System and method for measuring by laser sweeps

1. A method of performing geometrical measurements of remote objects, the method comprising:

performing a laser sweep of a measurement object with a handheld sensor device, the handheld sensor device including a distance measurement unit and an inertial measurement unit, the distance measurement unit being configured to measure a distance to a point on the object in a measurement direction, the measurement direction being defined by an orientation of the handheld sensor device;

activating the distance measurement unit to perform a plurality of distance measurements during the laser sweep;

activating the inertial measurement unit to perform an inertial measurement in association with each of the distance measurements;

using a processor to process the distance measurements, wherein the inertial measurements include position and orientation data pertaining to the handheld measuring device, with reference to the associated inertial measurements to determine a geometric characteristic of the measurement object;

using the processor to generate a three-dimensional (3D) point collection for the measurement object from the distance measurements and the associated inertial measurements;

further comprising:

using the processor to reduce the 3D point collection to a collection of two-dimensional (2D) points;

using the processor for the detection and segmentation of 2D lines in the 2D point collection;

using the processor to compute intersection points between the 2D lines; and

using the processor estimate at least one of:

a dimension of a wall based on the Euclidian distance between the intersection points; and

an angle between two walls based on an angle between two intersecting 2D lines.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distance measurement unit comprises a laser range finder.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein the distance measurement unit and the inertial measurement unit are activated at a frequency of at least 30 Hz.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein the processor is configured to take user characteristics into consideration in determining the geometric characteristic of the measurement object, the user characteristics comprising at least one of a forearm length and a distance between a wrist of the user and the laser range finder.

5. The method of claim 1 , wherein activating the distance measuring unit further comprises:

activating the distance measuring unit via a user interface of the handheld measuring device.

6. The method of claim 5 , wherein the user interface comprises a touch screen interface.

7. The method of claim 5 , further comprising:

wirelessly transmitting at least one of the distance measurements, the inertial measurements, and the geometric characteristic to a remote device.

8. The method of claim 7 , wherein the remote device comprises a smart device.

9. The method of claim 1 , wherein the handheld sensing device further comprises an image capturing device, and the method further comprises:

activating the image capturing device to capture a panoramic image during the laser sweep; and

using the processor to associate distance measurements with points in the panoramic image.

10. A handheld sensing device comprising:

a portable housing defining a measurement direction:

a distance measurement unit supported by the housing and configured to measure a distance to a remote point in the measurement direction;

an inertial measurement unit supported by the housing and configured to perform an inertial measurement in association with each distance measurement and comprising at least one of an accelerometer, a gyroscope, and a compass; and

a processor configured

to process the distance measurements with reference to the associated inertial measurements to determine a geometric characteristic of a measurement object,

to generate a three-dimensional (3D) point collection for the measurement object from the distance measurements and the associated inertial measurements;

wherein the processor is further configured:

to reduce the 3D point collection to a collection of two-dimensional (2D) points;

to perform detection and segmentation of 2D lines in the 2D point collection:

to compute intersection points between the 2D lines; and

to estimate at least one of:

a dimension of a wall based on the Euclidian distance between the intersection points; and

an angle between two walls based on an angle between two intersecting 2D lines.

11. The handheld sensing device of claim 10 , wherein the distance measurement unit comprises a laser range finder.

12. The handheld sensing device of claim 10 , wherein the processor is configured to generate a 3D point collection for the measurement object from the distance measurements and the associated inertial measurements.

13. The handheld sensing device of claim 10 , further comprising an image capturing device configured to capture a panoramic image of the measurement object, and

wherein the processor is configured to associate distance measurements with points in the panoramic image.