Patent ID: 7728963

Claim:
A method for determining the orientation of an orientation indicator using a measuring instrument having distance measuring sensors and image acquiring sensors, the method comprising the following acts: positioning the orientation indicator indirectly or directly at a target point where at least three reflecting segments; resolving by the image acquiring sensors the at least three reflecting segments having a shape and arrangement defining a detectable mutual geometric relationship, wherein from the measuring instrument toward the orientation indicator, one reflecting segment simultaneously has a directional emission of a collimated beam measured by the distance measuring sensors and a divergent beam acquired by the image acquiring sensors, wherein the collimated beam differs in wavelength and/or polarization from the divergent beam; and simultaneously: capturing the collimated beam reflected and/or scattered by the reflecting segments; capturing the divergent beam reflected and/or scattered by the reflecting segments; determining the distance from the measuring instrument to at least one reflecting segment using the distance measuring sensors; and determining the positions in space of the at least three reflecting segments using the image acquiring sensors.