Importance

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Abstract

A spatial positioning system includes fixed referent stations which emit rotating, divergent laser beams and a portable reflector. Each fixed station also includes a detector and a processor. The portable reflector may include retroreflectors or transponders. When the rotation of the laser beam is such that it is in line with a portable reflector, the transmitted laser beam is reflected off the portable reflector and received at the fixed receiver. For any point which is crossed by the fanned laser beams of a fixed station, a horizontal angle can be determined. Once these horizontal angles are known for three fixed stations, the point of intersection of three planes, and thus the three-dimensional position of the point, is determined.

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First Claim