SURVEYING FOR AEC Gavin Schrock A UNIQUE WORKFLOW enabled by scanning robotic total stations is the simultaneous operation, with the same data controller and software, of a GNSS rover while scanning and imaging are being performed. Pictured: a Trimble SX12 and R12i GNSS. This includes all the integrated GNSS workflows: resections, combining optical and GNSS captured points in the same survey, and adding a rover to the prism pole for track-on-GNSS methods. One huge advantage of scanning total stations is instant deliverables already fully registered, as adopters of these new systems quickly realized. Some initial users seemed skeptical of the relatively slow scan rates of these various models: 12 to 30 minutes for full-dome scans, and then a photo capture pass. Others, though, discovered that the time did not necessarily need to go to waste. First, it is not necessary to do a full-dome scan and image pass every time; it is sufficient to pre-select specific areas to scan and image. The real kicker is that while the RTS is scanning, it is possible to fire up the GNSS rover and capture points that the RTS cannot see, such as behind curbs, cars and vegetation. This is true especially now, with the advent of no-compensation tilt capabilities on nearly every new GNSS rover system. This can be done in the same project, using the same software and field controller. This struck this writer as one of the coolest lateral features of scanning total stations when he first tried out an SX10 in 2017. Considering the benefits scanning total stations deliver (especially with the integrated GNSS bonus), what has the reception been like among surveyors and other segments of the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) community? “As an industry, we’re getting better at tying solutions and workflow elements together, and not seeing them, or treating them, as individual functions or pieces of hardware,” said Derek Shanks, director of Geospatial Optical Product Management for Trimble. “We bring the system aspect, a case of using the best tool, using the strengths of each tool to their fullest.” Accoring to multiple manufacturers, sales numbers indicate that the adoption of scanning total stations for AEC applications — and not just surveying — has exceeded expectations. 26 GPS WORLD WWW.GPSWORLD.COM | FEBRUARY 2023
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