement angles are unfavorable, which is why positionings that would result in such a flat impingement are excluded. Instead, one or more positionings are determined that allow the laser beam 94 to impinge as vertically as possible on one or more object points yet to be measured or marked.

[0176] This instruction or positioning suggestion is preferably displayed to the user in graphic form on a device display, for example embedded in a 2D or 3D representation of the room or a building or room plan.

[0177] It is understood that these figures only schematically represent possible embodiments.

Claims

1. A system for surveying and / or staking out object points with an auxiliary measuring instrument (40) and a ground-based, in particular stationary, surveying device (30) having range-and-direction measuring functionality, in particular a total station, wherein the auxiliary measuring instrument (40) has • a handheld main body (42) of a defined length (L), • a man-machine interface (44), whereby the auxiliary measuring instrument (40) is designed as a measuring pen, in a pen-like form and size, wherein an object point (28) to be surveyed or staked out can be aimed at in a one-handed manner with a first end (43) of the auxiliary measuring instrument (40) and a body (41), in particular a sphere, is attached at a second end of the auxiliary measuring instrument, wherein the body (41) is designed for optical-image-based determination of the position of the auxiliary measuring instrument (40) by the surveying device, whereby the body bears on its surface an optical, orientation-encoding 2D code, designed in such a way that an orientation and range of the body (41), and on the basis of this the location of the auxiliary measuring instrument (40), i.e., its position and orientation with regard to all six degrees of freedom, can be completely determined by image evaluation of a camera image of the 2D code, captured by the surveying device for the surveying and / or staking out of object points, and on the basis of stored decoding information, whereby the system for surveying and / or staking out object points is designed for determining the orientation and range of the body und based thereon the location of the auxiliary measuring instrument by means of the image evaluation and the stored decoding information.

2. The system as claimed in claim 1, characterized in that the first end (43) is designed as a self-triggering sensor tip, which on contact automatically triggers a measurement.

3. The system as claimed in claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the surveying device (30) has • a base (33), • a targeting unit, in particular a telescopic sight, which defines a target direction and can be pivoted with respect to the base (33) about at least one axis (y, z), in particular two axes orthogonal to one another, • an angle meter and also an angle-measuring functionality for measuring the target direction, and • a controller with single-point determining functionality, in the execution of which, controlled by the controller, a position of an object point (28) designated with the aid of the auxiliary measuring instrument (40) is determined.

4. A method for determining the position and / or marking an object point (28) with a system according to claim 1, with the steps of • aiming at the object point (28) with the auxiliary measuring instrument (40), • determining the position and orientation of the auxiliary measuring instrument (40) during the aiming at the object point (28), wherein at least the position is determined by means of the ground-based surveying device (30), • determining the position and / or marking the object point (28), starting from a known position of the surveying device (30), on the basis of the determined position and orientation of the auxiliary measuring instrument (40), in particular wherein a continuous determination of the position and orientation of the auxiliary measuring instrument (40) is performed and, on reaching a predefined position and orientation, the marking of the object point (28) is automatically triggered.