Flexible Control: No Perfect Jobsite Required

Most jobsites don't come with perfect, surveyed control. Whether you're working a TI in a constrained existing space, framing on an out-of-true foundation, or trying to align your layout to existing construction that doesn't match the plans — you've been stuck reconciling real-world conditions the hard way. Flexible Control is Dusty’s answer: a growing set of tools designed to meet the jobsite as it actually exists. Here's what's in this release:

• Create Control at Reflector: An intuitive workflow on the iPad that allows you to define new control points in the field with the reflector — no round-trip to the VDC team required. This is an essential new feature for anybody who needs to expand their network of control points in the field.
• Anchor Layout at a Control Point: Have you ever wished you could force the alignment of your layout to a single critical control point (like the corner of a stairwell or the endpoint of a major wet wall)? Now you can lock in one point, let Dusty best-fit the rest, and stop chasing clashes with existing construction back and forth across the floor.
• Limited Release: 2D Stationing: A simplified stationing workflow that lets you stop worrying about the Z-dimension of your control points. Dusty takes care of vertical misalignments and projects your layout correctly onto the floor, simplifying file prep for the team in the office and eliminating errors for the field team. This feature is available to customers with Radio 2 with firmware 2.9 or later.*

Read on for more detail on these new features. And stay tuned — there’s more coming to Flexible Control in future releases.

Create Control At Reflector

You can now create a control point directly at the reflector location after stationing is locked. This new control point is defined relative to the current stationing, making it easy to establish reusable reference points in the field. This is especially useful for setting up semi-permanent reflectors (e.g., drift nests), which can be rescanned in future sessions without needing to return to the original control points.

• After stationing, a new option appears under Add Control Point to create a point from the reflector’s X/Y/Z position
• This option is only available once the station is locked

Anchor Layout At A Control Point

You can now anchor the layout to one or two specific control points during stationing. By default, Dusty fits the layout to minimize overall error across all scanned control points. Anchoring allows you to prioritize certain points by weighting them more heavily in the fit.

When an anchor is set, the layout shifts from the overall best-fit solution to ensure zero error at the anchor point, which may increase error at other control points. Adding a second anchor further constrains the layout, potentially shifting and rotating it, to better align with specific features (e.g., a~long a wall defined by two points).

• Set an anchor by swiping left on a control point before stationing is locked
• Up to two anchor points can be selected
• Anchors reduce error at selected points while increasing error elsewhere

Limited Release: 2D Stationing

Pop up that announces the new feature

The system now supports both 2D and 3D stationing, automatically selecting the best method based on setup conditions.

In 3D stationing, the system uses full X, Y, and vertical (Z) coordinates from scanned control points to fit the layout in 3D space. While this can be useful, it may introduce errors if control points are at varying heights or if there are incorrect Z offsets in the digital data. In these cases, the resulting layout can appear slightly tilted in 3D before being projected onto the ground.

In contrast, 2D stationing uses only the X and Y coordinates and ignores vertical differences. This ensures the layout is projected straight down onto the ground, even when control points are at different heights. As a result, 2D stationing is generally more accurate and reliable in field conditions. It becomes available when the tracker is sufficiently level (within ~1° of vertical), and the system will automatically use it whenever possible. The UI has been updated to encourage proper leveling for 2D stationing, though if this guidance is ignored, the system will fall back to 3D stationing.

** Today, 2D Control is available only to customers with a Radio 2 for their laser tracker, running firmware 2.9 or later. This is the radio that has a space for a Milwaukee battery and a screen on the front. To determine your firmware version, look at the Info screen when the radio is powered on. If you would like to be a part of this limited release and don’t have this radio and firmware, contact your customer success manager.*

Additional UI improvements

• Collapsible sections in the stationing window for easier navigation
• Status indicators for each section to quickly understand system state
• Station button and station info remain visible while scrolling control points
• Improved control point visuals to clearly show recorded vs. unrecorded points
• “Add control point” moved to the bottom of the list (may require scrolling)

Clearer stationing information before and after locking stationing

Collapsible sections and status indicators

Robot Operating On Slopes

The robot now detects when it is on a slope greater than 1° and will automatically rotate so its wheels are aligned parallel to the slope before entering idle or sleep. This helps reduce the risk of unintended rolling.

• Automatically aligns wheels with slope (>1°) before idle/sleep
• New notifications alert users when the robot is operating on a slope

The robot is on a 1° to 40° slope without doing any tasks for more than 1 minute.
 

The robot is on a 5°+ slope and given printing tasks.

Small Updates

• Fewer failed control point scans. If Radio 2 is in leveling mode (leveling screen), failed scans will now trigger an automatic switch to scan mode and retry recording.
• Shape count for split objects. When an object is split into segments for printing, the remaining count should reflect those segments to avoid showing zero while printing continues.
• Notification messages now use the iOS accessible color palette to improve legibility and visibility in all environmental conditions.

• Notification for joystick in use. When the physical joystick is driving the robot, a yellow notification appears on the iPad to indicate why printing may not start.