Hans-Martin Zogg, Business Director TPS, Leica Geosystems: “Ensuring accurate, tamper-free measurements in high-pressure environments is a complex problem”

If you’ve ever watched an athlete throw a javelin at the Olympics, two questions must have flown through your mind. One: surely it’s going to hit someone’s foot as they run towards it. Two: how on Earth do they measure the distance with such accuracy? Hans Martin Zogg, Business Director TPS, Leica Geosystems, is sadly reticent on the first subject, but can answer the second with absolute precision.

The key ingredient, he explains, is a “tripod-mounted high-tech surveying instrument” that’s placed on the field. “When an athlete makes their throw or jump, a prism mounted on a pole is placed at the exact landing point. The total station then emits a laser beam that bounces off the prism.” Measure the time taken, factor in the angles, and you know exactly how far that javelin was thrown.

Martin knows all this because he is in charge of the MultiStation product line, which combines a total station and scanning/imaging capability within one instrument. The instrument that’s referred to above.

He’s come a long way from a doctorate in civil engineering from the Eidgenšssische Technische Hochschule University in Zurich. In fact, he can probably tell you the exact distance down to a millionth of a nanometer.

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Tell us your elevator pitch

With more than 200 years of history, Leica Geosystems, part of Hexagon, supplies premium sensors, software and services to support professionals in surveying, construction, infrastructure, mapping, public safety and other geospatial content-dependent industries.

Being fast and extremely accurate, these technologies have been used to take measurements at major sporting events through Swiss Timing, a Swatch Group company. Swiss Timing measures with Leica Geosystems technology at the Olympic Games, the Asian Games, the Commonwealth Games, the European Championships and the Diamond League, among others.

Compared to traditional methods, like tape measures, our technology guarantees rapid and precise results with the push of a button — ensuring integrity and efficiency at these events.

What sports does your tech apply to? And have you been surprised by its use?

Our technology plays a vital role in field events – like long jump, triple jump, shot put, javelin throw, discus throw, hammer throw and pole vault. At the heart of these systems at sports events is the total station – a tripod-mounted high-tech surveying instrument that many people will be familiar with from construction sites and land surveying projects. Using laser technology, it measures distances with millimetre-level accuracy.

Here’s how it works: in throwing or jumping events, for example, the total station is strategically placed on the field, usually in relation to the throwing circle or reference line. When an athlete makes their throw or jump, a prism mounted on a pole is placed at the exact landing point. The total station then emits a laser beam that bounces off the prism. By calculating the time it takes for the laser to return and factoring in precise angle measurements, the device determines the exact distance of the throw or jump.

Athletes and officials have come to trust and rely on these high-tech systems. The technology not only delivers results quickly in high-pressure scenarios but also instils confidence that the results are fair and accurate.

Related: How cloud computing transformed football – even at park level

What is it about sports tech that excites you? What made you get into this sector?

Total stations provide instant, accurate measurements, ensuring reliability no matter the weather and eliminating any chance of manipulation. We’ve come a long way from the days of manual tape measures. Our tagline is “when it has to be right,” so while surveying is traditionally associated with land surveying and construction environments, any application that requires quick and reliable measurements at this level of precision is a perfect match for our solutions. Athletes, event organisers and the audience want to know that measurements at field events are accurate and fair. Many world records or gold medals are determined by the thinnest margins. There’s no room or tolerance for human error. That’s where our measurement technology can help by acting as an impartial, reliable witness to the competitors’ dedication and skill.

For surveyors, of course, it’s also a refreshing change from their typical environments. Seeing our tech at high-profile events like the Olympics has inspired engagement and excitement among both employees and customers. Now that you know, you can’t miss seeing our solutions at these events.

Can you give an example of a complex problem in sports that you – or your company – have been involved in tackling with technology?

Ensuring accurate, tamper-free measurements in high-pressure environments is a complex problem, but for our solutions it’s actually not that complex to solve. We have created a system that does not interfere with the flow of the competition and can be operated quickly and accurately by officials who are not surveying experts. We’ve developed specialised software that simplifies the process, automatically calculates discipline-specific results, and ensures that every measurement is logged to prevent error or oversight. The software in the total station automatically applies the specific measurement rules for that event, ensuring everything is spot on.

Related: Anders Tånger, CEO of Photon Sports: “What fascinates us the most is when technology goes unnoticed”