Coordinate Mark Out Using Intersecting Line Lasers

Abstract: In the entertainment industry, where temporary structures are erected in a new venue every day, floor markings play an important role during the set up. Today, mark out is commonly done using tape measures - a very tedious and time consuming process. This thesis explores the possibility to create a tool to assist in the mark out process, a mark out station. Two stations working in tandem would both compute their respective positions in the venue and accurately and precisely show the location of any wanted point, based on their coordinate locations. The mark out stations were built using consumer grade line lasers, stepper motors, common micro controllers and fused filament fabrication (FFF)-manufactured plastic components, as well as various other common hardware components. The software utilized already established triangulation algorithms and a custom control protocol to manage the mark out stations. A short range test on a test surface was performed with three different station placements. Placing the mark out stations in between three calibration points yielded better precision and accuracy in contrast to placing them on the edge of the surface. When placed on the edge, the calibration accuracy benefited from more calibration points, in contrast to placement in between calibration points. Next phase after successful short range testing is testing in a larger setting to conclude if this is a viable tool to assist in the mark out process. Further improvements in the calibration process and the mark out process can be made in future iterations to achieve better performance.