Use of a sky polarization sensor for absolute orientation determination in position determining systems

A method for obtaining position data for a target with a position determining device, comprising:

• acquiring a first position of a total station, the total station comprising a sky polarization sensor disposed in a known spatial relationship to said total station;
• determining a first absolute orientation of said total station based on a sky polarization data set acquired using the sky polarization sensor;
• translating said first absolute orientation into orientation information in a coordinate system at said total station;
• capturing a distance to a target using a visual sighting device of said total station comprising an internal distance measuring system;
• and
• calculating a position of said target based on said first position, said distance to said target, and said orientation information.

A method for obtaining position data for a target with a position determining system, comprising:

• determining a position of a first location using a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver of the position determining system;
• determining a distance to a target from a visual sighting device of the position determining system using an internal distance measuring system of the visual sighting device;
• determining an absolute orientation of the visual sighting device based on a sky polarization data measurement using a sky polarization sensor of said position determining system;
• and
• calculating a position of said target based on said position of said first location, said distance from said visual sighting device to said target, and said absolute orientation of said visual sighting device.

A method for obtaining position data for a target, comprising:

• determining a position of a first location of a visual sighting device and a sky polarization sensing device having a known spatial relationship with respect to the visual sighting device;
• determining a first absolute orientation of the visual sighting device when the visual sighting device is at the first location and oriented toward a target, wherein the first absolute orientation is determined based on a first sky polarization data measurement using the sky polarization sensing device;
• determining a position of a second location of said visual sighting device;
• determining a second absolute orientation of the visual sighting device when the visual sighting device is at the second location and oriented toward the target, wherein the second absolute orientation is determined based on a second sky polarization data measurement using the sky polarization sensing device;
• and
• calculating a position of said target based upon the position of said first location, said first absolute orientation of the visual sighting device, the position of said second location, and said second absolute orientation of the visual sighting device.

A surveying system comprising:

• a visual sighting device comprising a distance measuring component configured to measure a distance from the visual sighting device to a target;
• a polarization sensor disposed in a known spatial relationship with said visual sighting device;
• an orientation determiner configured to determine an absolute orientation of said visual sighting device based upon at least one sky polarization data set captured by said polarization sensor;
• a Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receiver configured to determine a position at which said surveying system is located;
• and
• a position determiner configured to determine a position of a target based upon said absolute orientation, said distance from the visual sighting device to said target, and the position at which said surveying system is located.

A method for determining a position of a target comprising:

• orienting a visual sighting device and a sky polarization sensor toward a known location, wherein said visual sighting device comprises a range measurement system and is disposed in a known first spatial relationship with said sky polarization sensor;
• determining an absolute orientation of said visual sighting device based on a sky polarization data measurement using the sky polarization sensor;
• determining a distance from said visual sighting device to said known location;
• accessing a set of coordinates of said known location;
• determining a second spatial relationship between said visual sighting device and said target when said distance to said known location is determined;
• and
• calculating a position of said target based on said set of coordinates, said distance to said known location, said known first spatial relationship, said second spatial relationship, and said absolute orientation of said visual sighting device.