US 12,462,424 B2
Localization of a surveying instrument
Zoltán Török, Berneck (CH); Thomas Mörwald, Bregenz (AT); and Franz Thurnhofer, Hörbranz (AT)
Assigned to LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG, Heerbrugg (CH)
Filed by LEICA GEOSYSTEMS AG, Heerbrugg (CH)
Filed on Dec. 22, 2022, as Appl. No. 18/087,664.
Application 18/087,664 is a continuation in part of application No. 16/991,890, filed on Aug. 12, 2020, granted, now 11,568,559.
Claims priority of application No. 19191324 (EP), filed on Aug. 12, 2019.
Prior Publication US 2023/0316567 A1, Oct. 5, 2023
This patent is subject to a terminal disclaimer.
Int. Cl. G06T 7/73 (2017.01); G01C 11/02 (2006.01); G01C 11/06 (2006.01); G01C 15/00 (2006.01); G06T 7/20 (2017.01); G06T 19/20 (2011.01)
CPC G06T 7/74 (2017.01) [G01C 11/02 (2013.01); G01C 11/06 (2013.01); G01C 15/002 (2013.01); G06T 7/20 (2013.01); G06T 19/20 (2013.01)] 20 Claims
OG exemplary drawing
 
1. A method for surveying an environment by a movable surveying instrument configured as a Laser-Scanner, a Theodolite, a GNSS-Surveying antenna, a Mobile-Mapping-System, a surveying pole unit, or a Surveying-Field-Controller configured to be carried by a human, a robot, a drone, a vehicle or a transport dolly in its environment along a substantially random trajectory, the method comprising:
performing a progressional capture of two-dimensional (2D)-images by at least one camera at the surveying instrument and applying a visual simultaneous location and mapping algorithm (VSLAM) or a visual inertial simultaneous location and mapping algorithm (VISLAM) with:
a progressional deriving of a sparse evolving point cloud of at least part of the environment of the surveying instrument, and
a progressional deriving of a trajectory of movement of the surveying instrument with respect to the sparse evolving point cloud,
performing a progressional matching of the sparse evolving point cloud with a previously derived three-dimensional (3D)-geometry of at least part of the environment, wherein said previously derived 3D-geometry is derived from a previously captured 3D measurement, with a minimizing of a function which is configured to model a distance between the sparse point cloud and the previously derived 3D-geometry,
deriving and providing of a spatial localization and orientation of the surveying instrument in relation to the previously derived 3D-geometry according to the progressional matching.