A clear constant in the portable metrology market is “change and integration.” Almost every new product launch couples existing concepts and wraps them with tools that enable integration into hybrid metrology-guided systems. These deliver value by deploying the strengths of the technologies in a package that helps mitigate potential limitations.

For example, laser tracker systems have been used to measure single points and scan at higher data rates for more than two decades. That said, they rely on expensive spherically mounted retroreflector (SMR) targets that are precise but also relatively easy to break. Laser trackers typically require operators to move a single target with a sizeable offset through the work space to complete a measurement job. These processes take time and require trained operators.

Total stations and laser radar systems have also existed in the metrology market for decades. Unlike laser trackers, these systems directly measure an object’s surface, and do not require breakable targets or target offsets. Although they’re flexible, these systems are either less precise or not as portable as other metrology systems.

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