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; and using a processor to process the distance measurements with reference to the associated inertial measurements to determine a geometric characteristic of the measurement object.