The Leica 3D Disto Distance Meter is a three-dimensional measurement instrument that sits between a surveyor's robotic total station and a handheld DISTO, capturing and projecting accurate 3D coordinates. Where expensive materials are difficult to cut, transport or are processed off-site, accurate as-built measurements taken before work starts eliminate costly surprises later in the job; measure once, cut once.

The instrument's horizontal and vertical turning axes are motorised: the operator gets the laser point near the start point, aims using the video feed by tapping the target on the tablet, and the 3D Disto micro-adjusts until the laser sits in the crosshairs. It measures horizontal angle, vertical angle and a slope distance to derive each 3D coordinate. The range runs from 0.5 up to 50m, with a P2P function tolerance of plus or minus 1, 2 or 4mm depending on distance, a vertical measuring range of -80 degrees to over 90 degrees, full 360 degree horizontal coverage, a levelling range of plus or minus 3 degrees and an 8x zoom pointfinder.

The free Windows software displays results in three dimensions and supports 3D navigation to check measured points. The instrument handles .dxf and .dwg CAD files for tasks such as creating CAD templates for CNC work and Building Information Modelling, where DXF data is taken onto a Windows tablet to lay out anchor points, transfer heights or verify construction locations. Data transfers over WLAN. It runs on rechargeable Li-Ion batteries for up to 8 hours, is IP54 rated and weighs 2.8kg with batteries. The Leica 3D Disto is supplied by BAMR, South Africa's authorised distributor.