The prior art discloses simple surveying appliances having a sighting device, with the aid of which a spatial point is sighted manually and the sighting direction is then altered manually to a next spatial point to be surveyed, for example by means of adjusting screws on a theodolite drive.
DE 196 48 626 discloses a method and an apparatus for area surveying with a laser rangefinder having a laser transmitter and a laser receiver. The laser rangefinder is mounted on a stand. The apparatus furthermore comprises a tilting and rotating device for orientation and direction measurement, a telescopic sight and also an electronic evaluation unit for angle data capture, distance data capture and data transfer to a computer. For surveying a space, the appliance is positioned at a central location in the space, from where all spatial and/or area corner points to be detected can be sighted and impinged upon by the laser beam. In accordance with the disclosure of DE 196 48 626, the spatial points to be surveyed are in this case each sighted individually, if appropriate—in the case of relatively large distance—with the observation being supported by means of a telescopic sight.
A similar apparatus and associated surveying method are disclosed in DE 44 43 413, the supplementary published patent application DE 195 45 589 and WO 96/18083, which claims the priority of DE 44 43 413. These describe a method and an apparatus for surveying and marking on distant lines, areas or in at least partly closed spaces. One or more relevant spatial points are surveyed according to in each case two solid angles and the distance relative to a reference location by means of a laser distance measuring appliance mounted in a cardan-type fashion. The laser distance measuring appliance can be swiveled about two mutually perpendicular axes equipped with goniometers. In accordance with one embodiment described in said documents, spatial points to be surveyed are headed for manually and marking points are calculated from the survey data, on the basis of a prescribed relative relation between surveying and marking, said marking points then being moved to automatically by the measuring and marking apparatus.
Known construction surveying appliances typically comprise a base, an upper part mounted so as to be able to rotate about an axis of rotation on the base, and a sighting unit, mounted so as to be able to swivel about a swivel axis, with a laser source, which is designed to emit a laser beam, and an imaging detector, for example equipped with an orientation indicating functionality for indicating an orientation of the sighting unit with respect to a spatial point as a sighting point, and also with a distance determining detector for providing a distance measuring functionality. By way of example, the orientation indicating functionality may be a reticle in the viewfinder of a camera as imaging detector.
Modern, automated construction surveying appliances furthermore comprise rotary drives, which make the upper part and/or the sighting unit drivable in a motorized manner, goniometers and, if appropriate, inclination sensors for determining the spatial orientation of the sighting unit, and also an evaluation and control unit, which is connected to the laser source, the distance determining detector and also the goniometers and, if appropriate, inclination sensors.
In this case, the evaluation and control unit is equipped, by way of example, with a display having input means for inputting control commands from a user on the display (e.g. touchscreen) or what is known as a joystick that is directable, for the purpose of altering the orientation of the sighting unit by directing the joystick, and for presenting an image from the imaging detector or the camera on the display, wherein the orientation of the sighting unit can be indicated by means of the orientation indicating functionality on the display, e.g. by means of overlaying. Functionalities are known in which the input means on the display are in the form of arrows, the marking and touching of which enable a user to alter the orientation of the sighting unit in a horizontal or vertical direction.
Computer technology reveals remote control units that are equipped with motion sensors and the movement of which is converted into an alteration in the position of what is known as a cursor or indicator arrow on a computer screen, in the form of what is known as a “computer mouse” or in the form of controllers for computer games.
The document JP 2004 108 939 A describes a system for controlling a total station by moving a remote control. The remote control unit contains acceleration and gravity sensors that detect movements by the remote control. The detected movements are converted into control commands and sent to the total station. What is not described in this case is scalability of the sensitivity level, i.e. of the transmission ratio between a movement by the remote control unit and a resultant speed and/or extent of the change in the orientation of the total station. The lack of scalability is particularly disadvantageous for fine orientation to a target.