Precision surveying equipment manufacturer Leica Geosystems has launched its first laser distance meter for the consumer market. The Disto D510 meter works together with a smartphone loaded with the free Disto Sketch app and communicates with the smartphone over a Bluetooth link.

 

According to the manufacturer, the combination of the meter and the app enables users to make and record measurements of real-world objects with high accuracy and speed, especially compared to manual measurements and hand-drawn diagrams. Recorded data can also be exported to a spreadsheet.

 

The user interface of the app was designed in collaboration with experts at the Zurich University of Applied Sciences to give users access to both basic and advanced features in a way that is natural and intuitive. For instance, users can photograph a building or room and draw lines over features with their fingers, and then use the laser meter to measure the corresponding dimensions. This can be done very accurately and quickly with little effort, and it is dramatically less prone to human error than manual measurement methods.