Laser range finder

Other technologies used are the interferometry (which is used for measuring changes in distance rather than absolute distances) or the multiple frequency phase-shift (which measures the phase shift of multiple frequencies after the light is reflected, then gives a measurement based on solving simultaneous equations).

These devices have many applications, from military to sports, from industry to safety applications, from 3-D modeling to laser measurement tools.

In military, they can be used for military engineering or reconciliation, for snipers or artillery shooting (where they can provide an exact distance to targets located far away). The handheld types can be combined with monoculars or binoculars and they operate at ranges of 2 km up to 25 km. In order to be capable of providing magnetic azimuth, height, length or inclination, they must be equipped with an inclinometer and a DMC (digital magnetic compass).

Some of them can measure a target's speed (with regard to the observer), or can offer the possibility to use add-on night vision modules, or can even have cable or wireless interfaces ( for enabling them to transfer their measurement data to other equipments - like computers or PDAs). Usually, they use rechargeable or standard batteries.

In case of 3-D applications (in 3-D object recognition, 3-D object modeling or in some computer vision-related fields), the laser rangefinders which are used here have high-precision scanning abilities. This is possible using the 360-degree scanning mode or the single-face scanning mode.

In sports (like hunting, archery or golf) they are used for precision distance measurements.
In industry applications they are mainly used in the production process (in case of steel industry) and in the automation of stock management systems. They can also be used as an alternative to tape measurements (in construction works).

The difference between the tape measure and the laser measuring tool is that in the first case at least two operators are needed, while in the latter case only one operator with a clear line of sight is enough. Also the measurements are more precise. They can also calculate the area or the volume of a room.