Trimble Total Stations Auto-Targeting

The implementation of automatic aiming technologies in Trimble total stations aims to increase the productivity and automation of terrestrial observations on prism-type targets. Depending on the needs of the observation itself, the user can choose from several automatic aiming methods, which depend on the total station model selected to carry out the measurements:

Trimble Autolock technology stands out in terms of productivity and automation of simple observations. It allows for the search, locking, and tracking of prisms within a wide visual range thanks to the tracking sensor incorporated in the Trimble S-series total stations. Its application is very useful in conventional traverse surveys, continuous data surveys, and even for the automation of monitoring observations of prisms near the measuring instrument. The range of Trimble Autolock is between 5 m to 600 m.

When using the Trimble SX12 scanning total station, Autolock technology is complemented by a camera-based prism detection system that allows it to better differentiate multiple reflections within the visual field of the tracking sensor and enables it to reach ranges of up to 600 m. 

While Autolock provides a lot of reliability in routine surveys, a small angular separation between prisms with respect to the optical instrument's viewpoint can become a problem, especially in the automation of observations on a populated group of prisms in the field.

In these cases, a more focused automatic aiming is required, which is why Trimble has developed FineLock technology, which consists of using the fine detector of the tracking sensor to delimit a much narrower field of view, enabling a more selective recognition of prisms. FineLock technology is available in Trimble S7, S9, and S9HP models and its application range is from 20 m to 700 m.

For observations where automatic aiming is required at distances exceeding 700 m, Trimble has developed Long Range FineLock technology. Long Range FineLock uses a transmitter module to gain a greater tracking distance (250 m to 2500 m), and is available in specific Trimble S9 models.

Unlike AutoLock, FineLock and Long Range FineLock do not allow tracking of moving prisms.