Automet® FAB - Lock Lost

The Leica survey instrument (TS16) comes equipped with servos, an auto-target recognition (ATR) capable camera, and an electronic distance metre (EDM) capable of infrared and laser distance measurement.

The Instrument can measure distances to a prism or a surface, lock on to a prism, and monitor its movement. The lock on capability is crucial to the automet® FAB system.

After the Start Point has been established, the survey prism ball is placed in the start point area and the lock is established. A lock is lost when the line of sight from the prism ball to the Leica instrument is blocked.

When the lock is lost, the instrument will not immediately drive back to the laser start point, it will search the area where the prism lock was lost to hopefully lock back onto the prism ball. If the prism is not found after a brief search (around 3 seconds), the instrument will return to the start position. As soon as you lose the lock, point the prism back at the instrument or remove the blocking object, and the lock should be restored quickly.

The most common causes of lock loss are the operator's hand being in the way of the prism, moving too quickly, or the prism face not pointing back at the instrument.

Obstructions can cause lock loss during site surveys. If this occurs, the user can remain stationary in clear view and, in most situations, the instrument search will identify the prism and reinstate the lock without having to return to the start point. You can change the start point at any time by stopping capture and moving the instrument telescope to the new start point using the laser as a reference.

A series of audio cues let you know what is happening during capture. There are audio cues for successful data point capture, and losing the lock - Bluetooth earbuds can be used in noisy environments.

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  Lock-lost screen
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  Searching screen

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  Prism found - locking on
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  Locked on and following