MULTI-FUNCTIONAL COORDINATE MEASUREMENT MACHINES

1 . A method of implementing a portable articulated arm coordinate measuring machine (AACMM) having interchangeable accessories, the method comprising:

providing a portable AACMM comprised of a manually positionable arm portion having opposed first and second ends, the arm portion including a plurality of connected arm segments, each arm segment including at least one position transducer for producing a position signal, a measurement device attached to a first end of the AACMM, and an electronic circuit which receives the position signals from the transducers and provides data corresponding to a position of the measurement device;

identifying a source device from which data is received by determining a transmission path through which the data is transmitted, the source device removably attached to the first end of the AACMM via a coupler;

determining a data type of the data based upon at least an identification of the source device;

performing an action on the data responsive to the data type; and

outputting results of performing the action to a destination device.

2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the transmission path includes a wireless communication path and a wired communication path.

3 . The method of claim 2 , wherein the wireless communication path comprises at least one of:

a cellular network;

a global positioning system network; and

a short-range communications network.

4 . The method of claim 1 , wherein data types include at least one of:

metrology data;

positional data;

image data; and

radio frequency identification-based data.

5 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the action performed includes converting raw measurement data to coordinate data.

6 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the destination device includes at least one of a user interface display onboard the AACMM and a remote computer processor.

7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the source device comprises at least one of a:

laser line probe;

radio frequency identification scanner;

digital camera;

a projection device;

thermal scanning device; and

painting device.

8 . A portable articulated arm coordinate measuring machine (AACMM) having interchangeable accessories, the portable AACMM comprising:

a manually positionable arm portion having opposed first and second ends, the arm portion including a plurality of connected arm segments, each of the arm segments including at least one position transducer for producing a position signal;

a measurement device attached to a first end of the AACMM;

an electronic circuit for receiving the position signals from the transducers and for providing data corresponding to a position of the measurement device;

a source device removably attached to the first end of the portable AACMM via a coupler, the source device configured for capturing data; and

logic executable by the electronic circuit, wherein the logic identifies the source device from which the data is received by determining a transmission path through which the data is transmitted, determines a data type of the data based upon at least an identification of the source device, performs an action on the data responsive to the data type, and outputs results of performing the action to a destination device.

9 . The portable AACMM of claim 8 , the transmission path includes a wireless communication path and a wired communication path.

10 . The portable AACMM of claim 9 , wherein the wireless communication path comprises at least one of:

a cellular network;

a global positioning system network; and

a short-range communications network.

11 . The portable AACMM of claim 8 , wherein data types include at least one of:

metrology data;

positional data;

image data; and

radio frequency identification-based data.

12 . The portable AACMM of claim 8 , wherein the action performed includes converting raw measurement data to coordinate data.

13 . The portable AACMM of claim 8 , wherein the destination device includes at least one of a user interface display onboard the AACMM and a remote computer processor.

14 . The portable AACMM of claim 8 , wherein the source device comprises at least one of a:

laser line probe;

radio frequency identification scanner;

digital camera;

a projection device;

thermal scanning device; and

painting device.

15 . A computer program product for implementing a portable articulated arm coordinate measuring machine (AACMM), the computer program product comprising a computer storage medium having computer-readable program code embodied thereon, which when executed by a computer causes the computer to implement a method, the method comprising:

identifying a source device from which data is received by determining a transmission path through which the data is transmitted, the source device removably attached to a first end of the AACMM;

determining a data type of the data based upon at least an identification of the source device;

performing an action on the data responsive to the data type; and

outputting results of performing the action to a destination device.

16 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the transmission path includes a wireless communication path and a wired communication path.

17 . The computer program product of claim 16 , wherein the wireless communication path comprises at least one of:

a cellular network;

a global positioning system network; and

a short-range communications network.

18 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein data types include at least one of:

metrology data;

positional data;

image data; and

radio frequency identification-based data.

19 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the action performed includes converting raw measurement data to coordinate data.

20 . The computer program product of claim 15 , wherein the destination device includes at least one of a user interface display onboard the AACMM and a remote computer processor.