Queue of data collection tasks for surveying instrument
Methods, controllers and computer program products for efficient utilization of a surveying instrument are provided. The surveying instrument may perform different types of data collection tasks, at least one of which includes measuring a direction and/or a distance to a target. The surveying instrument is controlled to perform one or more data collection tasks in accordance with a queue of one or more data collection tasks. The queue includes a data collection task of at least one of the different types of data collection tasks. During an ongoing data collection task or during an ongoing sequence of data collection tasks, an instruction is received. The instruction indicates an additional data collection task to be performed by the surveying instrument in addition to the one or more tasks already in the queue. The surveying instrument is controlled to perform data collection tasks in an order determined based on the queue and the received instruction.
1 . A method of controlling a surveying instrument operable to perform different types of survey measurements, wherein at least one of the different types of survey measurements includes performing laser scanning using a rotating prism or mirror to determine coordinates of points in a point cloud, and wherein at least another one of the different types of survey measurements includes performing an individual point measurement to determine a distance and a direction to a previously identified reflecting element placed proximate to but spaced from a target, the method comprising:
controlling the surveying instrument to perform a laser scanning operation in accordance with a queue of survey measurements including the laser scanning operation, the queue also including another survey measurement of at least one of said different types of survey measurements;
receiving, during the laser scanning operation and via a touch screen or a button, an instruction indicating an additional survey measurement to be performed by the surveying instrument in addition to the survey measurements already in the queue, wherein the additional survey measurement includes performing the individual point measurement to determine the distance and the direction to the previously identified reflecting element placed proximate to but spaced from the target;
interrupting the laser scanning operation and controlling the surveying instrument to perform the additional survey measurement indicated by the received instruction; thereafter
reinserting a remaining portion of the laser scanning operation into the queue after completing the additional survey measurement;
controlling the surveying instrument to continue the laser scanning operation by performing the remaining portion of the laser scanning operation;
controlling the surveying instrument to perform the survey measurements in an order determined based on the queue, wherein said laser scanning operation includes a plurality of measurements corresponding to respective different sighting directions of the surveying instrument, and wherein the additional survey measurement indicated by the received instruction includes a measurement of higher precision than the measurements of said laser scanning operation, wherein the measurement of higher precision involves a reflection of light from a corner cube prism, wherein an ongoing sequence of the survey measurements as defined by the queue comprises delays between the respective survey measurements, the method further comprising:
during the delays of the ongoing sequence of survey measurements, receiving a second instruction to perform another survey measurement not already in the queue;
in response to receiving the second instruction, modifying the queue by at least modifying a survey measurement in the queue or removing a survey measurement from the queue; and
controlling the surveying instrument to perform the survey measurements in accordance with the modified queue.
2 . The method of claim 1 , wherein said laser scanning operation takes longer time to complete than the additional survey measurement indicated by the received instruction.
3 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the additional survey measurement indicated by the received instruction includes computing an orientation and a position of the surveying instrument based on data collected by the additional survey measurement indicated by the received instruction.
4 . The method of claim 1 , further comprising:
during said laser scanning operation, providing a user interface for defining, based on data previously collected by the surveying instrument, the additional survey measurement indicated by the received instruction.
5 . The method of claim 4 , wherein the user interface is provided for defining, based on data previously collected by the surveying instrument, one or more sighting directions of the surveying instrument for which to acquire sensor signals as part of the additional survey measurement.
6 . The method of claim 4 , wherein providing the user interface includes controlling a display to visualize said data previously collected by the surveying instrument.
7 . The method of claim 1 , wherein the laser scanning operation includes acquiring a sequence of sensor signals corresponding to respective different sighting directions from the surveying instrument.
8 . A non-transitory computer-readable medium storing instructions that, when executed by a computer, cause the computer to perform the method of claim 1 .
9 . A controller for controlling a surveying instrument, the controller configured to perform steps comprising:
controlling the surveying instrument to perform a laser scanning operation in accordance with a queue of survey measurements including the laser scanning operation;
receiving, during the laser scanning operation, an instruction indicating an additional survey measurement to be performed by the surveying instrument in addition to the survey measurements already in the queue, wherein the additional survey measurement includes performing an individual point measurement to determine a distance and a direction to a previously identified reflecting element placed proximate to but spaced from a target;
interrupting the laser scanning operation and controlling the surveying instrument to perform the additional survey measurement indicated by the received instruction; thereafter
controlling the surveying instrument to continue the laser scanning operation by performing the remaining portion of the laser scanning operation; and
controlling the surveying instrument to perform the survey measurements in an order determined based on the queue, wherein said laser scanning operation includes a plurality of measurements each corresponding to respective different sighting directions of the surveying instrument, and wherein the additional survey measurement indicated by the received instruction includes a measurement of higher precision than the measurements of said laser scanning operation.
10 . A surveying instrument comprising:
one or more sensors for performing different types of survey measurements; and
the controller of claim 9 .
11 . The surveying instrument of claim 10 , comprising:
a scanning head rotatable about an axis,
wherein the surveying instrument is arranged to perform measurements in different directions via use of the scanning head.
12 . The surveying instrument of claim 10 , comprising:
a base;
an alidade mounted at the base for rotation about a first axis; and
a center unit mounted at the alidade for rotation about a second axis,
wherein the surveying instrument is arranged to perform measurements in different directions via use of the center unit.
13 . A method of controlling a survey instrument configured to perform laser scanning operations and individual point measurements, wherein the individual point measurements are used to determine a position of the survey instrument, and the position of the survey instrument is used to determine geo referenced positions of measurement points from the scanning operations, the method comprising:
controlling the surveying instrument to perform a laser scanning operation that includes obtaining a plurality of measurements each at different sighting directions of the surveying instrument to generate a three-dimensional (3D) cloud of measurement points, the laser scanning operation defining an area to be scanned and a density of the measurement points within the area;
receiving, during the laser scanning operation, a first instruction indicating a first additional survey measurement to be performed by the surveying instrument, wherein the first additional survey measurement indicated by the received first instruction includes performing a first individual point measurement to determine first angles and a first distance between the surveying instrument and a previously identified reflecting element placed proximate to but spaced from a first position;
controlling, during the laser scanning operation, the surveying instrument to interrupt the laser scanning operation;
controlling, after interrupting the laser scanning operation, the surveying instrument to perform the first additional survey measurement indicated by the received first instruction;
controlling, after performance of the first additional survey measurement, the surveying instrument to continue the interrupted laser scanning operation; thereafter
receiving, during the continued laser scanning operation, a second instruction indicating a second additional survey measurement to be performed by the surveying instrument, wherein the second additional survey measurement indicated by the received second instruction includes performing a second individual point measurement to determine second angles and a second distance between the surveying instrument and the previously identified reflecting element placed proximate to but spaced from a second position different from the first position;
controlling, during the continued laser scanning operation, the surveying instrument to interrupt the continued laser scanning operation;
controlling, after interrupting the continued laser scanning operation, the surveying instrument to perform the second additional survey measurement indicated by the received second instruction;
controlling, after performance of the second additional survey measurement, the surveying instrument to continue the interrupted laser scanning operation;
computing a position of the surveying instrument based on at least the first individual point measurement obtained as a result of the received first instruction and the second individual point measurement obtained as a result of the received second instruction; and
determining geo referenced positions of the measurement points of the 3D cloud based on the computed position of the surveying instrument.
14 . The method of claim 13 , further comprising receiving one or more additional instructions indicating one or more additional individual point measurements to be performed by the surveying instrument in addition to the first individual point measurement and the second individual point measurement, and controlling the surveying instrument to perform the one or more additional individual point measurements, wherein computing the position of the surveying instrument is also based on the one or more additional individual point measurements.