AbstractOf recent years at least three manufacturers of surveying equipment have developed the use of theodolite intersections for industrial uses. They have developed highly sophisticated instruments and portable data-capture systems that are capable of real-time analysis and presentation of data to accuracies of 20μm, depending on geometry and other conditions. The three systems referred to are the TOK of Zeiss, Oberkochen, the RMS of Wild of Heerbrugg, and the ECDS of Kern of Aarau. It is not a commercial gimmick that these new titles have been conjured up; the systems are very different, in respect of speed, convenience and accuracy, from their essentially simple ancestors. It is the purpose of this paper to illustrate and explain just how sophisticated these systems are, and to hint at their potential.