An automated
system and method of geometric 3D
point location. The invention teaches a
system design for translating a CAD model into real spatial locations at a construction site, interior environment, or other
workspace. Specified points are materialized by intersecting two visible pencil light beams there, each beam under the control of its own robotic
ray-steering
beam source. Practicability requires each
beam source to know its precise location and rotational orientation in the CAD-based coordinate
system. As an enabling sub-invention, therefore, an automated system and method for self-location and self-orientation of a polar-angle-sensing device is specified, based on its observation of three (3) known reference points. Two such devices, under the control of a handheld unit downloaded with the CAD model or pointlist, are sufficient to orchestrate the arbitrary
point location of the invention, by the following method: Three CAD-specified reference points are optically defined by emplacing a spot
retroreflector at each. The user then situates the two
beam source devices at unspecified locations and orientations. The user then trains each beam source on each reference point, enabling the beam source to compute its location and orientation, using the
algorithm of the sub-invention. The user then may select a CAD-specified design point using the handheld controller, and in response, the handheld instructs the two beam sources to radiate toward the currently selected point P. Each beam source independently transforms P into a
direction vector from self, applies a 3×3 matrix rotator that corrects for its arbitrary rotational orientation, and instructs its
robotics to assume the
resultant beam direction. In consummation of the inventive thread, the pair of light beams form an intersection at the specified point P, giving the worker visual cues to precisely position materials there. This design posits significant ease-of-use advantages over construction
point location using a single-beam
total station. The invention locates the point effortlessly and with dispatch compared to the
total station method of iterative manual search maneuvering a
prism into place. Speed enables building features on top of point location, such as metered plumb and edge traversal, and graphical point selection. The invention eliminates the need for a receiving device to occupy space at the specified point, leaving it free to be occupied by building materials. The invention's beam intersection creates a pattern of instantaneous
visual feedback signifying correct emplacement of such building materials. Unlike surveying instruments, the invention's freedom to situate its two
ray-steering devices at arbitrary locations and orientations, and its reliance instead on the
staking of 3 reference points, eliminates the need for specialized surveying skill to set up and operate the system, widening access to builders, engineers, and craftspeople.