Case studies

Leica Geosystems reliable cable free instrumentation

Reliable cable‑free instrumentation

leica geosystems laser

With close to 200 years of pioneering solutions to measure the world, Leica Geosystems products and services are trusted by professionals worldwide to help them capture, analyze, and present spatial information. For that purpose,  Leica Geosystems offers highly reliable geodetic instruments used in construction environments.

For Leica Geosystems, utilizing a wireless technology became particularly interesting from a cable‑free perspective. Jürgen Ruckdeschel, Electronic Design Engineer at Leica Geosystems explains that “without cables, we are always ready to use various types of equipment without having to search for the right cable. Besides making connections easier, we can also save weight which is important since most of our equipment is portable.”

In the beginning of 2004, Ruckdeschel screened the internet for Bluetooth modules and found connectBlue (now u‑blox). Ruckdeschel explains that he continues to partner up with them because of the “interesting and reliable products, future‑proof of hardware and software compatibility over different module generations and full support on international approvals. Further, I have always received quick and good direct support from them and their distributor.”

Wireless Approvals a Challenge
However, going wireless was not altogether an easy path. “We have learned that making country specific approvals is often an underestimated time consuming task,” Ruckdeschel explains. “They had previously also faced approval challenges in the Asian countries and therefore they could offer us many services for country specific approvals. connectBlue (now u‑blox) is a reliable partner especially for long‑term availability solutions in a customer driven wireless industrial environment.”

The solution is used as an easy‑to‑use cable replacement in point‑to‑point applications where no Host CPU power is available for Bluetooth.

Key Benefits

  • Convenience of not having to find the right cable
  • Save weight of portable equipment
  • Reliable solution
  • Hardware and software compatibility over different module generations
  • Full support on international approvals