Surveying Instrument Monopod Tracking Stabilization
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional surveying instruments require leveling and installation on a reference point, making them time-consuming and skill-intensive, and those with a monopod support have unstable attitudes, making it difficult to maintain a consistent beam direction for measurement.
Innovation Solution
A surveying instrument with a monopod mounted on a reference point, featuring a distance measuring unit, optical axis deflector, and arithmetic control module that performs a micro scan pattern and image processing to stabilize the measurement by continuously adjusting the optical axis to keep the tracking point centered in the sighting image.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the surveying instrument is installed on a monopod, then the installation process becomes simpler and faster, but the attitude stability deteriorates making it difficult to maintain consistent beam direction
Solution Approach 1:
The system continuously captures images of the tracking point, calculates its position relative to the image center, and feeds this information back to the optical axis deflector for real-time correction. This closed-loop feedback mechanism compensates for the inherent instability of monopod mounting, maintaining measurement accuracy without requiring complex mechanical stabilization.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces mechanical stabilization mechanisms (such as gimbals or complex mounting systems) with an optical-electronic compensation system. Instead of mechanically stabilizing the instrument body, the system uses image processing and optical axis deflection to achieve stable measurements, simplifying the mechanical structure while improving reliability.
2Measurement precision
If the surveying instrument requires leveling and installation on a reference point, then measurement accuracy is maintained, but the installation time and skill requirement increase
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs automatic self-leveling and self-alignment through image processing. The arithmetic control module automatically calculates the tracking point position and controls the optical axis deflector to center the target, eliminating the need for manual leveling and alignment operations by the operator.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the operational parameters from requiring precise mechanical setup (leveling, exact positioning) to allowing flexible monopod placement. The system compensates for positional variations through image-based tracking and optical axis adjustment, enabling measurements from various positions without strict setup requirements.
3Device complexity
If the optical axis is fixed without active tracking, then the device complexity is reduced, but the ability to track moving or shifting targets deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system transitions from a static optical axis to a dynamic tracking system. The optical axis deflector continuously adjusts the beam direction based on real-time image processing feedback, enabling the system to adapt to moving targets or shifts in the target position while maintaining relatively simple hardware architecture.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution allows for stable and accurate measurements even when the sighting direction changes, improving measurement accuracy and reducing the need for leveling and skilled installation.
Implementation Method 1
a distance measuring unit configured to irradiate a distance measuring light, to receive a reflected distance measuring light and to measure a distance to an object to be measured
Implementation Method 2
an optical axis deflector configured to deflect the distance measuring light with respect to the reference optical axis
Data Source
AI summary
A surveying instrument comprises a distance measuring unit configured to measure a distance to an object to be measured, an optical axis deflector configured to deflect a distance measuring light, a measuring direction image pickup module configured to acquires an observation image and an arithmetic control module, wherein the arithmetic control module is configured to continuously cut out sighting images around a tracking point set in the observation image, to set a first cutout sighting image as a reference sighting image, to calculate a movement amount of the sighting image with respect to the reference sighting image by an image matching of the reference sighting image and the sighting image and to control the optical axis deflector based on a calculation result in such a manner that the tracking point is positioned at a center of the sighting image.