Laser Tracker and Terrestrial Laser Scanner Range Error Evaluation by Stitching.

Area of Science:

• Metrology and Measurement Science
• Geomatics Engineering
• Optical Instrumentation

Background:

• Laser trackers (LTs) and terrestrial laser scanners (TLSs) are crucial for dimensional measurements in large-scale applications.
• Current limitations exist in evaluating the long-range performance of LTs and TLSs due to the difficulty of establishing long reference lengths.
• Existing instruments have measurement ranges from 50 meters to several kilometers.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate a novel method for evaluating the ranging performance of LTs and TLSs over extended distances.
• To address the challenge of constructing long reference lengths for instrument calibration and validation.
• To determine the viability of using stitching techniques for performance assessment.

Main Methods:

• Exploration of "stitching errors" (errors from overlapping short measurements) and "stitching lengths" (creating long references from registered instrument positions).
• Experimental data collection to test the proposed stitching methodology.
• Analysis of uncertainty associated with the stitching approach.

Main Results:

• Stitching methods are demonstrated as a practical and effective technique for evaluating long-range performance.
• Experimental data supports the feasibility of using stitching for assessing laser tracker and terrestrial laser scanner capabilities.
• The study provides insights into the uncertainty associated with stitching measurements.

Conclusions:

• Stitching techniques offer a viable solution for evaluating the ranging performance of laser trackers and terrestrial laser scanners.
• This method overcomes the limitations of establishing physical long reference lengths.
• The findings contribute to improved metrological practices for large-scale dimensional measurement instruments.